India

India Factbook

India is dominated by Hinduism, but William Carey's work continues to bear fruit. Several million have come to Christ and the number is growing. Hindus are working hard to discourage Christianity with political and social pressure.

India is located in southern Asia and borders on Pakistan, China, Nepal, Bhutan, and Burma. Its land area is approximately one third that of the United States (but well over 3 times the population of the US).

More than 1 billion people live in India making it the world's second most populous nation behind only China. The major people groups are Indo-Ayrian (72%) and Dravidian (25%). The Caste system is still very strong in India. Castes are social status groupings that build walls of isolation among the people. Although the discrimination inherent to Caste is illegal, there is tremendous social pressure to conform to the system.

The Indian economy is a mixture of modern manufacturing and information technology in some areas with near subsistence farming in others. Many are prospering in India yet half of the population is classified as poor and perhaps as many as one third don't have enough food to eat.

India threw off centuries of colonial rule in 1947. At that time, Pakistan was split off from India. Since gaining independence, India has been at war with China once and Pakistan three times. The third war with Pakistan created Bangladesh (now called Burma). The tensions with Pakistan continue to this day.

Although India is officially a secular state, Hinduism dominates. In the two centuries since William Carey started the modern missionary movement in India, the number of evangelicals in India has risen to 1% of the population. Praise the Lord for so many who have come to Christ.

Hindu leaders continue to oppose Christianity through legislation, intimidation, and violence. Pray that Christians may respond to their enemies lovingly and wisely. India is desperately short of workers, partially due to tight government restrictions on missionary visas. As the workforce has aged, it has reduced in size. Pray for more harvesters in the field.

Pray for continued growth in the number of Christians. Pray for boldness in witness in the face of persecution. Caste is part of Hinduism in India. Pray that the walls of Caste would be broken down for Christ. Pray for higher Caste members that they might feel free to fellowship with their lower Caste brethren.

Praise the Lord for a strong and growing missionary vision in the Indian church. Well over 10,000 Indian missionaries have gone out into the field. Pray that the Lord would bless their ministry and send many more.

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