Jun 28: India, Meghalaya, Mizoram
India
Republic of India
Asia
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Geography
Area: 3,166,000 sq kmA further 121,000 sq km of Kashmir, a contested area, is administered by Pakistan and China. Geographically and politically, India dominates South Asia and the Indian Ocean. There are 28 Union States and 7 Union Territories.
Population: 1,214,464,312 Annual Growth: 1.44%
Capital: Delhi
Urbanites: 30.1%
HDI Rank: 134 of 182 (UN Human Development Reports 2009)
Peoples
Peoples: 2,533 (88% unreached) All peoplesUnreached Peoples Prayer Card
Official language: Constitutionally there are 22 official languages. The official language is Hindi (spoken by 40% of the population). English is a subsidiary official language Languages: 456 All languages
Religion
Largest Religion: Hinduism| Religion | Pop % | Ann Gr | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Christians | 71,011,000 | 5.84 | 3.7 |
| Evangelicals | 26,290,283 | 2.2 | 3.9 |
| Hinduism | 902,711,323 | 74.33 |
Challenge for Prayer
Specific communities requiring specialized ministry include:a) The increasingly affluent 350 million of the middle classes have little meaningful contact with Christianity. They are key sectors of society in the 21st Century.
b) Students number over 11.5 million in 320 universities and 23,000 colleges. The large majority of these will graduate but be considered unemployable due to the competitiveness of industry and inadequate quality of education. Pray for the ministries ofYFC, ICCC, Inter Collegiate Prayer Fellowship (ICPF) and Union of Evangelical Students of India (UESI/IFES). UESI alone has 15,000 student members and 7,000 graduates. Pray for their clear, vibrant witness to the thousands of non-Christian students. Pray for their growth and integration into local churches.
c) Young people – the statistics present a staggering need for this population of 400 million under 15 years old. Only 15% reach high school, and functional literacy is around 30%. Around 40% live below the poverty line. Many live in a moral and spiritual vacuum. Most churches lack the resources and know-how to minister to them. YFC, OM, Blessing Youth Ministry, CEF, SU, CCCI and others reach out to some.
d) Leprosy sufferers, of which there are 150,000 new cases every year. Leprosy originated in India. It still possesses the majority of the world’s cases, and there are over 1,000 leper colonies in India. Christian agencies work with them, in particular TLM (18 leprosy hospitals and around 100 projects).
e) The blind. As many as 15 million people in India are blind (and another 50 million visually impaired) – this is nearly 40% of the world’s total. Of these cases, 70% would be preventable were there sufficient doctors and optometrists. Braille is an under-utilized tool. Agencies with ministry to blind people are Mission to the Blind, India Fellowship for Visually Handicapped and Torch Trust for the Blind. Compass Braille is an agency specializing in producing Braille Scriptures in Indian languages by means of computer. Christian audio resources such as Megavoice, Proclaimer and others are vital for reaching and discipling India's blind people.
For an additional 14 Challenges for Prayer see Operation World book, CD-ROM, or DVD-ROM.
More Information
The Operation World book, CD-ROM, and DVD-ROM provide far more information and fuel for prayer for the people of India.Meghalaya
India
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Challenge for Prayer
Specific groups that need focused prayer and ministry:a) Some smaller tribes. The Hajong, Rabha Koch and Mikir are still entrenched in animistic ways. The Hindu and Muslim minorities are little touched by the gospel, and their numbers are increasing by immigration from Bangladesh and from other states.
b) Shillong has the highest concentration of non-Christians, with half the population Hindu, Muslim, animist and others. At the same time, revival recently impacted the 150-plus churches in the city.
c) Students from across NE India are concentrated in Shillong due to the education opportunities there. Pray for them to be impacted by the gospel and even to become part of the harvest force to reach the rest of India and beyond.
For an additional 2 Challenges for Prayer see Operation World book, CD-ROM, or DVD-ROM.
More Information
The Operation World book, CD-ROM, and DVD-ROM provide far more information and fuel for prayer for the people of Meghalaya.Mizoram
India
See Prayer Information
Challenge for Prayer
Mizoram has one of the largest Christian populations by proportion of any state in the world. Most Christians are Presbyterian, Pentecostal or Baptist, but there are now over 100 denominations and groups. Awakenings and revivals in recent years have dynamized the Church and helped transform society. Mizoram remains one of the most literate, well-educated and egalitarian states in India. Mizo missionaries in India and beyond number over 2,300 - one of the highest sending statistics in the world.For an additional Challenge for Prayer see Operation World book, CD-ROM, or DVD-ROM.
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