Published on Operation World (http://www.operationworld.org)
Jun 27: India, Maharashtra, Manipur
India
Republic of India
Asia
See Prayer Information
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
India has more human need than any other nation – largely by virtue of its massive population, but also due to many areas of suffering that must be addressed through considered action and sustained prayer.a) Poverty affects hundreds of millions, often as utter destitution that is far below any arbitrary income level mathematically calculated by international bodies. Recent economic liberalization and initiatives to assist the poorest communities will help India move further in the right direction to significantly reduce poverty.
i Poverty is predominantly rural, despite increasing urbanization. While the growing urban slums of large cities such as Mumbai and Kolkata are well publicized and contain around 75 million people, India remains predominantly a rural nation, and it is in the villages where most of the poor live.
ii Caste issues are closely tied to poverty. Most of India’s poorest are from the Dalit/Bahujan/Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, many of them surviving as landless farm labourers. Their landlessness and lack of guaranteed income often lead to debt slavery, which is passed down through generations. Pray for these peoples – may they see God’s justice and love demonstrated to them.
iii There is a complex relationship between poverty and overpopulation. Children are seen by many as future guarantors of assistance and income – the more, the better. India’s population issues and poverty issues need to be tackled in tandem.
b) Health concerns affect huge swathes of India’s population. Around 40% of children under age three suffer from malnutrition, since inadequate sanitation and lack of clean water multiply the waterborne diseases that impact mostly children and the poor. In India, an estimated 900,000 people per year die as a result of drinking unclean water or breathing polluted air. The health sector is overstretched, under-resourced and prone to corruption. India has the world’s third-largest HIV-positive population and accounts for one-third of the world’s tuberculosis cases. Excellent healthcare and medical training were two of Christianity’s finest contributions to India; these are under threat due to Christian emigration/brain drain. Pray that this important legacy might be preserved.
c) Women and children suffer disproportionately.
i Children in crisis – no country can rival India’s staggering need. Of India’s 400 million children under 15 years old, possibly up to 35 million are orphans. Eleven million are abandoned (90% girls); three million live on the street. There are 20 million child labourers (including many instances of bond slavery to pay family debts) – some estimates claim 50 million. Up to two-thirds of children suffer physical abuse, and one-half some kind of sexual harassment or abuse. Over 1.2 million children are involved in prostitution; many of them are Nepali or Bangladeshi.
ii Women and girls. Lower literacy and education rates, the dowry tradition, widespread domestic abuse and the evil tradition of temple prostitution all cry out for action. Society’s preference for boys, combined with the illegal application of ultrasound technology, leads to selective abortion of girls and to female infanticide. A female population deficit of 35 million – and growing – compared to the male population demonstrates the severity of the situation.
Pray that these desperate needs may be addressed through loving Christian ministries and state structures. Pray that attitudes and practices in society, especially toward those most vulnerable, might be changed to reflect God's care for women and children.
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.Maharashtra
India
See Prayer Information
Challenge for Prayer
Mumbai is the economic and cultural powerhouse of India, home of the stock exchange and the hugely influential film industry, Bollywood. It is also a city in great need of prayer.a) Mumbai’s huge economy pulls in migrants from most of India, resulting in a massive influx of people, most of whom end up in slums. This results in great diversity, but also tension and desperation. It is host to India’s largest slum (Dharavi, with over one million people and 16,500 people per square mile population density); in fact, 60% of Mumbai’s population live in slums.
b) Human need and suffering in Mumbai are great. There are 200,000 victims of the sex trade, over 100,000 street children and nearly 300,000 AIDS cases. The slums especially are rife with crime, pollution, disease, poverty, unemployment and, too often, hopelessness.
c) Mumbai has the second-highest Christian population of India’s megacities, but the Christian percentage has actually gone down in recent years from 5% to 4%. There are many Catholics and a growing number of Protestant denominations and churches. Pray that Christians may be salt and light in their city. New Life Fellowship has won many non-Christians through a house church/cell model and Scripture distribution. They have now planted 4,200 cell churches and have a vision to plant a church in every village of the state.
For an additional 3 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 Maharashtra.Manipur
India
See Prayer Information
Challenge for Prayer
Many problems apart from separatism beset Manipur. Unemployment is over 30%, and the only “good” employment is in government jobs, which are bought through bribes. There is almost zero private investment, and immigrant peoples dominate what little economy there is. Manipur’s proximity to the Golden Triangle exposes it to high occurrences of human and drug trafficking and to HIV/AIDS. There is much corruption, little infrastructure and poor leadership. Pray for hope to come to Manipur, ideally through the loving ministry of Christians and through social and economic transformation that the gospel can bring.For an additional 3 Challenges for Prayer see Operation World book, CD-ROM, or DVD-ROM.
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