Published on Operation World (http://www.operationworld.org)
Jul 04: India, The Seven Union Territories
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: HinduismReligion | 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 unreached individuals than any other nation. Christians in India are very unequally spread – the south and northeast have a much higher proportion of Christians than the more populated north and west. Thirteen states in North India are less than 1% Christian. Pray that the Church worldwide might rise to this task. Pray for:a) The North India Ganges plains, with their teeming millions, in the Hindi-speaking heartland. The states through which the Ganges flows (Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal) combine to account for 382 million people. None of these states is more than 1% Christian, according to census data. There is, however, more church growth than ever in the north, from megachurches of 7,000 to networks of tens of thousands of house churches. A vision exists for 1 million churches planted in the north in the next 10 years.
b) The great cities, with rapid growth and a mix of great wealth and abject poverty. Chennai, Mumbai and even Hyderabad with significant Christian populations exist in contrast to Kolkata, Delhi, Varanasi, Lucknow and others where Christian witness is very small. Increasing urbanization sees millions drawn from rural areas into urban areas annually, often with little by way of resources and connections. As a result, India’s slum-dwelling population now exceeds 70 million.
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.The Seven Union Territories
India
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Challenge for Prayer
Lakshadweep is made up of twelve coral atolls and 36 islands in the Arabian Sea. Its 32 sq kms are home to over 73,217 people. Over 98% of the population are devotedly Muslim; the rest are Hindu and Christian immigrants from the mainland. No long-term ministry to these Malayali-speaking Muslims has ever been permitted or openly attempted.For an additional Challenge for Prayer see Operation World book, CD-ROM, or DVD-ROM.