Published on Operation World (http://www.operationworld.org)
Jun 25: India, Jharkhand, Karnataka
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
Political, economic and social challenges to the country place a great burden upon India’s government. Much positive progress has been made in many areas; to consolidate and build on such progress, prayer is called for. Pray for India’s leaders, that they might:a) Continue to uphold the constitution by maintaining religious freedom and protecting religious and ethnic minorities. Religious freedom and affirmative action provisions in the constitution have recently come under threat. Some state governments have a poor record for abuse of human rights and discrimination against Christians, Muslims and Dalits; several states have passed anti-conversion laws that, among other things, deny state benefits to low-caste people who become Christian.
b) Uproot corruption in all levels of government – from national to state levels and right down to the local level. Mass media is a powerful means of exposing corruption, and the Right to Information Act forces government staff to be more accountable. With 100 of the 543 members of Parliament having criminal cases pending against them in 2010, clearly the system needs transparency. Pray for courage and resoluteness to stay the course when allowing a culture of corruption to persist is a much easier and safer option.
c) Tackle the serious ills of society with greater commitment and effectiveness – reduce malnutrition, which affects 40% of the population; improve the national infrastructure; deal with widespread use of child labour, bonded labour and female infanticide; tackle the rapid spread of AIDS and serious environmental degradation.
d) Address the growing threat of Maoist/Naxalite insurgency. The stretch of rural India from Nepal down to Andra Pradesh is known as the Red Corridor. These movements threaten stability and security, both locally and regionally. They also threaten the healthy growth of the Church through Naxalite infiltration of Christian communities and the general disruption caused by violence.
e) Manage the economic situation with wisdom. India has the world’s highest number of poor, the fourth-most millionaires and the greatest disparity between rich and poor. Millions enter the workforce every year; millions of jobs must be created to sustain them. Amid a growing economy and a growing middle class, ways to reduce poverty must also be found.
f) Wisely address increasing threats to stability, including terrorism, tensions with neighbouring countries, and Hindu nationalist groups and their targets: Christians, Muslims and Naxalites/Communists.
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.Jharkhand
India
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Challenge for Prayer
The 32 tribal (Adivasi) peoples in Jharkhand amount to nearly one-third of the state’s population. Scheduled Castes are another 12%. Jharkhand’s history is littered with tribal uprisings, particularly against the excesses of British colonialism; separatist sentiments among many tribal groups continue today. The actions of the Naxalite Maoist movement add further fuel to the fire. Sporadic but frequent violence affects many, including Christian workers attempting to bring the gospel to Hindu and animist tribal groups. Pray with regard to:a) Christian ministry to tribal peoples. They are very diverse and often isolated and divided. There is actually much mission and ministry to tribal groups – German Lutherans (Gossner Evangelical), OM, GFA, FMPB, Vishwa Vani, GEMS, AoG and International Living Mission are just a few. Some tribal groups are up to 30% Christian (Oraon, Munda, Kharia); others are barely touched by the gospel (Kol, Bedia, Chero, other small groups). Pray that all tribal groups might have the opportunity to encounter the love of Christ.
b) Negative reactions to evangelism are common and often violent by animists and Hindu tribals. Such rejection to evangelism is expected and is frequently orchestrated by militant Hindu groups, but it is on occasion exacerbated by evangelists’ lack of sensitivity. Pray for contextualized outreach that takes into account the unique nature of each of these peoples as well as their practical needs.
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 Jharkhand.Karnataka
India
See Prayer Information
Challenge for Prayer
Bangalore is the centre of India’s rapidly growing IT and software industries and the fastest-growing city in India. It is also home to over 800 Christian ministry headquarters – Indian missions (IEM, Quiet Corner); international agencies (The Bible Society, Language Recordings India/GRN, SGM, OM, EHC, Asia Graduate School of Theology, International Correspondence School of AoG, India Bible League, FEBA, others); and theological institutions. Pray that these ministries might be great blessings to Bangalore and to all India.For an additional 3 Challenges for Prayer see Operation World book, CD-ROM, or DVD-ROM.
