Crosslinks India facts

Geographically India dominates South Asia. Being a sub-continent, India is a large plateau bounded by the Himalayas in the north, the Indian Ocean in the south, the Arabian Sea in the west, and the Bay of Bengal in the east. In the north lies the vast expanse of the Indo-Gangetic plain, 2,50Okm east-west, divided by the Indus, Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers. This is one of the world's most fertile regions, although it is often liable to flooding and the results of the non-arrival of monsoon rainfall. In the pre-monsoon season the heat becomes intense - the average temperature in New Delhi reaches 38 degrees C and in Madras 36 degrees C.

There are diverse racial, ethnic, religious and linguistic groups. The Indo-Aryans dominate north and central India, the Dravidians the south and Sino-Tibetans the northeast. Hindi is the official national language and English is the legislative and judicial language. There are 16 other official regional languages and notable among them are Manipuri, Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi, Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam.

India is a Federal Republic country, whose history stretches back at least 5,000 years. Many invaders have ruled part or all of the country and notable among them are the Moghols and the British. Since the time of independence from Britain in 1947, India has been the world's largest functioning democracy containing 25 union States and seven union territories within itself. Political life has been dominated by the Congress party at the centre and by regional parties in a few states. The BJP, a radical Hindu political party, became the largest opposition party in the Parliament in the 1991 elections. The States have their own governments and they work in close association with the Parliament in New Delhi. The members of the local governments and Parliament are elected once in five years.

74% of the Indian population is agricultural, but rapid industrialization and urbanization is taking place with the aim of eradicating poverty and unemployment. India is now one of the leading industrial nations in the Two Thirds World. The main cash crops are cotton. paddy, jute and tea.

	India	UK equivalent
Population	1,013,661 million	59 million
Area	3,166,000 sq km	245000 sq km
Urban population	40 %	90 %
Life expectancy	55 years	75 years
Income per person	$370	$20,870
Christians % pop´n	2.4	68

Officially India is a secular state, which offers freedom to practise any religion. About 80% of the population is Hindu, 12 % Muslim, 2% Sikh and there are also Buddhists and Jainis. Popular Hinduism is idolatrous with a pantheon of many million gods, among whom Siva, Vishnu and Ganesh are more famous. Intellectual Hinduism, being philosophical and mystical, has a growing appeal in western countries. The growth of intolerant Hindu factions has caused the passing of anti-conversion laws in some States, the deprivation of government benefits to the poor who belong to Islam or Christianity, and also physical violence against Muslims and Christians. Fundamental to Hinduism is the caste system, which recognises the Brahmins as the high-caste; others being Forward castes, Backward castes and the Scheduled castes (ie Harijans or outcasts).

The largest minority group is the Muslims, the majority of whom live in Kashmir and Lakshadweep. There has been some conversions to Islam from among the Scheduled castes. Most of those who practise Sikhism live in Punjab; extremist Sikhs have been using violence against the government to try and establish an independent Sikh State.

The Christian community was formed in the first century in Kerala and Tamil Nadu by the missionary work of Thomas the Apostle.

Today it covers possibly 4% of the Indian population. The number of Christians is higher in southern and north-eastern States than in the northern States of India. Almost all Nagas who live in Nagaland (a north-eastern State) are Christians. Although it is harder nowadays to obtain visas for new missionaries to work in India, God has raised up numerous indigenous missionaries, who mostly concentrate their work in the north. There are now over 11,000 in number supported by 198 mission agencies. The three largest mission organisations, India Evangelical Team (IET), Friends Missionary Prayer Band (FMPB), and Indian Evangelical Mission (IEM), have 575, 474, and 388 missionaries respectively. They work closely with main-line churches such as Church of South India (21 Dioceses), Church of North India (23 Dioceses), Baptist Church, etc. They organise prayer groups in those churches, which regularly pray and make financial contributions. In the Roman Catholic Church there has been more interest in mission and the use of charismatic gifts.

The evangelistic work among youth is effectively done by Youth for Christ (YFC), Scripture Union, etc. The Union of Evangelical Students of India (UESI) and Intercollegiate Pentecostal Fellowship reach out to the students in colleges and universities. Recently, there has been a growing concern to work among the Muslims. There are five agencies, including Fellowship For Neighbours India (FFNI), which are working among them. Christian leaders and missionaries are offered theological training in colleges like Union Biblical Seminary, Pune, and extension courses offered by the Association for Theological Education by Extension (TAFTEE). Evangelism is carried out by Christian medical workers in medical institutions. The Emmanuel Hospital Association (EHA) has responsibility for all the institutions that are run by
evangelical missions. Wider ministry among the leprosy patients, the deaf and the blind is another important aspect of Christian mission in India.

Crosslinks began its work in India in 1923 under the name BCMS. Before the Second World War, there were about 50 missionaries who were involved in evangelism, theological training and medical work. At present two missionaries are based in India and involved in TEE work. Crosslinks is seeking to build contacts with Indian indigenous missions and theological as well as medical institutions, and is encouraging them in their respective tasks.