India Profile

Total Area:
3,287,590 sq. km

Population:
1,147,995,898 (July 2008 est.)

Ethnicity:
Indo-Aryan 72%, Dravidian 25%, Mongoloid and Other 3% (2000)

Language:
English enjoys associate status but is the most important language for national, political, and commercial communication; Hindi is the national language and primary tongue of 30% of the people; there are 14 other official languages: Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Urdu, Gujarati, Malayalam, Kannada, Oriya, Punjabi, Assamese, Kashmiri, Sindhi, and Sanskrit; Hindustani is a popular variant of Hindi/Urdu spoken widely throughout northern India but is not an official language.

Religion:
Hindu 80.5%, Muslim 13.4%, Christian 2.3%, Sikh 1.9%, Other 1.8% (2001)

Government Type:
Federal Republic

Capital:
New Delhi

Population Below Poverty Line:
25% (2007 est.)

Country Reports

Christians beaten, churches set on fire Print E-mail
May 20, 2009

The Voice of the Martyrs has received several reports of attacks on Christians in India in recent weeks.

At approximately 10:30 p.m. on May 10, two church buildings in Imphal district, Manipur state were set on fire by Hindu militants, according to a May 15 report from the Evangelical Fellowship of India. The next day, another church building in the area was also torched. The church buildings were badly damaged and furniture and equipment destroyed.

On the afternoon of May 12, Hindu militants barged into a school in Chennarayapatna, Hassan district, Karnataka state where pastors and other Christians were meeting for prayer. The militants accused the believers of forcible conversion and beat several of them, including Pastor K.K. Ramesh. They also verbally harassed the women present and burned Bibles and other religious literature. The militants eventually made their way to Pastor Ramesh's home and destroyed valuable items. When police arrived approximately an hour later, they took several believers to the police station and detained them. Those injured were denied medical treatment. All were released at approximately 10:30 p.m. without charge.

On May 14, ten Hindu militants accosted Pastor George Philip (58) while he was walking in the village of Kottavillai, Tamil Nadu state. When the pastor tried to walk away from the militants, he was pelted with stones and beaten. He was later hospitalized for his injuries.

Pray for healing for those injured. Pray that the bold faith of Christians in India will be a light that draws others to Jesus (Matthew 5:14-16).

For more information on the persecution of Christians in India, click here.

 
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