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India

INDIA is the world’s largest democracy and second most populous, and one of the world’s fastest growing economies. While facing the challenges of a huge and growing population India is a also a nuclear weapons state, has launched satellites and is planning a mission to the moon.

Historical Background

India’s origins date back at least 5,000 years to the Indus Valley Civilisation. Classical Indian culture was the result of northern Aryan tribes migrating south and merging with the earlier Dravidian inhabitants around 1500 BC. The 8th and 12th centuries saw Arab and Turkish incursions, and from the 16th century Portugal, Netherlands, France and the United Kingdom started arriving as traders and began establishing colonies.  

By 1856 the British East India Company controlled most of India, and a year later India became a crown colony of the British Empire. India won her struggle for independence from the UK in 1947, following widespread non-violent resistance led by Mohandas Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru. The subcontinent was divided into the secular state of India and the smaller Muslim state of Pakistan.  In 1950, India became a republic and a new constitution put into effect.

India has gone to war with Pakistan three times since 1947, twice over the disputed territory of Kashmir. At the end of the last war in 1971 East Pakistan became the separate nation of Bangladesh.

India began opening up to the outside world in the late 1980's and economic reforms have transformed India into one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, increasing its global and regional influence. However, the country faces many challenges, such as overpopulation, poverty and ethnic and religious strife. People are still assigned their place in society according to the ancient Hindu caste system, and as a result illiteracy and poverty continue to characterise the rural population.

Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil, has served as President since 2007, and, Dr Manmohan Singh, has been Prime Minister since 2004.

Geography

India occupies the greater part of South Asia between Myanmar and Pakistan, bordering the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal. It has an area of 1.2 million sq miles and a coastline of 3,500 miles. The south is characterised by upland plain, while along the Ganges the plains are flat to rolling. In the west, there are deserts; and in the north, the Himalayan Mountains.

Natural resources include coal, iron ore, manganese, natural gas, diamonds, petroleum, limestone. Nearly 50% of the land is arable.

Climate

The climate varies greatly from north to south. In the south there are tropical monsoons, while the north is more temperate. Generally, October to mid-February is cooler, while for most of the country the monsoon season lasts from June to October. In June the temperature in central India can reach 45C. Northern India can see some cooler days (around 13C) in January.

Serious weather related hazards include droughts, flooding, and severe thunderstorms.

Society and Culture

India has around 17.5% of the world's popluation, and is the second most populus country in the world, behind China.

India is a highly religious society and is the birth place of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism. Today, around 80% of the population are Hindu, 13.5% Muslim, with Kikhism, Jainism, Buddism, Christianity and other faiths making up the remainder. 

For centuries, Indian society was dominated by the strict caste system which determined people’s social and economic status, with limited interaction between the castes, in particular with the Harijan ‘Untouchables’.  Although forbidden in the constitution the caste system remains influential to many people and discrimination on the basis of caste still occurs, especially those in rural areas. 

Arranged marriages are another Indian tradition.  The majority of most Indian marriages today are still arranged, with parents and other family members, with the consent of the couple. 

Women traditionally wear saris and men the dhoti, panch/veshti or kurta.  Although western clothing is increasingly common, especially amongst the young and urban dwellers, traditional clothing also remains popular. 

Indian cuisine, characterised by sophisticated and subtle use of spices and herbs is one of the most popular cuisines across the globe. 

As India has a large Hindu population, the slaughtering of cows is banned in most of the country as, in Hinduism. the cow is regarding as a symbol of non-violence and another godess - bringer of good fortune and wealth.

Cricket is one of the country’s most popular sports. 

Economy

India has one of the largest economies of the world - the fourth largest by purchasing power parity and 12th largest in terms of market exchange rates.  However, with such a large population, India is still amongst the world’s poorest nations.  Despite recent economic growth, the gap between rich and poor has widened, with 80% of population living on less than two dollars a day. 

In pre-colonial times, the Indus Valley Civilization had a well developed economy with good trade relations with other countries and villages were largely self sufficient.  However, colonization destroyed with the British East India Company buying raw materials at cheaper rates and selling finished goods at higher prices. 

Following independence in 1947, the new Indian government set out to reform the economy.  Their policies were socialist-based policies and included extensive regularisation, protectionism and public ownership.  The economy grew slowly, and with the introducation of more liberal economic policies in 1991, the growth rate increased significant and is expected to process further in the coming years. 

Around 60% of Indian employment is in the agricultural sector, with around 12% employed in industry.  Agricultural products include - rice, wheat, oilseed, cotton, jute, tea, sugarcane, potatoes, dairy products, sheep, goats, poultry and fish.  Main industries are textiles, chemicals, food processing, steel, transportation equipment, cement, mining, petroleum, machinery and software.  The service sector accounting for around 28% of employment has accounted for much of the economic growth, a number of large UK companies have call centres based in India. 

Although predictions have the Indian economy growing rapidly in the future, issues such as population control, poverty, unemployment and the urban / rural divide will need to be dealt with. 

Christianity in India

According to tradition the Apostle Thomas visited India and started the church in 52 AD. It is known that a bishop called John, with responsibility for Persia and Greater India, attended the Nicaean Council of 325 AD.

Western missionary activity began in the 1500's with the arrival of the Portuguese and the Christian presence became more marked in the 19th century under British rule. Indians of lower castes were attracted to Christian humility and rejection of materialism, and it was in the poorest sections of society that the majority of Christian communities were established and have endured to today.

Freedom of religion is enshrined in the Constitution of Indian, but in the 1990's extremist Hinduism led to hate campaigns against Christians, calls for anti-conversion legislation and incidents of actual violence and atrocities against Christian workers.

The Presbyterian Church in Ireland’s links with Indiabegan in 1841 when the first PCI overseas missionaries arrived Gujarat in the north west of the country. Since then over 300 PCI missionaries have served in India. 

In 1970, the Church of North India (CNI) was formed, when six denominations came together to form one church with a threefold aim: unity, witness and service.   PCI has partnered with the CNI since 1970 and our primary links are with the Gujarat Diocese.

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