Traveling To India

Currency: 1 Indian rupee (Re) = 100 paise

1 US Dollar = 44.6700 Indian Rupee
1 Indian Rupee (INR) = 0.02239 US Dollar (USD)

Capital: 

New Delhi

Terrain: 

Upland plain (Deccan Plateau) in south, flat to rolling plain along the Ganges, 

deserts in west, Himalayas in north.

Climate:

 varies from tropical monsoon in south to temperate in north

People

Literacy: age 7 and over can read and write (1991)

total population: 52%

male: 65.5%

female: 37.7%

 

A large share of the population, perhaps as much as 40%%, remains too poor to afford an adequate diet.

Telephone system: 

NA telephones; 5 telephones/1,000 persons; domestic telephone system is poor; long-distance telephoning has been improved by a domestic satellite system which also carries TV.

Radio: 

Broadcast stations: AM 96, FM 4, short-wave 0

radios: NA

Television:

broadcast stations: 274 (government controlled)

Economy:

India's economy is a mixture of traditional village farming, modern agriculture, handicrafts, a wide range of modern industries, and a multitude of support services.

International disputes: 

Boundaries with Bangladesh and China; status of Kashmir with Pakistan; water-sharing problems with downstream riparians, Bangladesh over the Ganges and Pakistan over the Indus

Persecution

Persecution which we thought we left behind in ancient history is now cropping up in various parts of the country. Yet God, who is able, is also reaching out to the people with the Good News.

India achieved freedom from the British by using peaceful protest and passive resistance. Mahatma Gandhi strategy who joined by millions in sit-in's, marches, hunger strikes and other non-violent tactics. From India, Gandhi's non-violence has extended around the world.

How ironic that from such a stance on non-violence has now become an increasingly tense religious and social climate. Bibles are burned, and Christians are attacked and even killed!

Sonia Gandhi, widow of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, speaks out against what's happening in her land: "Places of worship have been torched, innocent people bullied, threatened, beaten and even killed.

"Instead of moving swiftly and decisively to end the violence and apprehend the perpetrators, homilies are given about national debate. This cannot remain the land of Mahatma if this evil is allowed to spread unchecked."