Kashmir Ministries:
What: There is
considerable interest among Kashmiris
and response has been good to
advertisements placed in newspapers
offering correspondence courses and
follow up ministries. This projects aims
to help supply funds to provide the
correspondence courses. Why: A number
have come to the Lord through this
means. Some progress into fulltime
leadership training for the Kashmiri
church. Understanding the nature of the
work in Kashmir, this is a not a project
where regular detailed updates are able
to be given.
In recent decades evangelists from
other parts of India have attempted to
reach the Kashmiris. Many returned to
their homes after being beaten. In some
cases they were killed and were returned
in a coffin. Because of the opposition
many have endured, the Kashmiris gained
a reputation for being strongly
resistant to the Gospel.
Do the Kashmiris really hate Jesus?
Or could it be they oppose evangelists
and missionaries because the methods
they use to present the Gospel are
culturally offensive to them?
Target Peoples:
Kashmir has around 240 people groups,
mostly of Muslim background but also
Hindu and Tibetan Buddhist related
groups from the north and north-east.
There are only about 15 known believers
among the 50,000 high-caste Brahmin-Pandits.
Estimates place the number of believers
at about 0.2% of the Kashmiri
population.
Cost: £1 for a full
set of correspondence course material.
£30 a month provides for costs for a
full time team member to continue
working. £200 covers the cost of
providing a full week of follow-up
seminars and travel in Delhi .
Prayer: The four
million Muslims living in Kashmir are
among the most unreached and
unevangelised people groups on earth.
Pray for those who have been saved. This
is a huge step for them to take. Pray
for grace to persevere.
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Jammu & Kashmir (henceforth Kashmir) is today divided between India and Pakistan , with India controlling most of the people and Pakistan most of the territory. This division came about in 1947-48 as India and Pakistan fought over the future of Kashmir, which had been up to then a Princely state. The two nuclear-armed neighbours have fought three wars — two over Kashmir. While most of the violence has been perpetrated by Hindus and Muslims on each other, the rise of Christianity could add another dimension among the 10 million population. The violence has left some 35,000 dead, and has ruined both economy and society in Kashmir. The problems are deep rooted so that even if militancy declines, the problems of identity, governance, and self-determination that Kashmir poses are unlikely to vanish overnight.
Politically, the valley is the dominant unit in the state with a population of some 3.5 million, 95% of which is Sunni Muslim. The Jammu plays less of a role despite hosting the state government for six months of every year. It has a population of about 3 million (65% Hindus, 30% Muslim), while Ladakh, the third region has a mere 150,000 inhabitants, roughly 50:50 Buddhist and (mainly Shia) Muslim.
The origins of the Kashmiri people can be seen in their language, which is Indo-Iranian; part of the Persian linguistic group. It has been speculated that the original ancestors of the Kashmiris may have been troops and administrators dating back to Biblical times when the Pesian world empire stretched as far as India. Others say the Kashmiris are descended from three separate waves of immigration from teh Arabs, Mughals and the Pathans. Today, many Kashmiris have a fair complexion with blue or green eyes.
Unofficial reports say that more than 10,000 people have converted to Christianity in Kashmir since 1990. Not all of these will be genuine believers. It would be a huge step for a Kashmiri to convert, and some are more interested in talking about their problems than in real salvation. Outreach is still very limited and tends not to be in the Muslim controlled war-torn areas. Nevertheless, it is also true that there are more Christians in Kashmir than on record. The number goes into the thousands in the rural areas. Specific progress is often best left undocumented.