Haryana

"There is a region called Haryana which is like a heaven on earth," reads a Sanskrit inscription from A.D. 1385. Ancient Hindu holy books call Haryana the "Land of Plentiful Grains" and "Land of Immense Riches."

In 1966, the modern state of Haryana was formed along linguistic lines to incorporate the Hindi-speaking areas of the old Punjab state. It is located on the fertile plains of northwestern India and has an area of 17,066 square miles, which makes it slightly larger than the nation of Denmark. Out of a population of 21 million, 12 percent live below the poverty line. Children make up almost 34 percent of the population.

Since its creation, Haryana has become India's fastest growing state, offering its citizens the third highest per capita income in the nation. Haryana was the first state to provide electricity to every village. Agricultural development in this state has also been tremendous. In addition to machinery works, textiles and glassware, tourism is another official industry.

The languages spoken are Haryanvi, Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu. Hinduism is the main religion (89.3%), followed by Sikhism (6.2%), Islam (4.1%), Jainism (0.27%) and Christianity (0.08%).

Though Haryana is a fertile land, it is spiritually dry and one of India's least evangelized states. Only 15 of its 92 people groups are known to have one or more congregations of believers. Muslims and Jains are also unreached, and there is a need for a Bible translation in Haryanvi. On top of this, anti-Christian fundamentalism is on the rise.