Maharashtra
In many ways Maharashtra stands out among all the states of India. Its name literally means "the great state." Historically, references to this area first appeared in the 7th century, but specific regions are mentioned as early as 400 A.D. in the Mahabharata, a Hindu epic poem. In 1960 modern-day Maharashtra was created, and its capital, Bombay, was renamed Mumbai in 1996.
Centrally situated on the west coast and with an area of 118,768 square miles (slightly larger than the nation of Italy), Maharashtra is India's third largest state. Its population of 96 million is the second largest in the nation. The official language is Marathi, and other significant languages include Urdu, Hindi, Gujarati, Khandeshi, Telugu and Kannada. Hindus are the majority in this state (80.4%), while other main religions include Islam (10%), Buddhism (6.2%), Jainism (1.6%) and Christianity (1.2%).
With access to the Arabian Sea through its port city of Mumbai, Maharashtra is India's most industrialized state. Still, about 70 percent of the population depends upon agriculture for their income. Maharashtra is known as "the powerhouse of India" because of its high contribution to the Indian economy through both of these means.
Maharashtra is also home to one of India's largest cities. Mumbai, with a population of more than 17 million, has a reputation for movies, foreign trade and crime. Asia's largest slum, with over 1 million inhabitants, including street children and child prostitutes is also found in Mumbai. Recent trends reflect an alarming increase in AIDS there as well.
Christianity has a long history in Maharashtra. When Dominican and Franciscan missionaries arrived in the 1300's with the intention of preaching the Gospel, they were surprised to find a small Christian community already in existence. Protestant missionaries arrived in 1813. Today, however, many tribal groups remain unreached as well as millions of Muslims, Jains and Parsees. A 1998 survey revealed that 73 percent of the state's postal code areas had no resident Christian missionaries. Though Maharashtra is relatively open to the preaching of the Gospel, it is also home to strong anti-Christian fundamentalist groups.
