India is the most populous country in the world, with an estimated 1.45 billion people as of 2024. People often think of India as a Hindu country, which in a way is true. On the other hand, Hinduism is more a family of religious traditions than a single religion. According to the latest census in 2011 (the 2021 census was postponed due to the COVID epidemic), some 80% are Hindus, 14% are Muslims, and 2.3% are Christian. It is likely that since 2011 the percentage of Muslims has increased due to higher fertility. If we estimate that the country is 15% Muslim, that means around 218 million Muslims live in India, which is higher than the entire population of Brazil. Islam arrived through Arab traders visiting the southeastern coasts of the country, and later spread through commerce and military conquest. There are historical mosques from as early as the seventh century, the same century when Islam was born.

Many people in the West have heard about Kashmir. After Partition in 1947 (the separation of India and Pakistan) Kashmir decided to side with India, even though it was a Muslim majority region. Since then, many people in the Muslim majority (some 60%) have desired and sometimes fought for independence from India. India is a birthplace of many religious traditions and religions. Ahmadi Islam was born there in 1889 when Mirza Ghulam Ahmad proclaimed himself the promised mahdi-messiah figure of Islam. This group is generally considered heretical by other
Muslims and is severely persecuted in Pakistan, but not India. Sectarian violence and tension are major social concerns in India, and at times mosques have been destroyed by Hindu nationalists. Despite occasional tensions and even violence, a large majority of Indians (91%) say they have religious freedom.

India is a large and extremely diverse country. Here are some questions you can as your Indian Muslim friend (or Hindu or Sikh or Jain or Buddhist, for that matter):

1. What region are you from? How is that region different from neighboring regions?
2. Ask your friend if they knew any Christians growing up or if there were any churches in their town.
3. Tell them that Christianity arrived in India all the way back in the 1 st Century, with the mission of the Apostle Thomas. Ask them if they knew that Christianity had been in India that long. Can they call Christianity a “western religion” after learning that?
4. India has enormous potential but also faces some very substantial challenges: ask how you can pray for peace and justice there.

Further reading: BBC on Kashmir, Pew Research on Religious Freedom, World Population Review.