Nirmala Joshi was an officer of the British Indian Army until the nation's independence in 1947. When she was one year old, her father brought the family to India. Although the family was Hindu, she was educated by Christian missionaries in Mount Carmel, Hazaribag. At that time, she learned of Mother Teresa's work and wanted to share in that service. She soon converted to Catholicism and joined the Missionaries of Charity, founded by Mother Teresa. Joshi completed a Master's degree in Political Science and then went on to secure a doctorate degree in law from the University of Calcutta. She was one
History of Pentecostalism in India Cook. A later foundation, in 1953, was the Sharon Fellowship, which runs the Sharon Women's Bible College. Many of the Pentecostal churches in India are represented in the Assemblies of God in India. During the early 20th century the Pentecostal movement experienced rapid growth with the arrival of a number of foreign missionaries. One of the most significant among the missionaries of that period was Robert F. Cook, from the United States. Though a number of missionaries came before him and though the Pentecostal experience took place in India independent of foreign missionary work, it was Cook who first established