The Bhottada of India

The Bhottada of India, numbering approximately 553,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as a Scheduled Tribe of southern Odisha whose name derives from words meaning "land" and "chase," concentrated in the Koraput and Kalahandi districts. They are organized into totemic clans, practice agriculture as their traditional occupation They are an Indigenous people, with Bhottada as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the South Asian Tribal people cluster of the South Asian Peoples. Their primary religion is Folk Hinduism. They primarily speak Bhatri.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite: Bhottada

Fast Facts*:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: India
People Cluster: South Asian Tribal
Primary Language(s): Bhatri (bgw)
Primary Religion(s): Folk Hinduism
Population: 553,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG041510
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Pray for the Bhottada of India

Join others around the world in praying for the lost to be saved, the gospel to advance, the global Church to grow, and for laborers to be sent out and sustained in the harvest.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Folk Hinduism
Religious Affiliation: Hinduism

89%
%
Folk Hinduism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Bhatri
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Bhatri Speakers

Media Resources in Bhatri:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Bhatri:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Indian Evangelical Mission

1 entry

Or check out the Bhatri bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Bhottada are Engaged yet Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations but there are sustained efforts at establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Next steps for the Bhottada:
Continue prayer and fasting for this group
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Begin training up local leaders to lead and develop strategies to reach their own people

Pray specifically for the Bhottada of India

We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
readRomans 6:4

Pray that those who need to surrender their lives to Christ will confess their sins and trust in Him, being united with Him in His death and resurrection, walking in newness of life.

"Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool."
readIsaiah 1:18

Pray that God will make a way for the gospel to reach many through means they can understand and access, that they will receive the good news with joy, and that they will experience complete forgiveness and cleansing from their sin that Jesus offers through His sacrifice.

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
readHebrew 4:16

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will boldly draw near to God as they approach Him in prayer, receive His mercy, and find grace for help in their time of need.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
readJohn 3:16

Pray that God will send and sustain believers to cross cultures and share the gospel with the lost. Ask that He will give them His heart for the lost and that many will believe in Him and not perish but have eternal life.

Bhottada Across Countries (ROP3 - 111586) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

*Peoplegroups.org relies on updates from the field and other organizations for much of our data, so if you have any updates, please contact us. We use various international naming standards. For a list of these standards and fields, visit our Data Standards section.

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