The Parsi of India

The Parsi of India, numbering approximately 69,500 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an Indo-Iranian ethnoreligious community of the Indian subcontinent that adhers to Zoroastrianism and can also be known as Shahenshahi, Zardasht, Kadini, Zarushti, Shahinshahi, Fasli, Parsee, Zarrushti, Zarushti. They are an Indigenous people, in the Parsee people cluster of the Persian-Median affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Other - Zoroastrianism. They primarily speak Gujarati.

Parsi in India photo
Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Copyrighted ©️ 2025 Ramniklal Mod - Shutterstock Used with permission

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: India
People Cluster: Parsee
Primary Language(s): Gujarati (guj)
Primary Religion(s): Other - Zoroastrianism
Population: 69,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG041764

Pray for the Parsi 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: Other - Zoroastrianism
Religious Affiliation: Other

%
Other - Zoroastrianism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Gujarati
Language Family: Indo-European

%
Gujarati Speakers

Bible Resources in Gujarati:

Or check out the Gujarati bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

Next steps for the Parsi

The Parsi are Unengaged and Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

Next steps for the Parsi

The Parsi 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.

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

Next steps for the Parsi

The Parsi are No Longer Unreached, which means there are more than 2% evangelical Christian populations and there are churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. There is still more to be done among them.

Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Parsi of India

Claiming to be wise, they became fools.
readRomans 1:22

Ask God to pour out His mercy and bring those who are walking in their own wisdom to faith in Jesus.

You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
readJames 4:4

Pray that the lost will be convicted of their friendship with the world, which is hostility toward God, and that they will turn from their sin and embrace the grace and mercy of God through Christ Jesus.

You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance.
readPsalm 32:7

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will remember that God is their hiding place and that He will preserve them in the midst of trials.

For the needy shall not always be forgotten, and the hope of the poor shall not perish forever.
readPsalm 9:18

Pray that God will raise up believers who can help meet emotional and physical needs among this people group. Ask Him to open doors for them and give them the courage to walk into difficult situations and share the hope of the gospel boldly.

Parsee reported in the following countries (ROP3):

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 Definitions page.

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