The Dharkar of India

The Dharkar of India, numbering approximately 31,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as a Scheduled Caste of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh whose name signifies their traditional occupation of rope- and cane-making, sustained chiefly by bamboo basketry and the sale of winnowing fans They are an Indigenous people, with Dharkar as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Hindi people cluster of the South Asian Peoples. Their primary religion is Hinduism. They primarily speak Chhattisgarhi.

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

Fast Facts*:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: India
People Cluster: Hindi
Primary Language(s): Chhattisgarhi (hne)
Primary Religion(s): Hinduism
Population: 31,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG048232
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Dharkar 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: Hinduism
Religious Affiliation: Hinduism

100%
%
Hinduism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Chhattisgarhi
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Chhattisgarhi Speakers

Media Resources in Chhattisgarhi:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

2 films

Bible Resources in Chhattisgarhi:

2 entries

Or check out the Chhattisgarhi bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Dharkar 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 Dharkar:
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 Dharkar of India

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
read1 John 1:9

Pray that God, who is faithful and just, will open the eyes of those who are lost and draw them to confess their sins and trust in Him to grant forgiveness.

Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples!
readPsalm 96:3

Pray for people to hear and believe the good news of Jesus and joyfully share it with their family and friends.

Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.
readColossians 3:2

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will set their minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, as they look to Christ for guidance and strength.

And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.
readMatthew 7:28-29

Pray that God will remind believers that they have His authority as they share His truth with the lost, and pray He will draw crowds of people to this message and plant it deeply in their hearts.

Dharkar Across Countries (ROP3 - 111949) 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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