The Markande of India

The Markande of India, numbering approximately 182,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as a small community of Purnia district, Bihar, tracing descent from the sage Markande Muni, said to have been degraded for eating food set aside for Brahmins. Agricultural labor is their main occupation They are an Indigenous people, with Markande as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Bihari people cluster of the South Asian Peoples. Their primary religion is Hinduism. They primarily speak Angika.

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

Fast Facts*:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: India
People Cluster: Bihari
Primary Language(s): Angika (anp)
Primary Religion(s): Hinduism
Population: 182,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG041671
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Markande 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

99%
%
Hinduism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Angika
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Angika Speakers

Media Resources in Angika:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Angika:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Angika bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Markande 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 Markande:
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 Markande of India

Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth; break forth, O mountains, into singing! For the LORD has comforted his people and will have compassion on his afflicted.
readIsaiah 49:13

Thank the Lord for the people here and ask that His gospel will flow through this land to bring hope to those who are afflicted by the guilt of sin.

O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.
readPsalm 8:1

Pray that those who have yet to believe will soon recognize the majesty of God's name and raise their voices in praise to the Lord Almighty.

Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations.
readDeuteronomy 7:9

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will know God's faithful love and keep His commandments, experiencing His steadfast care.

And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven."
readMatthew 16:17

Pray that God who is in heaven will place believers in the lives of people who need to encounter the gospel and that He will reveal to them the truth of what they hear.

Markande Across Countries (ROP3 - 112863) 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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