The Chanal of India

The Chanal of India, numbering approximately 48,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Scheduled Caste community scattered throughout Himachal Pradesh, closely identified with the Hali and working mainly as agricultural and other laborers. They speak Himachali, worship Shiv as their principal deity. They mostly adhere to Folk Hinduism and Hindi is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: India
People Cluster: Punjabi
Primary Language(s): Hindi (hin)
Primary Religion(s): Folk Hinduism
Population: 48,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG042029
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Chanal 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

97%
%
Folk Hinduism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Hindi
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Hindi Speakers

Media Resources in Hindi:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film
The SaviorView Film

3 films

Bible Resources in Hindi:

Or check out the Hindi bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Chanal 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.

Next steps for the Chanal:
Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Chanal of India

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
readPsalm 51:17

Pray that those who want to achieve salvation through their works will be unsettled in their pursuit and that, with a broken spirit and contrite heart, they will trust in Christ.

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
readRomans 5:1

Pray that the gospel will advance and that many who are far from God will receive the good news of salvation with joy and have peace with God through faith in His Son Jesus Christ.

Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
readRomans 5:2

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will rejoice in the hope of glory and be in awe of God's mercy that gives them access to Him through faith.

Come, bless the LORD, all you servants of the LORD, who stand by night in the house of the LORD!
readPsalm 134:1

Pray that God will raise up believers among them who are in awe of Him and that, in service to Him, they will share the gospel with others so that they too may bless the Lord!

Chanal Across Countries (ROP3 - 111812) 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.

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