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The Citrakathi of India

The Citrakathi of India, numbering approximately 750 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are a Maharashtrian community of picture showmen and puppeteers, also known as Bowlekar and Thakkar, who trace their migration from Rajasthan where they served as spies for the Maratha rulers. They mostly adhere to Hinduism and Marathi is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: India
People Cluster: Marathi-Konkani
Primary Language(s): Marathi (mar)
Primary Religion(s): Hinduism
Population: 750
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG049873

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Pray for the Citrakathi 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.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Hinduism
Religious Affiliation: Hinduism

99%
%
Hinduism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Marathi
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Marathi Speakers

Media Resources in Marathi:

Films:
Title Link
JESUS View Film
Magdalena View Film

2 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Marathi:

Bible Name (Translation) Video Audio Text
1993 Bible League International ✓ ✓
Marathi New India Bible Version ✓

2 entries

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Marathi bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 0), 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.
Lostness Priority Index (LPI): Frontier Unreached People Group, (LPI: 0), < 0.1% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity (GSEC: 1), this people group is less than 2% evangelical, some evangelical resources are available, but there has been no active church planting among them within the past two years

Next steps for the Citrakathi:
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

Pray specifically for the Citrakathi of India

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live.
readJohn 11:25

Pray for the many who have never heard about or understood the importance of what Jesus did for them, asking God to make a way for them to hear that the perfect Son of Man suffered, died, and rose again so that they might be saved.

Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.
readMark 10:14b

Praise Jesus for the way He loves children, asking that many will learn the truth about Him and come to Him unhindered.

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.
readHebrews 10:23

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will cling tightly to the hope they have in God to faithfully keep His promises.

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.
read1 Corinthians 15:10–11

Pray that God's people will preach the message of Jesus' death and resurrection and that it will spread among the lost through the selfless witness of believers.

Chitrakathi Across Countries (ROP3 - 118911) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index

All

1 people group

Photo People Group ID Name Country Population ▼ Strategic Progress Index Language Religion
Citrakathi PG049873 Citrakathi India 750 Unengaged and Unreached Marathi Hinduism

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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