Download the People Group List (16 languages .csv)

Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
Bengali - বাংলা | Chinese (Simplified) - 中文（简体）
Chinese (Traditional) - 中文（繁體) | French - Français
German - Deutsch | Gujarati - ગુજરાતી
Hindi - हिन्दी | Indonesian - Bahasa Indonesia
Korean - 한국어 | Nepali - नेपाली
Portugese - Português | Russian - Русский
Spanish - Espanol | Tagalong / Filipino
Be sure to use the data import function in your favorite app for working with data.
If you'd like to help improve these translations, Contact Us.

PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Mahar of India

The Mahar of India, numbering approximately 11,780,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a historically significant and socially transformative community in India, primarily located in Maharashtra and neighboring states. They mostly adhere to Folk Buddhism and Marathi is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: India
People Cluster: Marathi-Konkani
Primary Language(s): Marathi (mar)
Primary Religion(s): Folk Buddhism
Population: 11,780,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, Dispersed CP Activity
People Group ID: PG041272
View on Joshua Project

Print Profile
Submit Updates

Pray for the Mahar 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.

Pray Now!
Download Prayer Guide

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Folk Buddhism
Religious Affiliation: Buddhism

53%
%
Folk Buddhism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Marathi
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Marathi Speakers

Media Resources in Marathi:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

2 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Marathi:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
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

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Mahar 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 Mahar:
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 Mahar of India

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
readJohn 14:6

Pray that those who don't know Jesus will recognize Him as the only way to the Father and follow Him in faith.

As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.
readMatthew 13:23

Pray that their hearts will have good soil that receives the Word, understands it, and bears fruit for God's kingdom.

And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”
readRomans 10:15

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be eager to proclaim the good news of peace, knowing that the Lord has called them to this task.

And the King will answer them, "Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me."
readMatthew 25:40

Ask God to raise up and send believers who will serve "the least of these" with compassion and energy because they know that in serving those in need, they are serving Christ.

Mahar Across Countries (ROP3 - 112805) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
MaharPG041272MaharIndia11,780,000Engaged yet UnreachedMarathiFolk Buddhism

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.

Scroll to Top