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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Eastern Tharu of Nepal

The Eastern Tharu of Nepal, numbering approximately 137,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as an ethnolinguistic community of Nepal, Narayani zone: Chitawan District; Lumbini zone, Nawalparasi District They are an Indigenous people, with Tharu as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Nepali-Pahari people cluster of the South Asian Peoples. Their primary religion is Folk Hinduism. They primarily speak Bhojpuri.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: Nepal
People Cluster: Nepali-Pahari
Primary Language(s): Bhojpuri (bho)
Primary Religion(s): Folk Hinduism
Population: 137,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, Concentrated CP Activity
People Group ID: PG006193

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Pray for the Eastern Tharu of Nepal

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Folk Hinduism
Religious Affiliation: Hinduism

99%
%

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Bhojpuri
Language Family: Indo-European

60%
%

Media Resources in Bhojpuri:

Films:

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Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Bhojpuri:

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Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Bhojpuri bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 1), 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): Pioneer Unreached People Group, (LPI: 1), 0.1% to 0.5% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, Concentrated CP Activity (GSEC: 2), this people group is less than 2% evangelical but there has been initial or concentrated church planting among them within the past two years

Next steps for the Eastern Tharu:
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

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Eastern Tharu 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 Eastern Tharu:
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

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Eastern Tharu 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 Eastern Tharu:
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 Eastern Tharu of Nepal

And Mary said, "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior."
readLuke 1:46-47

Pray that those who are lost will recognize their need for a Savior and joyfully embrace the mercy that God offers.

I sought the LORD, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.
readPsalm 34:4

Pray for each who becomes a child of God to share the hope of eternity with family and friends.

Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O LORD, God of host.
readJeremiah 15:16

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will find joy and delight in the Word of the Lord.

This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
read1 John 1:5

Pray that God will raise up believers who can share the gospel with people who don't know the good news of Jesus, that God is light and in him, there is no darkness at all.

Tharu, Chitwan Across Countries (ROP3 - 102172) reported in the following countries:

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 Definitions page.

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