The Satani of India

The Satani of India, numbering approximately 542,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Vaishnava Hindu community of temple servants and priests, traditionally believed to have formed under the influence of the reformer Ramanuja around AD 1100. They are concentrated in Tamil Nadu and include Tamil- and Telugu-speaking groups. They mostly adhere to Hinduism and Telugu is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: India
People Cluster: Telugu
Primary Language(s): Telugu (tel)
Primary Religion(s): Hinduism
Population: 542,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG041466
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Satani 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: Telugu
Language Family: Dravidian

100%
%
Telugu Speakers

Media Resources in Telugu:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film
The SaviorView Film

4 films

Bible Resources in Telugu:

Or check out the Telugu bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Satani 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 Satani:
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 Satani of India

"And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
readJohn 8:32

Pray for those who live enslaved to sin to hear and receive the truth of the gospel and be set free.

How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?
readRomans 10:14

Pray that the gospel will advance among those who don’t know the good news of salvation in Jesus so that they might believe and trust in Jesus.

And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness.
readActs 4:29

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ and face rejection by unbelievers in their communities, God will give them discernment, boldness, and encouragement to speak His Word.

And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.
readMatthew 10:14-15

Pray for God to raise up and send out believers to share the gospel with those in this people group who do not yet follow Christ. Pray that they will be welcomed with open arms so that the people they share with will hear and receive the good news with joy.

Satani Across Countries (ROP3 - 113535) 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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