The Kotegar of India

The Kotegar of India, numbering approximately 4,500 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as a Scheduled Caste of Uttara Kannada district in Karnataka believed to have migrated from Belagavi, their name recalling their past as fort guards (kottai). Leatherwork and basket-making are their present trades They are an Indigenous people, with Kotegar as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Kanarese people cluster of the South Asian Peoples. Their primary religion is Hinduism. They primarily speak Kannada.

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

Fast Facts*:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: India
People Cluster: Kanarese
Primary Language(s): Kannada (kan)
Primary Religion(s): Hinduism
Population: 4,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG041982
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Kotegar 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

98%
%
Hinduism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Kannada
Language Family: Dravidian

100%
%
Kannada Speakers

Media Resources in Kannada:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

3 films

Bible Resources in Kannada:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Easy-to-Read Version
Indian Revised Version
Kannada Contemporary Translation

3 entries

Or check out the Kannada bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Kotegar 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 Kotegar:
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 Kotegar of India

The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the LORD! May your hearts live forever!
readPsalm 22:26

Pray that the lost will feel a deep hunger for God, be drawn to Him in their affliction, and find lasting satisfaction and salvation in Him alone.

You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
readJames 4:4

Pray that the lost will be convicted of their friendship with the world, which is hostility toward God, and that they will turn from their sin and embrace the grace and mercy of God through Christ Jesus.

The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot... indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.
readPsalm 16:5-6

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ and face hardship, they will remember that God is their portion and cup and that He has a beautiful inheritance for them.

The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.
readActs 17:30

Pray that those God sends to cross cultures will boldly and lovingly declare that God commands all people everywhere to repent.

Kotegar Across Countries (ROP3 - 112649) 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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