The Badhi of India

The Badhi of India, numbering approximately 27,500 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Scheduled Caste community of Himachal Pradesh whose name derives from nagal, meaning bamboo, traditionally engaged in making bamboo baskets. They are also known as Rehr, follow Hindu traditions, and are concentrated in Chamba, Shimla, and Sirmaur. They mostly adhere to Ethnoreligion and Pahari-Potwari is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: India
People Cluster: Nepali-Pahari
Primary Language(s): Pahari-Potwari (phr)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 27,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG041983

Pray for the Badhi 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: Ethnoreligion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

—
%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Pahari-Potwari
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Pahari-Potwari Speakers

Media Resources in Pahari-Potwari:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Bible Resources in Pahari-Potwari:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Pahari-Potwari bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Badhi 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 Badhi:
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 Badhi of India

I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; I equip you, though you do not know me, that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the LORD, and there is no other.
readIsaiah 45:5-6

Pray that the lost among them will be delivered from the confusion of false beliefs and come to know the one true God who alone brings light and purpose to their lives.

For your steadfast love is great to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds.
readPsalm 57:10

Pray that God will work, even in the hearts of hard-to-reach people, and that they will rejoice in His steadfast love and faithfulness.

Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
readPsalm 37:4

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will delight themselves in the Lord, trusting Him to give them the desires of their hearts.

For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.
read2 Corinthians 1:8-9

Pray that as people hear and believe the gospel, they will be faithful as they walk through trials and will have an opportunity to be a witness to others in this people group of the goodness of God.

Bandhi Nagalu Across Countries (ROP3 - 117258) 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.

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