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The Teli (Bhojpuri) of India

The Teli (Bhojpuri) of India, numbering approximately 1,665,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a large occupational caste/community of South Asia, historically known as oil pressers and oil traders. Their name comes from a Hindi word meaning oil, reflecting their traditional work of extracting vegetable oil using bullock‑driven wooden presses. They mostly adhere to Ethnoreligion and Bhojpuri is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: India
People Cluster: Teli
Primary Language(s): Bhojpuri (bho)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 1,665,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, Concentrated CP Activity
People Group ID: PG046219

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Pray for the Teli (Bhojpuri) 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.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Ethnoreligion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

—
%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Bhojpuri
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Bhojpuri Speakers

Media Resources in Bhojpuri:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

3 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Bhojpuri:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Revised Old Version✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Bhojpuri bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Teli (Bhojpuri) 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 Teli (Bhojpuri):
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 Teli (Bhojpuri) of India

For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
readRomans 5:7-8

Pray for the many who don't yet understand the hope of the gospel, and pray that God will reveal to them that while they were in darkness, Christ died for them.

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
readJohn 8:12

Pray that many will come to know Jesus, the light of the world, and have the light of life instead of walking in darkness.

Depart from me, all you workers of evil, for the LORD has heard the sound of my weeping.
readPsalm 6:8

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, God will remind them that He is near and will help them place their hope in Him when others wish to do them harm.

Say among the nations, “The LORD reigns! Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity.”
readPsalm 96:10

Pray for God to put in the hearts of believers to go to the lost and testify about the Lord who reigns.

Teli (Bhojpuri) Across Countries (ROP3 - 116771) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Teli (Bhojpuri)PG046219Teli (Bhojpuri)India1,665,000Engaged yet UnreachedBhojpuriEthnoreligion

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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