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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Nai (Awadhi) of India

The Nai (Awadhi) of India, numbering approximately 192,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a pan-Indian occupational community of barbers and village service providers, whose historical influence extended far beyond hair cutting into the social and ceremonial life of rural India. They mostly adhere to Folk Hinduism and Awadhi is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: India
People Cluster: Marathi-Konkani
Primary Language(s): Awadhi (awa)
Primary Religion(s): Folk Hinduism
Population: 192,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG048377

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Pray for the Nai (Awadhi) 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.

Pray Now!
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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Folk Hinduism
Religious Affiliation: Hinduism

99%
%
Folk Hinduism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Awadhi
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Awadhi Speakers

Media Resources in Awadhi:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

3 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Awadhi:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Easy-to-Read Version✓✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Awadhi bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Nai (Awadhi) 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 Nai (Awadhi):
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 Nai (Awadhi) of India

I am the LORD; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols.
readIsaiah 42:8

Pray that lost people will turn from worthless idols to worship the one true God, recognizing that He alone is worthy of all glory and praise.

O LORD, how manifold are your works! In wisdom have you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.
readPsalm 104:24

Pray that they will see the wisdom and power of God in His creation and praise Him for His mighty works.

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.
readJohn 14:3

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will have hope in trials because they know that Jesus will one day take them to be with Him forever.

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.
readEphesians 6:10

Ask God to strengthen believers with His mighty power so that as they cross cultures to share the gospel, they will stand firm against the schemes of the enemy.

Nai (Awadhi) Across Countries (ROP3 - 118816) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Nai (Awadhi)PG048377Nai (Awadhi)India192,000Engaged yet UnreachedAwadhiFolk Hinduism

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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