The Gonju of India

The Gonju of India, numbering approximately 550 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a community descended from Chota Nagpur's Routiya, whose name means headman of a forest village. Originally dowry tenants in Odisha's Mayurbhanj region, they later settled along the West Bengal border as laborers and rope-makers. They mostly adhere to Hinduism and Sadri is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: India
People Cluster: Bihari
Primary Language(s): Sadri (sck)
Primary Religion(s): Hinduism
Population: 550
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG049011

Pray for the Gonju 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

100%
%
Hinduism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Sadri
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Sadri Speakers

Media Resources in Sadri:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Sadri:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Indian Evangelical Mission✓
Indian Evangelical Mission✓✓✓

2 entries

Or check out the Sadri bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Gonju 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 Gonju:
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 Gonju 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.

Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!
readPsalm 67:3

Pray that God will be working in people's hearts, give them opportunities to receive the gospel, and bring many to faith in Himself.

“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”
readLamentations 3:24

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ and walk through trials, they will be satisfied with the Lord as their portion and will place all their hope in Him.

And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you.
readLuke 10:6

Pray that, as people come to faith in Christ and want to share it with others, they will be welcomed into homes and received well so that they can share message of hope with many people.

Gonju Across Countries (ROP3 - 112113) 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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