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The Perna of India

The Perna of India, numbering approximately 3,300 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Scheduled Caste of Haryana, Delhi, and Punjab similar to the Nat or Bazigar, historically itinerant performers. Construction and agricultural labor remain common, supplemented by sheep-rearing and poultry farming. They mostly adhere to Folk Hinduism and Haryanvi is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: India
People Cluster: Hindi
Primary Language(s): Haryanvi (bgc)
Primary Religion(s): Folk Hinduism
Population: 3,300
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG049089
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Pray for the Perna 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: Folk Hinduism
Religious Affiliation: Hinduism

99%
%
Folk Hinduism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Haryanvi
Language Family: Indo-European

55%
%
Haryanvi Speakers

Media Resources in Haryanvi:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Haryanvi:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Davar Partners International✓✓✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Haryanvi bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Perna 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 Perna:
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 Perna of India

For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation.
readPsalm 62:1

Pray that those who are troubled and don't know about the God who saves will hear the good news and find rest in the one true God who can offer salvation for their souls.

And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us.
readActs 17:26-27

Pray that the lost will seek God and find Him, for He is not far from each one of us. Pray that they will have opportunities to access the gospel, learn God's purpose for their lives, and believe in Him.

And God is able to make all grace about to you, so that having sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.
read2 Corinthians 9:8

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will see that God provides for their needs and be content in His provision so that they may excel in every good work.

For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.
read2 Corinthians 1:5

When any who might believe suffer for the sake of the gospel, ask God to deepen their understanding of His grace so that they may share it freely with those who have not received it.

Perna, Hindu Across Countries (ROP3 - 113342) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
PernaPG049089PernaIndia3,300Engaged yet UnreachedHaryanviFolk 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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