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The Watal of India

The Watal of India, numbering approximately 250 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Scheduled Caste of the Kashmir valley, also called Batel or Sheikh, their name recalling the broomstick they traditionally carried. Shoe-mending, labor, and industrial work remain common, and they follow Sunni Islam. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Kashmiri is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: India
People Cluster: Kashmiri
Primary Language(s): Kashmiri (kas)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 250
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG049375
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Pray for the Watal 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: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

100%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Kashmiri
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Kashmiri Speakers

Media Resources in Kashmiri:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

2 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Kashmiri:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Kashmiri bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Watal 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 Watal:
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 Watal of India

For with the LORD there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption.
readPsalm 130:7b

Pray for those who are unaware of God's steadfast love that is offered to them through Jesus Christ to learn the truth and experience His plentiful redemption.

And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed. And the word of the Lord was spreading throughout the whole region.
readActs 13:48-49

Pray that the gospel will spread throughout this whole region and that many will believe and embrace the gift of eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ.

We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
readRomans 6:4

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, God will lead those who might hesitate in getting baptized to trust Him as they obey His command, even when obedience is hard.

And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.
readMatthew 7:28-29

Pray that God will remind believers that they have His authority as they share His truth with the lost, and pray He will draw crowds of people to this message and plant it deeply in their hearts.

Wattal, Muslim Across Countries (ROP3 - 113880) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
WatalPG049375WatalIndia250No Longer UnreachedKashmiriSunni Islam

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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