The Manipuri of Bangladesh

The Manipuri of Bangladesh, numbering approximately 44,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a tribal ethnic group indigenous to the state of Manipur in northeast India and the Sylhet District of northeastern Bangladesh. They are an Indigenous people, in the Manipuri people cluster of the Himalayan Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Hinduism. They primarily speak Meitei.

Meithei in United States photo
Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash: Manipuri

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Asian Pacific Rim Peoples
Country: Bangladesh
People Cluster: Manipuri
Primary Language(s): Meitei (mni)
Primary Religion(s): Hinduism
Population: 44,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG001188
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Manipuri of Bangladesh

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

%
Hinduism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Meitei
Language Family: Sino-Tibetan

%
Meitei Speakers

Bible Resources in Meitei:

Or check out the Meitei bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

Next steps for the Manipuri

The Manipuri are Unengaged and Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

Next steps for the Manipuri

The Manipuri 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.

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

Next steps for the Manipuri

The Manipuri 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.

Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Manipuri of Bangladesh

And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.
readExodus 14:22

Pray that the God who split the sea so that the Israelites might pass through would do another great work among these people, softening the hearts of those who remain lost to the good news and saving them from their sins.

Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness; tremble before him, all the earth!
readPsalm 96:9

Pray that many who do not yet know Jesus will come to know Him and worship Him in the splendor of His holiness.

For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
read2 Corinthians 12:10

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will embrace their weaknesses, hardships, and difficulties, having hope because Christ's power is made perfect in their weakness.

May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations.
readPsalm 67:1-2

Pray that as God blesses believers from among this people group or from nearby cultures, He will raise them up to share His saving power among the nations.

Meitei, Manipuri Hindu (ROP3 - 106268) reported in the following countries:

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 Definitions page.

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