The Manipuri of Bangladesh

The Manipuri of Bangladesh, numbering approximately 43,500 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 Tibetan / Himalayan Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Hinduism. They primarily speak Meitei.

Meithei in United States photo
Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Copyrighted ©️ 2025 Isudas Used with permission

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Asian Pacific Peoples
Country: Bangladesh
People Cluster: Manipuri
Primary Language(s): Meitei (mni)
Primary Religion(s): Hinduism
Population: 43,500
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

I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; I equip you, though you do not know me, that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the LORD, and there is no other.
readIsaiah 45:5-6

Pray that the lost among them will be delivered from the confusion of false beliefs and come to know the one true God who alone brings light and purpose to their lives.

For your steadfast love is great to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds.
readPsalm 57:10

Pray that God will work, even in the hearts of hard-to-reach people, and that they will rejoice in His steadfast love and faithfulness.

Jesus said, ‘Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.
readMark 10:29-30

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will know that when they make sacrifices to follow Jesus, He is there with them and will bless them abundantly in this life and in the life to come.

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
read2 Corinthians 5:21

Pray that Christians will cross cultures and share the hope of Christ, and that many will trust the One who took their sins and offers them His righteousness.

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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