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The Halwai of India

The Halwai of India, numbering approximately 1,925,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an occupational caste found across Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, whose name derives from halwa, the sweet they traditionally make and sell. The Halwai were historically employed by Muslim rulers and feudal courts. They mostly adhere to Hinduism and Maithili is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: India
People Cluster: Bihari
Primary Language(s): Maithili (mai)
Primary Religion(s): Hinduism
Population: 1,925,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, Concentrated CP Activity
People Group ID: PG041337
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Pray for the Halwai 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: Hinduism
Religious Affiliation: Hinduism

100%
%
Hinduism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Maithili
Language Family: Indo-European

50%
%
Maithili Speakers

Media Resources in Maithili:

Films:
Title Link
JESUS View Film
JESUS View Film

2 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Maithili:

Bible Name (Translation) Video Audio Text
Wycliffe Bible Tranlsators, Inc. ✓ ✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Maithili bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Halwai 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 Halwai:
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 Halwai of India

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.

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise).
readEphesians 6:1-2

Pray that God will bring young men and women to faith in Jesus and that the fruit of their faith will be a powerful testimony as they honor their parents.

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
readRomans 8:38-39

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will have confidence in their salvation, knowing that nothing can separate them from the One who conquered death and loves them as His children.

And Jesus said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men." And immediately they left their nets and followed him.
readMark 1:17-18

Pray that God will raise up believers from this place and/or other cultures nearby to proclaim the gospel to those who desperately need to encounter it.

Halwai, Hindu Across Countries (ROP3 - 112199) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index

All

2 people groups

Photo People Group ID Name Country Population ▲ Strategic Progress Index Language Religion
Haluwai PG049127 Haluwai Nepal 88,500 Engaged yet Unreached Nepali (individual language) Hinduism
Halwai PG041337 Halwai India 1,925,000 Engaged yet Unreached Maithili 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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