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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Gowda of India

The Gowda of India, numbering approximately 1,300,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a community label used in South India—especially Karnataka—for land‑holding agricultural communities, village leaders, and related groups. In Karnataka and parts of Tamil Nadu, 'Gowda' most commonly refers to members of the Vokkaliga community. They mostly adhere to Hinduism and Kannada is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: India
People Cluster: Kanarese
Primary Language(s): Kannada (kan)
Primary Religion(s): Hinduism
Population: 1,300,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, Concentrated CP Activity
People Group ID: PG041390

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Pray for the Gowda 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.

Pray Now!
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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Hinduism
Religious Affiliation: Hinduism

99%
%
Hinduism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Kannada
Language Family: Dravidian

100%
%
Kannada Speakers

Media Resources in Kannada:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

3 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Kannada:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Easy-to-Read Version✓✓
Indian Revised Version✓✓
Kannada Contemporary Translation✓

3 entries

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Kannada bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Gowda 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 Gowda:
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 Gowda of India

Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God's kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off.
readRomans 11:22

Pray that God will transform those who persist in unbelief and, in His everlasting kindness, graft them into His family.

And many nations shall join themselves to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people. And I will dwell in your midst, and you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you.
readZechariah 2:11

Pray that many will take refuge in the Lord and be His people who share the good news of salvation in Jesus with others.

I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the LORD sustained me. I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around.
readPsalm 3:5-6

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ and experience isolation or other persecution, God will sustain them and give them confidence and rest in Him.

For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, “‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’”
readActs 13:47

Pray that as people come to faith, they will follow the Lord's leading to go to their neighbors and share the treasure they found in Christ.

Gowda Across Countries (ROP3 - 115664) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▲Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
GowdaPG041390GowdaIndia1,300,000Engaged yet UnreachedKannadaHinduism

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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