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The Holeya of India

The Holeya of India, numbering approximately 985,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a scheduled caste indigenous to the India state of Karnataka, traditionally involved in agriculture, labor, and skilled crafts like blacksmithing, carpentry, and pottery. They mostly adhere to Hinduism and Kannada is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3 Flash: Holeya

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: India
People Cluster: Kanarese
Primary Language(s): Kannada (kan)
Primary Religion(s): Hinduism
Population: 985,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG041392
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Pray for the Holeya 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:
Title Link
JESUS View Film
JESUS View Film
Magdalena View Film

3 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Kannada:

Bible Name (Translation) Video Audio Text
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 Holeya 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 Holeya:
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 Holeya of India

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
readMatthew 28:16-20

Pray that those who don't yet know Him will encounter the risen Savior and be transformed by the power of His resurrection, becoming disciples who make disciples.

After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, “Follow me.” And leaving everything, he rose and followed him.
readLuke 5:27-28

Prat that God will prepare many hearts to meet Him when He says, “Follow Me!” and that they will respond in faith, leaving everything behind to follow Him.

And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition!"
readMark 7:9

Pray that as men, women, boys, and girls place their faith in Christ, they will let go of any traditions that do not honor Him.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
readJohn 3:16

Pray that God will send and sustain believers to cross cultures and share the gospel with the lost. Ask that He will give them His heart for the lost and that many will believe in Him and not perish but have eternal life.

Holeya Across Countries (ROP3 - 114454) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index

All

1 people group

Photo People Group ID Name Country Population ▲ Strategic Progress Index Language Religion
Holeya PG041392 Holeya India 985,000 Engaged yet Unreached Kannada 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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