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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Patelia of India

The Patelia of India, numbering approximately 167,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as a Bhil-related Adivasi community of western India, concentrated in Gujarat and neighboring states, speaking Gujarati, Bhili, and related languages and traditionally practicing settled agriculture and clan-based social organization They are an Indigenous people, with Patelia as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the South Asian Tribal people cluster of the South Asian Peoples. They mostly adhere to Folk Hinduism and Gujarati is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: India
People Cluster: South Asian Tribal
Primary Language(s): Gujarati (guj)
Primary Religion(s): Folk Hinduism
Population: 167,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG041717
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Pray for the Patelia 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: Folk Hinduism
Religious Affiliation: Hinduism

98%
%
Folk Hinduism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Gujarati
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Gujarati Speakers

Media Resources in Gujarati:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

3 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Gujarati:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
1997 Bible League International✓
Gujarati New India Bible✓

2 entries

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Gujarati bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Patelia 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 Patelia:
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 Patelia of India

And he said to them, "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many."
readMark 14:23-24

Pray for those who may have heard the gospel but have not yet submitted their lives to Christ, that they will finally see the sacrifice which He made for them and surrender their lives to Him.

...And that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
readLuke 24:47

Pray that the message of repentance and forgiveness through Jesus will reach everyone.

I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.
readMatthew 25:36

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will honor Jesus and find joy as they take care of those in need.

But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.
readJohn 1:12

Pray that believers will have the opportunity to clearly share the good news with the lost here, so that all people can be invited to trust in Jesus and become children of God.

Patelia Across Countries (ROP3 - 113331) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
PateliaPG041717PateliaIndia167,000Engaged yet UnreachedGujaratiFolk 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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