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Chinese (Traditional) - 中文（繁體) | French - Français
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The Patelia of India

The Patelia of India, numbering approximately 167,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are 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 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

Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.
read1 John 3:8

Pray for those living in darkness to recognize the destructive power of sin and the victory Christ has won over it.

If I ascend to heaven, you are there. If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
readPsalm 139:8

Pray that the lost will recognize God's presence with them wherever they go, put their faith in Christ, and seek to live in a way that honors and glorifies Him.

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
readPsalm 51:10

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will quickly repent when they sin and walk with clean hearts and right spirits as they grow in their relationship with the Lord.

Oh give thanks to the LORD; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples!
readPsalm 105:1

Pray that many among them will call on the name of Jesus, develop a heart for the nations, and go to places where the gospel has not yet been received.

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

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group ID ▲NameCountryPopulationStrategic 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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