The Chero of India

The Chero of India, numbering approximately 177,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a historically prominent cultivating community of east Uttar Pradesh and Bihar whose name derives from chera, meaning snake. The Chero once ruled a kingdom across the Gangetic plain and today practice settled agriculture. They mostly adhere to Folk Hinduism and Sadri is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: India
People Cluster: South Asian Tribal
Primary Language(s): Sadri (sck)
Primary Religion(s): Folk Hinduism
Population: 177,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG041724
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Chero 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.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Folk Hinduism
Religious Affiliation: Hinduism

80%
%
Folk Hinduism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Sadri
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Sadri Speakers

Media Resources in Sadri:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Sadri:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Indian Evangelical Mission✓
Indian Evangelical Mission✓✓✓

2 entries

Or check out the Sadri bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Chero 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 Chero:
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 Chero of India

The LORD has heard my plea; the LORD accepts my prayer.
readPsalm 6:9

Pray that lost people will hear the gospel and place their faith in Christ, knowing that He hears their plea and accepts their prayer.

And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us.
readActs 17:26-27

Pray that the lost will seek God and find Him, for He is not far from each one of us. Pray that they will have opportunities to access the gospel, learn God's purpose for their lives, and believe in Him.

Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
readRomans 5:2

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will rejoice in the hope of glory and be in awe of God's mercy that gives them access to Him through faith.

O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.
readPsalm 8:1

Pray that God will raise up people who love Him and are able and willing to go to and share the hope of the gospel with those who don't know it. Pray that everyone will see His name as majestic in all the earth!

Chero Across Countries (ROP3 - 111778) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

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