The Pawaria of India

The Pawaria of India, numbering approximately 70,500 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Muslim community of Madhubani, Darbhanga, and Samastipur districts, Bihar, tracing descent from the Pamara Rajput, traditionally singing at childbirth celebrations. Petty trade and wage labor have largely replaced this custom. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Urdu is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: India
People Cluster: Urdu
Primary Language(s): Urdu (urd)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 70,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG041736
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Pawaria 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: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

100%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Urdu
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Urdu Speakers

Media Resources in Urdu:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film
The SaviorView Film
The SaviorView Film

4 films

Bible Resources in Urdu:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Easy-to-Read Version✓✓
Geo Version✓✓
Geo Version✓✓
Geo Version✓✓
Pakistan Bible Society✓
Revised✓

6 entries

Or check out the Urdu bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Pawaria 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 Pawaria:
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 Pawaria of India

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
readRomans 6:23

Pray that those who do know about God's free gift will hear and believe that the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord and that they will joyfully accept this gift.

O LORD, how manifold are your works! In wisdom have you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.
readPsalm 104:24

Pray that they will see the wisdom and power of God in His creation and praise Him for His mighty works.

I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.
readJohn 10:28

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will have assurance of eternal life, knowing that no one can snatch them out of the loving hand of Jesus.

Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. But others said, “We will hear you again about this.”
readActs 17:32

Ask God to give those He sends to cross cultures wisdom and discernment as they engage in spiritual conversations with those who are curious about the gospel.

Pawaria, Muslim Across Countries (ROP3 - 113103) 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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