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The Karmali of India

The Karmali of India, numbering approximately 87,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a small indigenous tribal community of eastern India, traditionally known as artisan blacksmiths and ironworkers. They are most closely associated with the Chotanagpur Plateau region, especially in Jharkhand, where they are recognized as a Scheduled Tribe. They mostly adhere to Folk Hinduism and Maithili is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: India
People Cluster: Munda-Santal
Primary Language(s): Maithili (mai)
Primary Religion(s): Folk Hinduism
Population: 87,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG041834
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Pray for the Karmali 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.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Folk Hinduism
Religious Affiliation: Hinduism

95%
%
Folk Hinduism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Maithili
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Maithili Speakers

Media Resources in Maithili:

Films:
Title Link
JESUS View Film
JESUS View Film

2 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Maithili:

Bible Name (Translation) Video Audio Text
Wycliffe Bible Tranlsators, Inc. ✓ ✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Maithili bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Karmali 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 Karmali:
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 Karmali of India

The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.
readPsalm 9:9-10

Pray that God will help those who are oppressed and without hope to hear the good news of Jesus and trust in Him, for He has never forsaken those who seek Him.

Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear.
readMatthew 13:8-9

Pray that they will have open hearts and minds to the Word of God, and that it will take root in their lives and bear fruit for His glory.

Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice!
readPsalm 105:3

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will glory in His holy name and that their hearts will rejoice.

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
readRevelation 7:9-10

Pray that the promise in Revelation 7:9-10 will encourage believers from among them or from nearby people groups to share the gospel with people who have never learned it.

Karmali Across Countries (ROP3 - 112444) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index

All

1 people group

Photo People Group ID Name Country Population ▼ Strategic Progress Index Language Religion
Karmali PG041834 Karmali India 87,000 Engaged yet Unreached Maithili Folk 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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