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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Mahratta (Khandeshi) of India

The Mahratta (Khandeshi) of India, numbering approximately 604,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as an agrarian and warrior community of western India whose historical importance derives from the rise of the Maratha state and empire, and whose modern identity combines agriculture, regional pride, political influence, and Hindu traditions They are an Indigenous people, with Maratha as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Marathi-Konkani people cluster of the South Asian Peoples. They mostly adhere to Hinduism and Khandesi is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: India
People Cluster: Marathi-Konkani
Primary Language(s): Khandesi (khn)
Primary Religion(s): Hinduism
Population: 604,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG046082

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Pray for the Mahratta (Khandeshi) 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: Hinduism
Religious Affiliation: Hinduism

99%
%
Hinduism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Khandesi
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Khandesi Speakers

Media Resources in Khandesi:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
JESUSView Film

2 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Khandesi:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Khandesi bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Mahratta (Khandeshi) 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 Mahratta (Khandeshi):
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 Mahratta (Khandeshi) of India

For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the LORD made the heavens.
readPsalm 96:5

Pray that those who are seeking after worthless idols will not be satisfied until they seek the truth and find it in Christ.

But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.
readMark 4:20

Pray that those who have never encountered the gospel will have the opportunity to receive it, and that it will fall on good soil and bear much fruit.

In God, whose word I praise, in the LORD, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?
readPsalm 56:10-11

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will trust in the Lord's promises, knowing that He will uphold them with His righteous right hand.

And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”
readRomans 10:15

Pray that God will call many believers who will obediently go and share the gospel with those who desperately need it.

Mahratta (Khandesi) Across Countries (ROP3 - 116798) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Mahratta (Khandeshi)PG046082Mahratta (Khandeshi)India604,000Engaged yet UnreachedKhandesiHinduism

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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