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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Shaikh (Telugu) of India

The Shaikh (Telugu) of India, numbering approximately 1,180,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a large socio-religious community of India. Shaiks are Muslim communities who claim descent from Arab settlers or early Islamic migrants or traders and who adopted the title "Shaikh" as a mark of status or identity. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Telugu is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash: Telugu Shaikh

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: India
People Cluster: Shaikh
Primary Language(s): Telugu (tel)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 1,180,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, Concentrated CP Activity
People Group ID: PG046186

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Pray for the Shaikh (Telugu) 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!
Download Prayer Guide

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

99%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Telugu
Language Family: Dravidian

100%
%
Telugu Speakers

Media Resources in Telugu:

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

4 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Telugu:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Contemporary Version✓
Contemporary Version - LUMO Christmas Film✓
Contemporary Version - LUMO Easter Film✓
Easy to Read Version✓✓
Grace Ministries✓✓

5 entries

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Telugu bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Shaikh (Telugu) 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 Shaikh (Telugu):
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 Shaikh (Telugu) of India

"...And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold." As he said these things, he called out, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
readLuke 8:8

Pray that the seeds of truth will take root in the hearts of those who are far from Jesus and that He will lead them from darkness to light.

And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, "In you shall all the nations be blessed"
readGalatians 3:8

Ask the Lord to fulfill His promise to Abraham that all nations would be blessed by advancing the gospel to every people group who has yet to receive it.

And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
readActs 2:46-47

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be devoted to the teaching of God's Word, to fellowship with one another, and to prayer.

In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
readEphesians 1:13-14

Pray that God will work through believers near and far in bringing the lost to Himself, giving them what they need to do the task He has set before them, and helping them rest in Him because He has given them His Spirit.

Shaikh (Telugu) Across Countries (ROP3 - 116704) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group ID ▼NameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Shaikh (Telugu)PG046186Shaikh (Telugu)India1,180,000Engaged yet UnreachedTeluguSunni Islam

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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