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The Shaikh (Punjabi) of India

The Shaikh (Punjabi) of India, numbering approximately 732,000 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 Panjabi is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: India
People Cluster: Shaikh
Primary Language(s): Panjabi (pan)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 732,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG046191

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Pray for the Shaikh (Punjabi) 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: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

99%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Panjabi
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Punjabi, Eastern Speakers

Media Resources in Panjabi:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film
The SaviorView Film

3 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Panjabi:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2000 Bible League International✓
Indian Revised Version✓✓

2 entries

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Panjabi bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Shaikh (Punjabi) 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 (Punjabi):
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 (Punjabi) of India

I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me.
readProverbs 8:17

As many search for hope, pray they will discover materials that will lead them to Jesus and explain the gospel in a way they will resonate with.

Then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.
readGenesis 2:7

Pray that Christians will be able to share the hope of Christ with suffering people and that He will breathe new life into their souls.

I will sing of the steadfast love of the Lord, forever; with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations.
readPsalm 89:1

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will declare and record His faithfulness and love to be passed on from generation to generation.

And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life.”
readLuke 18:29-30

Pray that God will raise up people to go and share the gospel and help them trust His promise that anyone who has left those they treasure for the sake of the kingdom of God will receive many times more in this life and in the life to come.

Shaikh (Panjabi) Across Countries (ROP3 - 116701) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▲Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Shaikh (Punjabi)PG046191Shaikh (Punjabi)India732,000Engaged yet UnreachedPanjabiSunni Islam
Shaikh (Punjabi)PG046189Shaikh (Punjabi)Pakistan1,775,000Engaged yet UnreachedWestern PanjabiSunni 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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