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The Teli (Tamil) of India

The Teli (Tamil) of India, numbering approximately 266,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a large occupational caste/community of South Asia, historically known as oil pressers and oil traders. Their name comes from a Hindi word meaning oil, reflecting their traditional work of extracting vegetable oil using bullock‑driven wooden presses. They mostly adhere to Hinduism and Tamil is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: India
People Cluster: Teli
Primary Language(s): Tamil (tam)
Primary Religion(s): Hinduism
Population: 266,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG046232

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Pray for the Teli (Tamil) 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: Tamil
Language Family: Dravidian

100%
%
Tamil Speakers

Media Resources in Tamil:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film
The SaviorView Film

3 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Tamil:

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

6 entries

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Tamil bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Teli (Tamil) 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 Teli (Tamil):
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 Teli (Tamil) of India

Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.
readIsaiah 45:22

Pray for many lost people to turn to the Lord, finding forgiveness and salvation in Him, for He is the only way to true life and restoration.

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.

Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.
readLuke 18:17

Pray that as people trust in Christ, they will have simple, childlike confidence that He will provide for their needs.

Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves.
readLuke 10:3

Ask God to raise up and send humble believers who will depend on Him as they go out like lambs among wolves to share the good news with those who need to hear it.

Teli (Tamil) Across Countries (ROP3 - 116780) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountry ▲PopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Teli (Tamil)PG046232Teli (Tamil)India266,000Engaged yet UnreachedTamilHinduism

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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