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The Dhobi (Awadhi) of India

The Dhobi (Awadhi) of India, numbering approximately 705,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a traditional washer (laundry) community of South Asia, best known historically for washing clothes for households, temples, armies, and towns. They are a caste‑based occupational group, found across India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Awadhi is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: India
People Cluster: Dhobi
Primary Language(s): Awadhi (awa)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 705,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, Dispersed CP Activity
People Group ID: PG047913

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Pray for the Dhobi (Awadhi) 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: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

100%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Awadhi
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Awadhi Speakers

Media Resources in Awadhi:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

3 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Awadhi:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Easy-to-Read Version✓✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Awadhi bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Dhobi (Awadhi) 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 Dhobi (Awadhi):
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 Dhobi (Awadhi) of India

How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?
readRomans 10:14

Pray that those who haven't heard will hear the Word of Christ and believe in Him, calling upon the name of the Lord to be saved.

...And that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
readLuke 24:47

Pray that the message of repentance and forgiveness through Jesus will reach everyone.

You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance.
readPsalm 32:7

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will remember that God is their hiding place and that He will preserve them in the midst of trials.

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.

Dhobi (Awadhi) Across Countries (ROP3 - 116438) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDName ▼CountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Dhobi (Awadhi)PG047913Dhobi (Awadhi)India705,000Engaged yet UnreachedAwadhiSunni 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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