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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Dhoba (Maithili) of India

The Dhoba (Maithili) of India, numbering approximately 963,000 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 Hinduism and Maithili is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite: Dhoba (Maithili)

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: India
People Cluster: Dhobi
Primary Language(s): Maithili (mai)
Primary Religion(s): Hinduism
Population: 963,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG047919

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Pray for the Dhoba (Maithili) 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: Hinduism
Religious Affiliation: Hinduism

99%
%
Hinduism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Maithili
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Maithili Speakers

Media Resources in Maithili:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
JESUSView Film

2 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Maithili:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Wycliffe Bible Tranlsators, Inc.✓✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Maithili bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Dhoba (Maithili) 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 Dhoba (Maithili):
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 Dhoba (Maithili) of India

But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.
read1 Timothy 6:9

Pray for those, rich and poor, who have put their trust in worldly things, and ask that they will be honest with themselves, acknowledge their need for God and turn to Him.

Sing to God, sing praises to his name; lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts; his name is the LORD; exult before him!
readPsalm 68:4

Pray that many will come to faith in Christ and share the gospel with others so that His salvation will be known among all nations.

Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually!
readPsalm 105:4

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ and may feel weak in their current circumstances, they will seek the Lord's presence and persevere in the Lord's strength.

For the needy shall not always be forgotten, and the hope of the poor shall not perish forever.
readPsalm 9:18

Pray that God will raise up believers who can help meet emotional and physical needs among this people group. Ask Him to open doors for them and give them the courage to walk into difficult situations and share the hope of the gospel boldly.

Dhobi (Maithili) Across Countries (ROP3 - 116444) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDName ▲CountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Dhoba (Maithili)PG047919Dhoba (Maithili)India963,000Engaged yet UnreachedMaithiliHinduism

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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