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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Machhiyara of India

The Machhiyara of India, numbering approximately 190,000 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are an indigenous community of India and can also be known as Macchiyara, Machiyar, Mahigir Machhera, Machhi. They are an Indigenous people, in the Gujarati people cluster of the South Asian Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Islam - Sunni. They primarily speak Kacchi.

Machhiyara in India photo
Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Copyrighted ©️ 2025 Yousuf Manjothi - Shutterstock Used with permission

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: India
People Cluster: Gujarati
Primary Language(s): Kacchi (kfr)
Primary Religion(s): Islam - Sunni
Population: 190,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG048180
View on Joshua Project

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Islam - Sunni
Religious Affiliation: Islam

%
Islam - Sunni Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Kacchi
Language Family: Indo-European

%
Kacchi Speakers

Media Resources in Kacchi:

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Kacchi:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Kacchi bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Next steps for the Machhiyara

The Machhiyara are Unengaged and Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

Next steps for the Machhiyara

The Machhiyara 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.

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

Next steps for the Machhiyara

The Machhiyara are No Longer Unreached, which means there are more than 2% evangelical Christian populations and there are churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. There is still more to be done among them.

Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Machhiyara of India

Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
readJohn 3:18

Pray for those who are living under the burden of their sin to believe in Jesus, the only Son of God, and receive freedom.

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.
readPsalm 19:1-2

Pray that the lost will see the glory of God revealed in the heavens, that they will hear the good news, and that their hearts will be softened to respond to God’s call, turning to Him in repentance and faith in Jesus Christ for salvation.

And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven."
readMatthew 16:17

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will abide in Him and have assurance that He is the Christ, the Son of the Living God.

And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.
readMatthew 10:14-15

Pray for God to raise up and send out believers to share the gospel with those in this people group who do not yet follow Christ. Pray that they will be welcomed with open arms so that the people they share with will hear and receive the good news with joy.

Machhi, Muslim (ROP3 - 113052) reported in the following countries:

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 Definitions page.

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