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The Balmiki (Pahari) of India

The Balmiki (Pahari) of India, numbering approximately 133,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Dalit community whose modern identity is strongly tied to devotion to Sage Valmiki and to efforts toward social dignity, education, and upward mobility despite a history of caste-based marginalization. They mostly adhere to Hinduism and Garhwali is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite: Balmiki (Pahari)

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: India
People Cluster: Valmiki
Primary Language(s): Garhwali (gbm)
Primary Religion(s): Hinduism
Population: 133,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 10% or Greater Evangelical
People Group ID: PG048196

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Pray for the Balmiki (Pahari) 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

75%
%
Hinduism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Garhwali
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Garhwali Speakers

Media Resources in Garhwali:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Garhwali:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2018 Edition✓✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Garhwali bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Balmiki (Pahari) 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.

Next steps for the Balmiki (Pahari):
Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Balmiki (Pahari) of India

But Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven"
readMatthew 9:14

Pray that those who are spiritually dead will recognize their need for spiritual nourishment and turn to the One who offers true fulfillment.

Behold, you shall call a nation that you do not know, and a nation that did not know you shall run to you, because of the LORD your God, and of the Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified you.
readIsaiah 55:5

Pray that those who do not know God will access the gospel, run to Him, and discover that He is the one their souls have been longing for.

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
readPhilippians 2:5-7

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will imitate His humility in all they do.

He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him.
readJohn 1:7

Pray that God will raise up witnesses to testify about Jesus so that all might believe, knowing that He is light and in Him there is no darkness at all.

Balmiki (Garhwali) Across Countries (ROP3 - 117039) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▲Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Balmiki (Pahari)PG048196Balmiki (Pahari)India133,000No Longer UnreachedGarhwaliHinduism

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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