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The Watal of India

The Watal of India, numbering approximately 250 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Scheduled Caste of the Kashmir valley, also called Batel or Sheikh, their name recalling the broomstick they traditionally carried. Shoe-mending, labor, and industrial work remain common, and they follow Sunni Islam. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Kashmiri is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: India
People Cluster: Kashmiri
Primary Language(s): Kashmiri (kas)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 250
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG049375
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Pray for the Watal 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: Kashmiri
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Kashmiri Speakers

Media Resources in Kashmiri:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

2 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Kashmiri:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Kashmiri bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Watal 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 Watal:
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 Watal of India

For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.
readEphesians 5:8

Pray that those who are lost will turn from the darkness they are walking in and embrace the light, becoming children of light who bear fruit in every good work.

Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
readPsalm 34:8

Pray that the gospel will advance and that many will have the opportunity to taste and see the goodness of God and entrust their lives to Him.

I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope.
readPsalm 130:5

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will wait on the Lord and have patience and trust, knowing His ways and His timing are always perfect.

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
readRevelation 7:9-10

Pray that the promise in Revelation 7:9-10 will encourage believers from among them or from nearby people groups to share the gospel with people who have never learned it.

Wattal, Muslim Across Countries (ROP3 - 113880) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▲Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
WatalPG049375WatalIndia250No Longer UnreachedKashmiriSunni 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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