The Thanga of India

The Thanga of India, numbering approximately 112,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a lake-dwelling community of Loktak Lake's foothills in Manipur, settled since the sixteenth-century reign of Maharaja Khagingamba. Fishing remains their livelihood, alongside gathering wild produce. They mostly adhere to Hinduism and Manipuri is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Himalayan Peoples
Country: India
People Cluster: Manipuri
Primary Language(s): Manipuri (mni)
Primary Religion(s): Hinduism
Population: 112,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, Concentrated CP Activity
People Group ID: PG049545

Pray for the Thanga 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.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Hinduism
Religious Affiliation: Hinduism

99%
%
Hinduism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Manipuri
Language Family: Sino-Tibetan

100%
%
Meitei Speakers

Media Resources in Manipuri:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

2 films

Bible Resources in Manipuri:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2019 Bibles International✓

1 entry

Or check out the Manipuri bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Thanga 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 Thanga:
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 Thanga of India

We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
readRomans 6:4

Pray that those who need to surrender their lives to Christ will confess their sins and trust in Him, being united with Him in His death and resurrection, walking in newness of life.

And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.
readActs 6:7

Pray that the Word of God will be increasingly available to these people in ways they will resonate with so that all may have a chance to respond to the good news of Jesus Christ.

Praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
readActs 2:47

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, God will use their faith and their church community as a testimony to the watching world and grow His Church.

Let them praise his name with dancing, making melody to him with tambourine and lyre!
readPsalm 149:3

Pray that God will send His people across cultures to share the gospel so that those who don't yet know the truth about Him might praise His name and share the hope of Christ with others.

Thanga Across Countries (ROP3 - 117752) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

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