The Panara of India

The Panara of India, numbering approximately 28,500 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a community of Bastar district in Madhya Pradesh also called Marar, tracing migration from Koshalpur roughly five generations ago. Vegetable-growing and agriculture remain their occupations and they worship the goddess Danteswari. They mostly adhere to Hinduism and Halbi is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: India
People Cluster: Marathi-Konkani
Primary Language(s): Halbi (hlb)
Primary Religion(s): Hinduism
Population: 28,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG049819

Pray for the Panara 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: Halbi
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Halbi Speakers

Media Resources in Halbi:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Halbi:

Or check out the Halbi bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Panara 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 Panara:
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 Panara of India

For the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost.
readLuke 19:10

Pray that those who are lost will respond to the One who came to seek and save the lost, and experience the joy of being found.

Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises!
readPsalm 47:6

Pray that believers will have a heart to invite others to trust in Christ alone so that they might sing praises to His name.

Remember your mercy, O LORD, and your steadfast love, for they have been from of old.
readPsalm 25:6

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will remember the merciful nature and steadfast love of God as they walk with Him daily.

For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.
readRomans 12:4-5

Ask God to send believers to people in other cultures and to help them use their gifts in harmony with others so that the body of Christ may be built up.

Panara Across Countries (ROP3 - 118974) 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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