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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Cheeta of India

The Cheeta of India, numbering approximately 18,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as a Marwari-speaking agricultural community of Rajasthan concentrated in a small cluster of villages near Ajmer. They call themselves Cheeta Thakur, tracing their name to Cheeta Khan, and include both Hindu and Muslim sections They are an Indigenous people, with Cheeta Thakur as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Rajput people cluster of the South Asian Peoples. They mostly adhere to Hinduism and Marwari (India) is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: India
People Cluster: Rajput
Primary Language(s): Marwari (India) (rwr)
Primary Religion(s): Hinduism
Population: 18,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG049870

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Pray for the Cheeta 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

99%
%
Hinduism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Marwari (India)
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Marwari (India) Speakers

Media Resources in Marwari (India):

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Marwari (India):

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Marwari (India) bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Cheeta 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 Cheeta:
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 Cheeta of India

But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.
readIsaiah 59:2

Pray that those who are separated from God will turn to Him in humility and repentance, seeking His forgiveness and the restoration of a right relationship with their Heavenly Father.

And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.
readIsaiah 30:21

As the lost in this people group seek to know the truth of who God is, pray that the Spirit of God will draw them to Himself and guide them in the way they should go.

Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.
readColossians 4:2

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving, as they bring needs before the Lord.

The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.
readJohn 1:9-10

Pray for those God might send to share the gospel here. Ask that they will grow closer to Jesus and be compelled to share His good news with people who don't know it.

Cheeta Thakur Across Countries (ROP3 - 118910) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
CheetaPG049870CheetaIndia18,000Engaged yet UnreachedMarwari (India)Hinduism

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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