The Gangawar of India

The Gangawar of India, numbering approximately 469,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Tamil Nadu community also known as Boya and Oddar, whose name derives from ganga, meaning water, traditionally engaged in digging wells and tanks, brick-making, and masonry alongside settled cultivation. They mostly adhere to Hinduism and Telugu is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: India
People Cluster: Telugu
Primary Language(s): Telugu (tel)
Primary Religion(s): Hinduism
Population: 469,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG049879

Pray for the Gangawar 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: Telugu
Language Family: Dravidian

100%
%
Telugu Speakers

Media Resources in Telugu:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film
The SaviorView Film

4 films

Bible Resources in Telugu:

Or check out the Telugu bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Gangawar 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 Gangawar:
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 Gangawar of India

In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
read1 John 4:10

Pray for those without the hope of Christ to understand the depth of God's love and the sacrifice He made for them.

The LORD watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.
readPsalm 146:9

Pray for God to watch over people, wherever they are, and cause them to meet believers who will share the gospel with them clearly and lovingly.

How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word.
readPsalm 119:9

Pray that as young men place their faith in Jesus, they will walk in purity and live according to God's Word.

But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.
read2 Corinthians 3:16

Give thanks to God for believers around the world who are willing to cross cultures to share the gospel with those who are perishing. Pray that He will work through their witness to draw many to turn to Him.

Gangawar Across Countries (ROP3 - 118642) 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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