People group profile · PG041416
The Sondhi of India
The Sondhi of India, numbering about 727,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Hindu agricultural caste in central India that claims descent from Rajputs but is generally considered an OBC (intermediate) community, historically transitioning from minor warrior groups to peasant farmers.
They are an indigenous people in the Rajasthani people cluster of the South Asian Peoples. Their primary religion is Hinduism, and they primarily speak Malvi.

Fast facts
- Country
- India
- Population
- 727,000
- Affinity group
- South Asian Peoples
- People cluster
- Rajasthani
- Primary language
- Malvi (mup)
- Primary religion
- Hinduism
- Strategic Progress Index ?
- Engaged yet Unreached
- Evangelical
- No Known Evangelicals
- GSEC ?
- Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
- Lostness priority ?
- Frontier Unreached People Group
- Region
- Southern Asia, Asia
- Location
- Madhya Pradesh: Bhopal, Dewas, Dhar, Guna, Indore, Mandsaur, Nimuch, Rajgarh, Rathlam, Sehore, Shajapur, and Ujjain districts; Rajasthan: Jhalawar district. Sondwari dialect geographically isolated from the others
Where they live
Gospel status
The Sondhi are Engaged yet Unreached, which means fewer than 2% are evangelical Christians, but there are sustained efforts to establish self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. In GSEC terms, this people group is less than 2% evangelical, some evangelical resources are available, but there has been no active church planting among them within the past two years.
- Congregations exist No
- Church planting in the last two years No Churches Planted
Next steps for the Sondhi
- 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
Gospel resources in Malvi
- Bible available, published 2015
- JESUS Film available
- Radio programs not available
- Gospel recordings available
- Audio resources available
- Bible stories available
Films
- JESUS (Malvi)
Bibles
- 2012 Malvoday and New Life Literature (वर्जन नाम – मालवोदय) · video, audio, text
Find more at the JESUS Film Project, Bible.com and Faith Comes by Hearing.
Pray for the Sondhi
- Ephesians 5:8. Pray that those walking in darkness will turn to the light and live as children of light.
- Romans 10:14–15. Ask God to send messengers, so that people can hear, believe and call on the name of the Lord.
- Matthew 9:37–38. Ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest field.
- 2 Timothy 2:2. Pray for faithful local leaders who will teach others, so that the church multiplies.
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