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People group profile · PG041607

The Irular of India

The Irular of India, numbering about 272,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic community of India.

They are an indigenous people in the South Asian Tribal people cluster of the South Asian Peoples. Their primary religion is Folk Hinduism, and they primarily speak Tamil.

Pray for the IrularPrint profile

AI-generated illustration representing the Irular people
AI-generated illustration, not a photograph. Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite: Irular

Fast facts

Country
India
Population
272,000
Affinity group
South Asian Peoples
People cluster
South Asian Tribal
Primary language
Tamil (tam)
Primary religion
Folk Hinduism
Strategic Progress Index ?
Engaged yet Unreached
Evangelical
Less than 2%
GSEC ?
Less than 2% Evangelical, Concentrated CP Activity
Lostness priority ?
Expanding Unreached People Group
Region
Southern Asia, Asia
Location
Kerala: Palakkad district, Attapady and Walayar sub-districts; Tamil Nadu: Coimbatore, Nilgiri, Periyar districts; Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka states

Where they live

Gospel status

The Irular 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 but there has been initial or concentrated church planting among them within the past two years.

  • Congregations exist Yes
  • Church planting in the last two years Concentrated Church Planting

Next steps for the Irular

  • 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

Primary religion

Folk Hinduism · Hinduism

99% adherents

Primary language

Tamil · Dravidian family

100% speak Tamil

Gospel resources in Tamil

  • Bible available, published 2024
  • JESUS Film available
  • Radio programs available
  • Gospel recordings available
  • Audio resources available
  • Bible stories not available

Films

Bibles

Find more at the JESUS Film Project, Bible.com and Faith Comes by Hearing.

Pray for the Irular

  1. Revelation 7:9. Pray for the day when people from this group stand before the throne with every nation, tribe, people and language.
  2. John 17:3. Pray that many will come to know the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom he has sent.
  3. Psalm 27:1. Pray that new believers will be strengthened in the face of persecution, with the Lord as their stronghold.
  4. Romans 12:4–5. Pray that believers from many cultures will work together as one body so that the church is built up.

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