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People group profile · PG042070

The Chudiya of India

The Chudiya of India, numbering about 31,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an Odisha community named for their traditional occupation of preparing and selling chuda, or flattened parched rice, a trade that remains their primary livelihood alongside landholding and agriculture.

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

Pray for the ChudiyaPrint profile

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

Fast facts

Country
India
Population
31,000
Affinity group
South Asian Peoples
People cluster
Odia
Primary language
Odia (ory)
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
Odisha: Ganjam district

Where they live

Gospel status

The Chudiya 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 Chudiya

  • 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

Hinduism

100% adherents

Primary language

Odia · Indo-European family

100% speak Odia

Gospel resources in Odia

  • Bible available, published 2021
  • JESUS Film available
  • Radio programs not available
  • Gospel recordings available
  • Audio resources available
  • Bible stories available

Films

Bibles

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

Pray for the Chudiya

  1. 2 Timothy 2:2. Pray for faithful local leaders who will teach others, so that the church multiplies.
  2. Ephesians 5:8. Pray that those walking in darkness will turn to the light and live as children of light.
  3. Romans 10:14–15. Ask God to send messengers, so that people can hear, believe and call on the name of the Lord.
  4. Matthew 9:37–38. Ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest field.

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