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People group profile · PG049098

The Mahawat of India

The Mahawat of India, numbering about 200 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are an endogamous community of Uttar Pradesh whose name means elephant keeper, though the traditional occupation has largely disappeared. Most now repair bicycles and household items or work as daily-wage laborers.

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

Pray for the MahawatPrint profile

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

Fast facts

Country
India
Population
200
Affinity group
South Asian Peoples
People cluster
Hindi
Primary language
Hindi (hin)
Primary religion
Folk Hinduism
Strategic Progress Index ?
No Longer Unreached
Evangelical
5% or Greater but Less than 10%
GSEC ?
5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical
Lostness priority ?
Moderately Reached People Group
Region
Southern Asia, Asia
Location
Widespread in north India: northern Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand states; Delhi

Where they live

Gospel status

The Mahawat are No Longer Unreached, which means 2% or more are evangelical Christians. In GSEC terms, this people group is greater than or equal to 5% evangelical.

  • Congregations exist Yes
  • Church planting in the last two years No Churches Planted

Next steps for the Mahawat

  • Pray for the churches among this group to grow in faithfulness and maturity
  • Equip believers to reach the unreached peoples around them
  • Send out laborers from this people to the nations

Primary religion

Folk Hinduism · Hinduism

94% adherents

Primary language

Hindi · Indo-European family

100% speak Hindi

Gospel resources in Hindi

  • Bible available, published 2022
  • 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 Mahawat

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

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