Prototype rebuild by the IMB Innovation Team. The official site is peoplegroups.org.

People group profile · PG049807

The Helawa of India

The Helawa of India, numbering about 22,500 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are a community of hereditary genealogists and religious mendicants found in Karnataka and Maharashtra. They traditionally recite family pedigrees and gotras for landowning castes while begging on oxen.

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

Pray for the HelawaPrint profile

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

Fast facts

Country
India
Population
22,500
Affinity group
South Asian Peoples
People cluster
Kanarese
Primary language
Kannada (kan)
Primary religion
Hinduism
Strategic Progress Index ?
Unengaged and Unreached
Evangelical
Less than 2%
GSEC ?
Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
Lostness priority ?
Frontier Unreached People Group
Region
Southern Asia, Asia
Location
Karnataka: Bengaluru, Vijayapura, Dharwad, and Kalaburagi districts; also Maharashtra: Latur, Osmanabad, and Solapur districts

Where they live

Gospel status

The Helawa are Unengaged and Unreached, which means fewer than 2% are evangelical Christians, and there has been no reported church planting activity in the past two years. 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 Yes
  • Church planting in the last two years No Churches Planted

Next steps for the Helawa

  • Pray that God would send workers to this people group
  • Begin sowing the gospel and seek out people of peace
  • Plant the first churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice

Primary religion

Hinduism

99% adherents

Primary language

Kannada · Dravidian family

100% speak Kannada

Gospel resources in Kannada

  • Bible available, published 2024
  • 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 Helawa

  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.

Download a prayer guide

Know something we don't? Submit updates to IMB Global Research.