Darai in India


Population
Main Language
Largest Religion
Christian
Evangelical
Progress
Progress Gauge
* Data can be from various sources including official census, agencies, and local research. Data from these sources can sometimes differ even by orders of magnitude. Joshua Project attempts to present a conservative, balanced estimate.

Introduction / History

If you belong to the Darai people, you had better get along with your brothers and sisters in law, especially if your spouse has health problems. The reason is that you will marry your spouse's younger sibling if he or she dies. Most commonly, brothers from one family each marry sisters from another family. So the two families joined by matrimony have many good reasons to get along. If there are disputes, there is a community council to solve them. This community council also helps prevent child marriages, divorce and dowry abuses among the Darai people.


Where Are they Located?

They live in rural areas of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab. Those in Himachal Pradesh traditionally carried people across rivers either in boats or on inflatable skins.


What Are Their Lives Like?

Today many are fishermen, rope makers or common laborers on roads, dams, or rock quarries. A few of these scheduled caste members hold white-collar jobs. They take advantage of government programs to help them obtain land, fertilizers, livestock and higher literacy. This helps to supplement their incomes.

They speak either Bilaspuri or Kangri, both Indo-Aryan languages. There are members of their community living in nearby Punjab who speak the Punjabi language. The Darai people to the west in Punjab state traditionally transported timber by river floats, but today most are landless laborers.


What Are Their Beliefs?

The Darai people are almost entirely Hindu. Like most members of low status communities, they worship several gods, and their form of Hinduism resembles animism.


Prayer Points

Pray for the Holy Spirit to move among the Darai people in Himachal Pradesh and Punjab in such a way that they will see that He is Lord of all and worthy of their complete devotion. Pray for the Lord to thrust out laborers to the Darai people.


Scripture Prayers for the Darai in India.


Profile Source:   Global Prayer Digest  

People Name General Darai
People Name in Country Darai
Pronunciation DAERR-ay
Alternate Names Darain; Dargai; Daryai; Drai; दराई
Population this Country 14,000
Population all Countries 34,000
Total Countries 2
Indigenous Yes
Progress Scale 1
Unreached Yes
Frontier People Group Yes
GSEC 1  (per PeopleGroups.org)
Pioneer Workers Needed 1
PeopleID3 11503
ROP3 Code 102448
Country India
Region Asia, South
Continent Asia
10/40 Window Yes
National Bible Society Website
Persecution Rank 11  (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking)
Total States on file 6
Largest States
Himachal Pradesh
12,000
Punjab
1,100
Bihar
400
Chandigarh
100
Haryana
90
Uttar Pradesh
50
Districts Interactive map, listing and data download
Specialized Website South Asia Peoples
Country India
Region Asia, South
Continent Asia
10/40 Window Yes
National Bible Society Website
Persecution Rank 11  (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking)
Total States 6
  Himachal Pradesh 12,000
  Punjab 1,100
  Bihar 400
  Chandigarh 100
  Haryana 90
  Uttar Pradesh 50
Website South Asia Peoples
Primary Religion: Hinduism
Major Religion Percent *
Buddhism
0.12 %
Christianity  (Evangelical 0.00 %)
0.00 %
Ethnic Religions
0.00 %
Hinduism
94.51 %
Islam
0.00 %
Non-Religious
0.00 %
Other / Small
5.37 %
Unknown
0.00 %
* From latest India census data.
Current Christian values may substantially differ.
Primary Language Kangri (5,400 speakers)
Language Code xnr   Ethnologue Listing
Language Written Yes   ScriptSource Listing
Total Languages 9
Secondary Languages
Hindi
4,100
Punjabi, Eastern
1,300
Mandeali
700
Bhojpuri
400
Bhattiyali
400
Chambeali
200
Pahari, Mahasu
30
Sirmauri
20
Primary Language Kangri (5,400 speakers)
Language Code xnr   Ethnologue Listing
Total Languages 9
Secondary Languages
  Hindi 4,100
  Punjabi, Eastern 1,300
  Mandeali 700
  Bhojpuri 400
  Bhattiyali 400
  Chambeali 200
  Pahari, Mahasu 30
  Sirmauri 20
People Groups Speaking Kangri
Photo Source Anonymous 
Map Source People Group data: Omid. Map geography: UNESCO / GMI. Map Design: Joshua Project.  
Profile Source Global Prayer Digest 
Data Sources Data is compiled from various sources. Learn more.


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