Chudigar 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

Mewari is the common term used to refer to different caste groups and includes some tribes. The Mewar region consists of the four southern districts of Rajasthan and the people are known for their bravery and valor. When other parts of India bowed down to the British during their invasion, the Mewari did not. They would rather die than bow before the enemy.
One of the Mewar people are known as the Chudigar.


What Are Their Lives Like?

Chudigar women with brightly colored, beautifully patterned saris covering their heads and men with their bright, colorful turbans – the Chudigar people can be easily identified by the way they dress.
An extremely dry climate is typical of the Mewar region. The scorching heat of the summer and the freezing cold of the winter have toughened the people. Lack of water is a major challenge for agriculture, with droughts generally seen every three or four years, yet sometimes heavy rains cause floods and destruction.


What Are Their Beliefs?

Unlike most peoples of Rajasthan, the Chudigars are Sunni Muslim. Sunni Muslims believe that the supreme God, Allah, spoke through his prophet, Mohammed, and taught mankind how to live a righteous life through the Koran and the Hadith. To live a righteous life, you must utter the Shahada (a statement of faith), pray five times a day facing Mecca, fast from sunup to sundown during the month of Ramadan, give alms to the poor, and make a pilgrimage to Mecca if you have the means. Muslims are prohibited from drinking alcohol, eating pork, gambling, stealing, slandering, and making idols. They gather for corporate prayer on Friday afternoons at a mosque, their place of worship.
The two main holidays for Sunni Muslims are Eid al Fitr, the breaking of the monthly fast and Eid al Adha, the celebration of Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son to Allah.
Sunni religious practices are staid and simple. They believe that Allah has pre-determined our fates; they minimize free will.
In most of the Muslim world, people depend on the spirit world for their daily needs since they regard Allah as too distant. Allah may determine their eternal salvation, but the spirits determine how well we live in our daily lives. For that reason, they must appease the spirits. They often use charms and amulets to help them with spiritual forces.


What Are Their Needs?

The Chudigar are very proud of their religion, culture, traditions etc. and as a result have not responded to the gospel easily. The few churches established about a century ago are now closed and several worshipping groups have vanished. These churches could not sustain their growth without feeding from God's word in their mother tongue, but God's word in Mewari will have the power to transform their future thinking, and way of life.


Prayer Points

Pray for a spiritual hunger among the Chudigar people that will lead them to the cross.
Pray for God to raise up workers from among the Chudigar who will better present the gospel in a culturally appropriate manner.
Pray for a mother tongue translation team to be initiated, trained and equipped to translate the Scriptures accurately.


Scripture Prayers for the Chudigar in India.


Profile Source:   Joshua Project  

People Name General Chudigar
People Name in Country Chudigar
Alternate Names चूड़ीगर
Population this Country 1,300
Population all Countries 1,300
Total Countries 1
Indigenous Yes
Progress Scale 1
Unreached Yes
Frontier People Group Yes
GSEC 1  (per PeopleGroups.org)
Pioneer Workers Needed 1
PeopleID3 16616
ROP3 Code 111823
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 3
Largest States
Rajasthan
900
Gujarat
300
Madhya Pradesh
40
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 3
  Rajasthan 900
  Gujarat 300
  Madhya Pradesh 40
Website South Asia Peoples
Primary Religion: Islam
Major Religion Percent *
Buddhism
0.00 %
Christianity  (Evangelical 0.00 %)
0.00 %
Ethnic Religions
0.00 %
Hinduism
0.00 %
Islam
100.00 %
Non-Religious
0.00 %
Other / Small
0.00 %
Unknown
0.00 %
* From latest India census data.
Current Christian values may substantially differ.
Primary Language Mewari (300 speakers)
Language Code mtr   Ethnologue Listing
Language Written Yes   ScriptSource Listing
Total Languages 6
Secondary Languages
Gujarati
300
Marwari (India)
200
Urdu
200
Wagdi
80
Hindi
20
Primary Language Mewari (300 speakers)
Language Code mtr   Ethnologue Listing
Total Languages 6
Secondary Languages
  Gujarati 300
  Marwari (India) 200
  Urdu 200
  Wagdi 80
  Hindi 20
People Groups Speaking Mewari
Map Source People Group data: Omid. Map geography: UNESCO / GMI. Map Design: Joshua Project  
Profile Source Joshua Project 
Data Sources Data is compiled from various sources. Learn more.


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