Kalu 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.

Subgroups: 4

Subgroup Name Population
Garai 15,000
Masnute 15,000
Pisnute 15,000
Shikari 15,000

Introduction / History

The Kalu people derive their name from the Hindi word khalu. Stories tell of the legendary Lord Shiva and how the first Kalu man came from the sweat off of Lord Shiva's arm while bathing in oil. The Kalu have a long tradition of being sellers of oil and of being oil-pressers, a similar occupation to that of the Teli people.

The Kalu live in India and Bangladesh. They speak Bengali in both countries.


What Are Their Lives Like?

They can be landowners as well as farmers or plantation laborers. They eat fish and other meats as well as wheat and ria and biri kalai. Their married women wear shell and iron bangles. The Kalu have both extended and nuclear families.


What Are Their Beliefs?

In India the Kalu people are Sunni Muslims who 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?

Agricultural initiatives could be a good platform for workers to bless the Kalu and share the knowledge of Jesus Christ.

There is no record of even one believer among the group. The Kalu people need the Holy Spirit to call them to follow the only savior.


Prayer Points

Pray for the Lord to raise up Kalu Christian believers who will disciple others who will disciple others.

Pray for the Lord to abundantly bless their crops this year as a testimony of his power and love.

Pray for dreams and visions for Kalu elders to open this Muslim community to Jesus Christ.


Scripture Prayers for the Kalu in India.


Profile Source:   Joshua Project  

People Name General Kalu
People Name in Country Kalu
Alternate Names Garai; Garai Sidai; Kulu; Sidai; Teli; कालू
Population this Country 292,000
Population all Countries 422,000
Total Countries 2
Indigenous Yes
Progress Scale 1
Unreached Yes
Frontier People Group Yes
Pioneer Workers Needed 6
PeopleID3 17060
ROP3 Code 112398
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 17
Largest States
(only 15 largest shown)
West Bengal
251,000
Bihar
26,000
Jharkhand
8,500
Odisha
2,400
Tripura
700
Meghalaya
700
Uttar Pradesh
600
Delhi
400
Maharashtra
300
Rajasthan
300
Chhattisgarh
200
Manipur
100
Andaman and Nicobar
90
Nagaland
70
Madhya 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 17
  West Bengal 251,000
  Bihar 26,000
  Jharkhand 8,500
  Odisha 2,400
  Tripura 700
  Meghalaya 700
  Uttar Pradesh 600
  Delhi 400
  Maharashtra 300
  Rajasthan 300
  Chhattisgarh 200
  Manipur 100
  Andaman and Nicobar 90
  Nagaland 70
  Madhya Pradesh 50
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 Bengali (237,000 speakers)
Language Code ben   Ethnologue Listing
Language Written Yes   ScriptSource Listing
Total Languages 6
Secondary Languages
Bhojpuri
14,000
Urdu
6,400
Hindi
900
Odia
400
Maithili
400
Primary Language Bengali (237,000 speakers)
Language Code ben   Ethnologue Listing
Total Languages 6
Secondary Languages
  Bhojpuri 14,000
  Urdu 6,400
  Hindi 900
  Odia 400
  Maithili 400
People Groups Speaking Bengali

Primary Language:  Bengali

Bible Translation Status  (Years)
Bible-Portions Yes  (1800-1980)
Bible-New Testament Yes  (1801-1984)
Bible-Complete Yes  (1809-2022)
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Photo Source (Representative photo)
Copyrighted © 2024  Isudas  All rights reserved.  Used with permission
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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