Ramdasia (Sikh traditions) in India


Population
Main Language
Largest Religion
Other / Small (Sikhism)
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

The Ramdasia are a caste of weavers. In the middle 1800s their Sikh society was starting to decay, and Hindu caste practices were starting to take over. Then in 1873, Guru Singh Sabha started a reform movement to turn Sikhism back to its spiritual roots. He taught then to get back to understanding Sikh concepts of equality, which motivated them to move out of their work as weavers. They began to drop their traditional weaving jobs and started to advance in other areas such as agriculture, industry, business, education, science and the military.


What Are Their Lives Like?

Today the Ramdasia people often have successful textile businesses. They have a strong desire not to move backwards economically as a community, so they have a strong accountability structure.


What Are Their Beliefs?

Sikhism originated from a 15th century teacher named Guru Nanak Dev as a reform movement. He rejected the Hindu caste system, taught that all people were equal and that all have equal access to God. The Sikh God is formless, without gender and is to be found in everyone. One gets closer to God by living a good life and by practicing charity. Like Hindus, Sikhs believe in reincarnation and the law of karma; you reap what you sow in your previous life. Like Muslims, the Sikhs worship only one God.
One may recognize a Sikh man by his distinctive turban. All the 10 great Sikh gurus wore turbans. Sikh teaching mandates that a person not cut his or her hair. They worship their holy book, the Granth Sahib, which is a collection of hymns.
There are roughly the same number of Sikhs as there are Jews in the world, but Sikhs are most concentrated in Punjab, their homeland. However, you will find smaller numbers of Sikhs all over the world. Many of the best Indian restaurants in the West are owned and operated by Sikhs.


What Are Their Needs?

The Ramdasia community is doing well economically, but not spiritually. No one can be free from sin without accepting the loving kindness of the Lord Jesus Christ.


Prayer Points

Pray that the Ramdasia Sikhs will hear God's word, accept it, and enter the Kingdom of God, knowing that he created us to be equal in his eyes.
Pray for many loving and dedicated workers to go to the Ramdasia community with the life-changing gospel.


Scripture Prayers for the Ramdasia (Sikh traditions) in India.


Profile Source:   Joshua Project  

People Name General Ramdasia (Sikh traditions)
People Name in Country Ramdasia (Sikh traditions)
Pronunciation rahm-DAH-see-uh
Alternate Names रामदसिया (सिख ट्रेडिशन्स)
Population this Country 530,000
Population all Countries 530,000
Total Countries 1
Indigenous Yes
Progress Scale 1
Unreached Yes
Frontier People Group Yes
GSEC 3  (per PeopleGroups.org)
Pioneer Workers Needed 11
PeopleID3 17938
ROP3 Code 113426
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 23
Largest States
(only 15 largest shown)
Punjab
431,000
Haryana
42,000
Delhi
14,000
Rajasthan
13,000
Uttar Pradesh
10,000
Maharashtra
4,700
Uttarakhand
4,000
Madhya Pradesh
2,300
Jammu and Kashmir
2,300
Chandigarh
1,500
Jharkhand
1,000
West Bengal
900
Chhattisgarh
700
Himachal Pradesh
600
Gujarat
500
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 23  (only 20 largest shown)
  Punjab 431,000
  Haryana 42,000
  Delhi 14,000
  Rajasthan 13,000
  Uttar Pradesh 10,000
  Maharashtra 4,700
  Uttarakhand 4,000
  Madhya Pradesh 2,300
  Jammu and Kashmir 2,300
  Chandigarh 1,500
  Jharkhand 1,000
  West Bengal 900
  Chhattisgarh 700
  Himachal Pradesh 600
  Gujarat 500
Website South Asia Peoples
Primary Religion: Other / Small (Sikhism)
Major Religion Percent *
Buddhism
0.00 %
Christianity  (Evangelical 0.00 %)
0.00 %
Ethnic Religions
0.00 %
Hinduism
0.00 %
Islam
0.00 %
Non-Religious
0.00 %
Other / Small
100.00 %
Unknown
0.00 %
* From latest India census data.
Current Christian values may substantially differ.
Primary Language Punjabi, Eastern (399,000 speakers)
Language Code pan   Ethnologue Listing
Language Written Yes   ScriptSource Listing
Total Languages 7
Secondary Languages
Hindi
61,000
Haryanvi
3,500
Dogri
400
Garhwali
80
Bhojpuri
30
Kangri
Primary Language Punjabi, Eastern (399,000 speakers)
Language Code pan   Ethnologue Listing
Total Languages 7
Secondary Languages
  Hindi 61,000
  Haryanvi 3,500
  Dogri 400
  Garhwali 80
  Bhojpuri 30
  Kangri 10
People Groups Speaking Punjabi, Eastern

Primary Language:  Punjabi, Eastern

Bible Translation Status  (Years)
Bible-Portions Yes  (1818-1954)
Bible-New Testament Yes  (1815-2011)
Bible-Complete Yes  (1959-2021)
FCBH NT (www.bible.is) Online
YouVersion NT (www.bible.com) Online
Possible Print Bibles
Amazon
World Bibles
Forum Bible Agencies
National Bible Societies
World Bible Finder
Virtual Storehouse
Resource Type Resource Name Source
Audio Recordings Audio Bible teaching Global Recordings Network
Audio Recordings DAVAR Partners recording, complete Bible DAVAR Partners International
Audio Recordings Online Audio Scripture Talking Bibles
Audio Recordings Recorded oral Bible Oral Bibles
Film / Video Following Jesus video Jesus Film Project
Film / Video God's Story video God's Story
Film / Video Jesus Film: view in Punjabi, Eastern Jesus Film Project
Film / Video Magdalena video Jesus Film Project
Film / Video Story of Jesus for Children Jesus Film Project
General Bible for Children Bible for Children
General Bible in text or audio or video Internet Publishing Sevice
General Bible in text or audio or video South Asia Bibles
General Biblical answers to your questions Got Questions Ministry
General Faith Comes By Hearing - Bible in text or audio or video Faith Comes by Hearing
General Faith Comes By Hearing - Bible in text or audio or video Faith Comes by Hearing
General Four Spiritual Laws Cru
General Scripture Earth Gospel resources links Scripture Earth
General YouVersion Bible versions in text and/or audio YouVersion Bibles
General Zume Resources Zume Project
General Zume Training Zume Project
Mobile App Android Bible app direct APK download SIL
Mobile App Android Bible App: Punjabi Bible (ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਬਾਈਬਲ) Indian Revised Version (IRV) Operation Agape
Mobile App Android Bible app: Punjabi, Eastern YouVersion Bibles
Mobile App Android Bible Radio app: Punjabi Bible Radio Shalom Design S2dio
Mobile App Android Book Reading app: Open Bible Stories (Punjabi) Shalom Design S2dio
Mobile App iOS Bible app: Punjabi, Eastern YouVersion Bibles
Mobile App iOS Bible Radio App: Punjabi Bible Radio iOS Revive India
Text / Printed Matter Children and youth resources One Hope
Text / Printed Matter Download scripture in this language eBible.org
Text / Printed Matter Literacy primer for Punjabi, Eastern Literacy & Evangelism International
Text / Printed Matter Tools for faith conversations Cru
Text / Printed Matter Topical Scripture booklets and Bible studies World Missionary Press
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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