Mahtam (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

Most of the Mahtam Sikh (or Rai Sikh) in the Punjab are migrants from Pakistan. They claim to have 36 clans (gotras), including the Goge, Sarari, Kachure, Badwal, Book and Hakwan. The traditional occupations of the Mahtam Sikh were farming, hunting wild boars, fishing and liquor distillation.


What Are Their Lives Like?

Today they are primarily farmers, but many are engaged in other trades as well. They maintain cordial relationships with the scheduled castes and other artisan and service castes of the nearby villages.


Most of the Mahtm Sikhs (or Rai Sikh) in India's Punjab are migrants from Pakistan.
What Are Their Beliefs?

Many Mahtam Sikhs now follow the religious teachings of a man named Radha Soami, which has led to less alcoholism and more vegetarianism.

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?

Lack of workers able to carry the gospel message accurately is an ongoing problem throughout South Asia.


Prayer Points

Pray the gospel will be proclaimed widely and effectively via gospel radio in the Punjabi languages spoken in Punjab state and beyond.

There are a number of former Sikhs in Punjab who now follow Christ. Pray they will take his great name to the Mahtam community. Pray for a movement of God's Spirit throughout Punjab. There are encouraging developments already.


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


Profile Source:   Joshua Project  

People Name General Mahtam (Sikh traditions)
People Name in Country Mahtam (Sikh traditions)
Pronunciation mah-TAHM
Alternate Names Mahatam; Mahatma; Matheran; Mohtam; Rai Sikh; महटाम (सिख ट्रेडिशन्स)
Population this Country 605,000
Population all Countries 605,000
Total Countries 1
Indigenous Yes
Progress Scale 1
Unreached Yes
Frontier People Group No
GSEC 3  (per PeopleGroups.org)
Pioneer Workers Needed 12
PeopleID3 18131
ROP3 Code 113638
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 24
Largest States
(only 15 largest shown)
Punjab
477,000
Haryana
31,000
Rajasthan
23,000
Delhi
23,000
Uttar Pradesh
17,000
Uttarakhand
7,600
Maharashtra
7,400
Madhya Pradesh
4,000
Jammu and Kashmir
3,200
Chandigarh
3,000
Jharkhand
1,700
West Bengal
1,400
Himachal Pradesh
1,200
Chhattisgarh
1,200
Gujarat
1,200
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 24  (only 20 largest shown)
  Punjab 477,000
  Haryana 31,000
  Rajasthan 23,000
  Delhi 23,000
  Uttar Pradesh 17,000
  Uttarakhand 7,600
  Maharashtra 7,400
  Madhya Pradesh 4,000
  Jammu and Kashmir 3,200
  Chandigarh 3,000
  Jharkhand 1,700
  West Bengal 1,400
  Himachal Pradesh 1,200
  Chhattisgarh 1,200
  Gujarat 1,200
Website South Asia Peoples
Primary Religion: Other / Small (Sikhism)
Major Religion Percent *
Buddhism
0.00 %
Christianity  (Evangelical Unknown)
1.59 %
Ethnic Religions
0.00 %
Hinduism
0.00 %
Islam
0.00 %
Non-Religious
0.00 %
Other / Small
98.41 %
Unknown
0.00 %
* From latest India census data.
Current Christian values may substantially differ.
Primary Language Punjabi, Eastern (416,000 speakers)
Language Code pan   Ethnologue Listing
Language Written Yes   ScriptSource Listing
Total Languages 12
Secondary Languages
Hindi
85,000
Haryanvi
3,400
Dogri
600
Marwari (India)
300
Kangri
200
Garhwali
100
Wagdi
60
Bhojpuri
60
Gujarati
40
Bengali
20
Mandeali
Primary Language Punjabi, Eastern (416,000 speakers)
Language Code pan   Ethnologue Listing
Total Languages 12
Secondary Languages
  Hindi 85,000
  Haryanvi 3,400
  Dogri 600
  Marwari (India) 300
  Kangri 200
  Garhwali 100
  Wagdi 60
  Bhojpuri 60
  Gujarati 40
  Bengali 20
  Mandeali 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)
Sandeep Singh - Pixabay 
Map Source People Group Location: Omid. Other geography / data: GMI. Map Design: Joshua Project  
Profile Source Joshua Project 
Data Sources Data is compiled from various sources. Learn more.


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