The name "Dharkar" comes from dhar, meaning rope or cane making. The name fits the people; they have always made bamboo and rope products such as baskets that they sell in the markets. Like many communities, they often use "Dharkar" as a family surname as well as the name of their group.
Most of them live either in Madhya Pradesh or Uttar Pradesh.
The 159,000 Dharkars are more likely to practice child marriage than most other scheduled caste communities. However, they are much like other communities in that their marriages are arranged by their families. Each marriage is a joining of two families morethan it is a joining of two individuals. They are much more strict about divorce than other Hindu communities.
Dharkar women are very active in household jobs, and they play a major role in ritual and economic activities. They contribute to the family income. Because their children are usually wage laborers, their literacy rate remains low.
They worship their village deity, Deohar, and many Hindu gods like Hannaman (the monkey god), Vishnu and various spiritual powers. They speak Awadhi at home. When they have the chance, the Dharkar people listen to the radio and TV.
Pray for excellent Christian materials like gospel recordings to be produced and widely distributed among the Dharkar people in the Awadhi language.
Pray for radio broadcasts that will address their spiritual need to be joined with Jesus.
Pray that as they encounter Jesus that their traditional gods will become a thing of the past.
Pray that the Holy Spirit will give them a willingness to seek and find the Savior.
Scripture Prayers for the Dharkar in India.
Profile Source: Global Prayer Digest |
People Name General | Dharkar |
People Name in Country | Dharkar |
Alternate Names | Basor Bhakt; Bentbansi; Dharki; Dhirkar; Dom; Supa Bhakt; धारकर |
Population this Country | 165,000 |
Population all Countries | 168,000 |
Total Countries | 2 |
Indigenous | Yes |
Progress Scale | 1 ● |
Unreached | Yes |
Frontier People Group | Yes |
GSEC | 1 (per PeopleGroups.org) |
Pioneer Workers Needed | 3 |
People ID | 16713 |
ROP3 Code | 111949 |
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 | 5 | ||||||
Largest States |
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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 | 5 |
Uttar Pradesh 133,000 | |
Madhya Pradesh 29,000 | |
Bihar 500 | |
Uttarakhand 300 | |
Chhattisgarh 100 | |
Website | South Asia Peoples |
Primary Religion: | Hinduism |
Major Religion ▲ | Percent * |
---|---|
Buddhism |
0.12 %
|
Christianity (Evangelical 0.00 %) |
0.00 %
|
Ethnic Religions |
0.00 %
|
Hinduism |
99.86 %
|
Islam |
0.00 %
|
Non-Religious |
0.00 %
|
Other / Small |
0.03 %
|
Unknown |
0.00 %
|
* From latest India census data. Current Christian values may substantially differ. |
Primary Language | Hindi (101,000 speakers) | |||||||||
Language Code | hin Ethnologue Listing | |||||||||
Language Written | Yes ScriptSource Listing | |||||||||
Total Languages | 8 | |||||||||
Secondary Languages |
|
Primary Language | Hindi (101,000 speakers) |
Language Code | hin Ethnologue Listing |
Total Languages | 8 |
Secondary Languages | |
Bhojpuri 30,000 | |
Bagheli 4,100 | |
Awadhi 1,400 | |
Chhattisgarhi 1,200 | |
Kanauji 200 | |
Garhwali 100 | |
Kumaoni 40 | |
People Groups | Speaking Hindi |
Primary Language: Hindi
Bible Translation ▲ | Status (Years) |
---|---|
Bible-Portions | Yes (1806-1962) |
Bible-New Testament | Yes (1811-1998) |
Bible-Complete | Yes (1835-2022) |
Bible-NT Audio | Online |
Bible-NT Text | Online |
Possible Print Bibles | |
---|---|
Amazon | |
World Bibles | |
Forum Bible Agencies | |
National Bible Societies | |
World Bible Finder | |
Virtual Storehouse |
Photo Source |
(Representative photo) Copyrighted © 2023 Michael E All rights reserved. Used with permission |
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. |