The Muslim Rajput Ponwar or Panwar live in India, Pakistan and Nepal. Rajput means "son of a ruler" in Sanskrit. Ponwar means "descendants of the Paramara" dynasty. This middle-sized kingdom flourished in the late medieval period in north central India and Pakistan. All Rajput Ponwar were originally Hindus. With the coming of the Muslim sultanates, some Ponwar converted to Islam for spiritual and political reasons. They converted to Islam by clans not as individuals.
The Ponwar take pride in their warrior history. The British recruited them as soldiers during the colonial period. The Ponwar became landholders of large estates. Some Rajput Ponwar are wealthy landowners who have other castes work their land. Some are less wealthy and till the soil themselves. Their military tradition continues in the Pakistani Army. They hold positions of leadership in government.
The primary languages of the Pakistani Ponwar are Western Punjabi and Urdu. They also speak other regional Pakistani languages.
The Muslim Ponwar live in the Pakistani states of Punjab and Sindh.
The Rajput Ponwar enjoy a high status in Pakistani society. They encourage their sons to pursue higher education. As Muslims, their women are often secluded in the home. When the women go out, they wear very modest clothing that covers their heads and bodies. Families arrange marriages within the Rajput caste but not within the near clan members. The ancient practice of child marriage is no longer followed. Sons inherit property. They are non-vegetarians but as Muslims they do not eat pork.
The Rajput Ponwar lives revolve around the five daily prayers. They attend services at their local mosque on Fridays where they mingle with other groups of Muslims.
The Muslim Ponwar need to hear the life-changing message of Jesus Christ in a way they can understand. They must see that Isa or Jesus is much more than a prophet and that only through Isa can their sins be forgiven.
Pray the Lord sends Christians to befriend the Rajput Ponwar and show them the love and mercy of God.
Pray that Rajputs living outside of Pakistan would become Christians and return to Pakistan to share the gospel with their people.
Pray that the Holy Spirit leads many Rajputs to Christ and that growing
churches are planted among them.
Scripture Prayers for the Rajput Ponwar (Muslim traditions) in Pakistan.
britannica.com/place/India/The-Rajputs#ref976107
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panhwar
induhistory.blogspot.com/p/rajput-history.html
Profile Source: David Kugel |
Global Prayer Digest: 2014-10-16 |
Rajputs profile for Children and Family Missions Activities |
People Name General | Rajput Ponwar (Muslim traditions) |
People Name in Country | Rajput Ponwar (Muslim traditions) |
Pronunciation | RAHJ-put pun-WAHR |
Population this Country | 738,000 |
Population all Countries | 819,000 |
Total Countries | 3 |
Indigenous | Yes |
Progress Scale | 1 ● |
Unreached | Yes |
Frontier People Group | Yes |
Pioneer Workers Needed | 15 |
Alternate Names | Panwar; राजपूत पोंवार (मुस्लिम ट्रेडिशन्स) |
People ID | 20226 |
ROP3 Code | 115970 |
Country | Pakistan | ||||||
Region | Asia, South | ||||||
Continent | Asia | ||||||
10/40 Window | Yes | ||||||
National Bible Society | Website | ||||||
Persecution Rank | 7 (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking) | ||||||
Total States on file | 4 | ||||||
Largest States |
|
Country | Pakistan |
Region | Asia, South |
Continent | Asia |
10/40 Window | Yes |
National Bible Society | Website |
Persecution Rank | 7 (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking) |
Total States | 4 |
Punjab 466,000 | |
Sindh 250,000 | |
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa 1,300 | |
Islamabad 1,100 | |
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 Pakistan census data. Current Christian values may substantially differ. |
Primary Language | Saraiki (240,000 speakers) | ||||||||||||
Language Code | skr Ethnologue Listing | ||||||||||||
Language Written | Yes ScriptSource Listing | ||||||||||||
Total Languages | 11 | ||||||||||||
Secondary Languages |
|
Primary Language | Saraiki (240,000 speakers) |
Language Code | skr Ethnologue Listing |
Total Languages | 11 |
Secondary Languages | |
Punjabi, Western 179,000 | |
Sindhi 169,000 | |
Urdu 95,000 | |
Marwari 48,000 | |
Dhatki 3,800 | |
Bagri 3,600 | |
Hindko, Southern 3,200 | |
Pahari-Potwari 2,600 | |
Hindko, Northern 600 | |
Pashto, Northern 100 | |
People Groups | Speaking Saraiki |
Primary Language: Saraiki
Bible Translation ▲ | Status (Years) |
---|---|
Bible-Portions | Yes (1888-2009) |
Bible-New Testament | No |
Bible-Complete | No |
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 | Story of Jesus audio | Jesus Film Project |
Film / Video | Jesus Film: view in Saraiki | Jesus Film Project |
Film / Video | World Christian Videos | World Christian Videos |
General | Bible for Children | Bible for Children |
General | Biblical answers to your questions | Got Questions Ministry |
General | Gospel resources links | Scripture Earth |
Text / Printed Matter | Literacy primer for Saraiki | Literacy & Evangelism International |
Photo Source | Anonymous |
Map Source | People Group data: Omid. Map geography: UNESCO / GMI. Map Design: Joshua Project |
Video Source | Asia Harvest |
Profile Source | David Kugel |
Data Sources | Data is compiled from various sources. Read more |