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.
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.
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.
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.
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 | 557,000 |
Population all Countries | 557,000 |
Total Countries | 1 |
Indigenous | Yes |
Progress Scale | 1 ● |
Unreached | Yes |
Frontier People Group | Yes |
GSEC | 3 (per PeopleGroups.org) |
Pioneer Workers Needed | 11 |
People ID | 17938 |
ROP3 Code | 113426 |
ROP25 Code | 306927 |
ROP25 Name | Ramdasia |
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) |
|
|||||||||||||||
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 453,000 | |
Haryana 44,000 | |
Delhi 15,000 | |
Rajasthan 14,000 | |
Uttar Pradesh 11,000 | |
Maharashtra 5,000 | |
Uttarakhand 4,300 | |
Madhya Pradesh 2,400 | |
Jammu and Kashmir 2,400 | |
Chandigarh 1,600 | |
Jharkhand 1,000 | |
West Bengal 900 | |
Chhattisgarh 800 | |
Himachal Pradesh 600 | |
Gujarat 500 | |
Website | South Asia Peoples |
Primary Religion: | Other / Small |
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 | 9 | |||||||||
Secondary Languages |
|
Primary Language | Punjabi, Eastern (399,000 speakers) |
Language Code | pan Ethnologue Listing |
Total Languages | 9 |
Secondary Languages | |
Hindi 61,000 | |
Bagri 5,900 | |
Haryanvi 3,500 | |
Dogri 400 | |
Kumaoni 100 | |
Garhwali 80 | |
Awadhi 60 | |
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 |
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. |