Introduction / History
The 80,000 Chaupal people live in India's eastern state of Bihar. Their language is called Surajpuri, but many of them also speak Hindi, Bihari, or Bengali. They like to drink tea, which grows well in this part of India. Their men indulge in alcohol.

What are their lives like?
Chaupals marry young—the boys between 17 and 22 and the girls between 14 and 20. Her family pays a dowry to the groom's family. Most of the Chaupal people work either as farmers or as weavers. They are known to weave coarse saris. A few of them own their own shops where they sell their woven goods. Chaupal children begin to work at age eight or nine, so it's no wonder that they have such a low literacy rate. They would like to have modern medicine, but few can afford it. They enjoy going to movies.

What are their beliefs?
Though they practice traditional tribal religion, Hinduism is making its mark on their spiritual lives. At this time, there are no followers of Christ among them.

Prayer Points
Pray for the JESUS Film to be shown in Chaupal communities.
Pray that gospel recordings will be made available to them in their Surajpuri language.