Vasava

The Vasava originate from the tribal areas of Gujarat, in western India. Centuries ago, their ancestors migrated toward the territory that now belongs to Pakistan, and settled there in the rural lands of Sindh.

The names Bawra and Tadvi Bhil, also used for this people, and the form Vasave, recorded in Gujarat, point to a kinship with Bhil communities that remain on the other side of the border. In Sindh, life among neighbors of other traditions led the people to adopt Sindhi as the language of everyday life, while a part of them still use Dhatki. Today they are a small community of Hindu faith, who carry in their very name the memory of a long journey.

Most of the Vasava live in rural areas of Sindh and earn their living from agriculture. Wheat and rice are among the crops they grow, and the rhythm of the seasons and the availability of water shape much of the families’ routine.

At home and among neighbors, they use Sindhi, the most widely spoken language in the region, and some also speak Dhatki. Because they live in remote villages and are a small community, they depend greatly on ties with relatives and acquaintances, which are important for facing the hardships of rural life. They live as a Hindu minority in a region with a Muslim majority, and it is in this setting that they preserve what identifies them as a people.

The Vasava are, in their great majority, Hindu. The Hindu faith is part of how they understand life, family and community, and it is passed down from generation to generation among those who share the same people.

Living as a religious minority amid a Muslim majority, religion also tends to serve as a mark of identity, linking each family to the memory of its ancestors and to the neighbors who share the same belief. There are very few Christians among them, and faith in Jesus Christ is still, for most, something unknown or distant. Recognizing the seriousness with which they live their religion is the first step toward a respectful conversation about the gospel.

The main language of the Vasava is Sindhi, and the complete Bible has been available in it since the middle of the twentieth century. The New Testament can also be read and heard on digital platforms, and there is a film about the life of Jesus in Sindhi. The challenge, however, lies in getting this Word to a small people who live scattered in rural areas and rarely meet anyone who presents the Scriptures to them with care. Spoken and visual materials can be an accessible path to these families.

For the Vasava, the Hindu faith is intertwined with family and the identity of the people, so that following another path can be seen as turning away from one’s own community. Because they are a small community scattered across rural areas, contact with Christians who understand their culture is rare. Added to this is their condition as a religious minority, which calls for caution, and the geographic distance from any community of faith that would welcome them in their own reality.

Small rural peoples like the Vasava often face practical needs, among them access to education and health care. Those who live from agricultural work depend on an unstable income, and support that improves production and economic opportunities would make a great difference for families.

There is also a spiritual need: the people still have very few who know them closely and introduce them to Jesus with respect for their culture, in their own language and through relationships of trust.