The Oraon are a tribal (Adivasi) people of Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal, India. Their language, Kurukh, belongs to the Dravidian family, and is most closely related to Brahui and Paharia. About 25 percent of the population are Christians. There are close to two million Oraon (twenty lakhs). Ādivāsīs (आदिवासी) or tribal peoples comprise a substantial minority of the population of India. ... Bihar (बिहार in Devanagri) is a state situated in the eastern part of India. ... Jharkhand (झारखंड in Devanagari) is a state of India. ... Orissa (ଓଡ଼ିଶା) is a state situated in the east coast of India. ... Chhattisgarh (छत्तीसगढ़), a state in central India, formed when the sixteen southeastern districts of Madhya Pradesh gained statehood on November 1, 2000. ... West Bengal (পশ্চিম বঙ্গ, Pôščim Bôngô) is a state in the northeast of India. ... The Dravidian family of languages includes approximately 26 languages that are mainly spoken in southern India and Sri Lanka, as well as certain areas in Pakistan, Nepal, and eastern and central India. ... The Brahui language is mainly spoken in Balochistan, Pakistan, although also in Afghanistan and Iran. ... Christianity is Indias third-largest religion, following Hinduism and Islam. ...

The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Ranchi, Cardinal Telesphore Toppo, is Oraon.

This article includes material from the 1995 public domain Library of Congress Country Study on India. 1995 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ... The Country Studies are works published by the Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress ( USA), freely available for use by researchers. ...