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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Bahelia of India

The Bahelia of India, numbering approximately 186,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Scheduled Caste community of Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal traditionally engaged in bird-catching and making fans from peacock feathers. They claim Rajput descent, tracing their origins to the Sisodia Rajputs of Chittorgarh. They are an Indigenous people in the Hindi people cluster of the South Asian Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary language is Braj Bhasha and their primary religion is Folk Hinduism.

Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Anonymous

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: India
People Cluster: Hindi
Primary Language(s): Braj Bhasha (bra)
Primary Religion(s): Folk Hinduism
Population: 186,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG041690
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Pray for the Bahelia of India

Join others around the world in praying for the lost to be saved, the gospel to advance, the global Church to grow, and for laborers to be sent out and sustained in the harvest.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Folk Hinduism
Religious Affiliation: Hinduism

98%
%
Folk Hinduism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Braj Bhasha
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Braj Bhasha Speakers

Media Resources in Braj Bhasha:

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Braj Bhasha:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Braj Bhasha bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 1), which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.
Lostness Priority Index (LPI): Expanding Unreached People Group, (LPI: 2), 0.5% or Greater but Less than 2% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity (GSEC: 1), this people group is less than 2% evangelical, some evangelical resources are available, but there has been no active church planting among them within the past two years

Next steps for the Bahelia:
Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Bahelia are Engaged yet Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations but there are sustained efforts at establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Next steps for the Bahelia:
Continue prayer and fasting for this group
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Begin training up local leaders to lead and develop strategies to reach their own people

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Bahelia are No Longer Unreached, which means there are more than 2% evangelical Christian populations and there are churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. There is still more to be done among them.

Next steps for the Bahelia:
Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Bahelia of India

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
readRomans 8:1

Pray that God will reassure those who may be struggling with the cost of following Jesus that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.
readActs 17:24-25

Pray that the good news will reach everyone in this people group and that many will come to know and serve the one true God who made the world and everything in it and lives today.

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
read1 Peter 2:9

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will embrace their identity as God's chosen people, royal priests, and holy nation, living out their faith with purity and devotion.

Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.
readEphesians 6:13

Pray that God will send believers to the lost of this people group and that, as they share the gospel, they will take up the whole armor of God so that they can stand firm when trials come.

Bahelia, Hindu Across Countries (ROP3 - 111413) reported in the following countries:

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

Peoplegroups.org relies on updates from the field and other organizations for much of our data, so if you have any updates, please contact us. We use various international naming standards. For a list of these standards and fields, visit our Definitions page.

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