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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Gandhabanik of India

The Gandhabanik of India, numbering approximately 1,875,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Bengali Hindu mercantile caste historically specializing in the trade of perfumes, incense, cosmetics, sandalwood, and spices. They are an Indigenous people in the Bania people cluster of the South Asian Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary language is Bengali and their primary religion is Hinduism.

Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Nydegger René - Pixabay

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: India
People Cluster: Bania
Primary Language(s): Bengali (ben)
Primary Religion(s): Hinduism
Population: 1,875,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, Concentrated CP Activity
People Group ID: PG041389
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Pray for the Gandhabanik 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.

Pray Now!
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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Hinduism
Religious Affiliation: Hinduism

100%
%
Hinduism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Bengali
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Bengali Speakers

Media Resources in Bengali:

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Bengali:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Bengali 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): Frontier Unreached People Group, (LPI: 0), < 0.1% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, Concentrated CP Activity (GSEC: 2), this people group is less than 2% evangelical but there has been initial or concentrated church planting among them within the past two years

Next steps for the Gandhabanik:
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 Gandhabanik 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 Gandhabanik:
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 Gandhabanik 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 Gandhabanik:
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 Gandhabanik of India

"...And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold." As he said these things, he called out, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
readLuke 8:8

Pray that the seeds of truth will take root in the hearts of those who are far from Jesus and that He will lead them from darkness to light.

For I will proclaim the name of the LORD; ascribe greatness to our God!
readDeuteronomy 32:3

Pray that believers will proclaim the Lord’s name and declare the greatness of our God so that others might believe in Him.

The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot... indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.
readPsalm 16:5-6

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ and face hardship, they will remember that God is their portion and cup and that He has a beautiful inheritance for them.

Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together!
readPsalm 34:3

Pray that God will raise up believers who will go to those in this people group who do not yet follow Jesus, and that they will invite many to magnify the Lord with them so that His fame will spread to the ends of the earth.

Bania Gandha Banik Across Countries (ROP3 - 115150) 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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