The Bhaina of India

The Bhaina of India, numbering approximately 79,500 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Scheduled Tribe of the Chhattisgarh plains, traditionally said to descend from the union of the Baiga and Kawar peoples. They are organized into totemic clans, speak Chhattisgarhi, and live by cultivation and labor. They mostly adhere to Folk Hinduism and Chhattisgarhi is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite: Bhaina

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: India
People Cluster: South Asian Tribal
Primary Language(s): Chhattisgarhi (hne)
Primary Religion(s): Folk Hinduism
Population: 79,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG041833
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Bhaina 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.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Folk Hinduism
Religious Affiliation: Hinduism

95%
%
Folk Hinduism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Chhattisgarhi
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Chhattisgarhi Speakers

Media Resources in Chhattisgarhi:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

2 films

Bible Resources in Chhattisgarhi:

2 entries

Or check out the Chhattisgarhi bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Bhaina 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 Bhaina:
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

Pray specifically for the Bhaina of India

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
readPsalm 73:26

Pray that those who are lost and struggling to find hope will find their strength and hope in God, recognizing Him as their portion and deliverer forever.

Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength!
readPsalm 96:7

Pray that entire households will come to faith in Jesus and that God will bless their families with faith in Him for generations to come.

“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”
readLamentations 3:24

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ and walk through trials, they will be satisfied with the Lord as their portion and will place all their hope in Him.

There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.
readMark 7:15

Pray for Christians to take any opportunity to share the hope of Jesus with lost people here, praying they will be wise like Jesus as they share the truth about what can defile people and what can make them clean.

Bhaina Across Countries (ROP3 - 111548) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

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

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