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The Bania (Magahi) of India

The Bania (Magahi) of India, numbering approximately 644,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a cluster of merchant and trading communities traditionally associated with commerce, finance, and accounting. They mostly adhere to Hinduism and Magahi is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite: Bania (Magahi)

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: India
People Cluster: Bania
Primary Language(s): Magahi (mag)
Primary Religion(s): Hinduism
Population: 644,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG048032

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Pray for the Bania (Magahi) 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: Magahi
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Magahi Speakers

Media Resources in Magahi:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Magahi:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
2014 Asian Sahyogi Sanstha India Gorakhpur, (U.P.)✓✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Magahi bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Bania (Magahi) 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 Bania (Magahi):
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 Bania (Magahi) of India

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
readMatthew 5:6

Pray for those who are lost to desire righteousness and to be filled with the peace and purpose that only comes from following Jesus.

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
readRomans 5:1

Pray that the gospel will advance and that many who are far from God will receive the good news of salvation with joy and have peace with God through faith in His Son Jesus Christ.

Oh, fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack!
readPsalm 34:9

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be grounded in the Word, always trusting in the Lord's provision for their needs.

And he said to them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest."
readLuke 10:2

Ask God to send out laborers into His harvest field, raising up believers from around the world to go and proclaim the kingdom of God with those who need to hear it.

Bania (Magahi) Across Countries (ROP3 - 116363) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDName ▼CountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Bania (Magahi)PG048032Bania (Magahi)India644,000Engaged yet UnreachedMagahiHinduism

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 Data Standards section.

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