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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Bishnupriya of Bangladesh

The Bishnupriya of Bangladesh, numbering approximately 48,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Manipur-descended people historically called Khalachai after their homeland near Lake Loktak, who fled political upheaval to settle Bangladesh's Sylhet plains from the late 1700s, speaking an Indo-Aryan tongue with Meitei loanwords. They mostly adhere to Hinduism and Bishnupriya is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Himalayan Peoples
Country: Bangladesh
People Cluster: Manipuri
Primary Language(s): Bishnupriya (bpy)
Primary Religion(s): Hinduism
Population: 48,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG048706
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Pray for the Bishnupriya of Bangladesh

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: Hinduism
Religious Affiliation: Hinduism

100%
%
Hinduism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Bishnupriya
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Bishnupuriya Speakers

Media Resources in Bishnupriya:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Bishnupriya:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Bishnupriya bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Bishnupriya 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 Bishnupriya:
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 Bishnupriya of Bangladesh

"And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
readJohn 8:32

Pray for those who live enslaved to sin to hear and receive the truth of the gospel and be set free.

Behold, you shall call a nation that you do not know, and a nation that did not know you shall run to you, because of the LORD your God, and of the Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified you.
readIsaiah 55:5

Pray that those who do not know God will access the gospel, run to Him, and discover that He is the one their souls have been longing for.

Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
readPsalm 37:4

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will delight themselves in the Lord, trusting Him to give them the desires of their hearts.

For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.
read2 Corinthians 1:8-9

Pray that as people hear and believe the gospel, they will be faithful as they walk through trials and will have an opportunity to be a witness to others in this people group of the goodness of God.

Bishnupuria Across Countries (ROP3 - 115966) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion ▼
BishnupriyaPG048706BishnupriyaBangladesh48,000Engaged yet UnreachedBishnupriyaHinduism
BisnupriyaPG049509BisnupriyaIndia512,000Engaged yet UnreachedBishnupriyaHinduism

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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