Download the People Group List (16 languages .csv)

Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
Bengali - বাংলা | Chinese (Simplified) - 中文（简体）
Chinese (Traditional) - 中文（繁體) | French - Français
German - Deutsch | Gujarati - ગુજરાતી
Hindi - हिन्दी | Indonesian - Bahasa Indonesia
Korean - 한국어 | Nepali - नेपाली
Portugese - Português | Russian - Русский
Spanish - Espanol | Tagalong / Filipino
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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Bania (Hindi) of India

The Bania (Hindi) of India, numbering approximately 1,690,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a community of India and can also be known as Roniaur, Rauniyar, Vani, Bania, Vania, Vania. They are an Indigenous people, in the Marathi-Konkani people cluster of the South Asian Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Hinduism. They primarily speak Hindi.

Baniya in Nepal photo
Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Anonymous

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: India
People Cluster: Marathi-Konkani
Primary Language(s): Hindi (hin)
Primary Religion(s): Hinduism
Population: 1,690,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, Dispersed CP Activity
People Group ID: PG041358

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Pray for the Bania (Hindi) of India

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Hinduism
Religious Affiliation: Hinduism

%
Hinduism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Hindi
Language Family: Indo-European

%
Hindi Speakers

Media Resources in Hindi:

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Hindi:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Hindi bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

Next steps for the Bania (Hindi)

The Bania (Hindi) are Unengaged and Unreached, 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.

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

Next steps for the Bania (Hindi)

The Bania (Hindi) 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.

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

Next steps for the Bania (Hindi)

The Bania (Hindi) 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.

Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Bania (Hindi) of India

Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
readJohn 3:18

Pray for those who are living under the burden of their sin to believe in Jesus, the only Son of God, and receive freedom.

All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you. For kingship belongs to the LORD, and he rules over the nations.
readPsalm 22:27-28

Pray that entire families will turn to the Lord in repentance and faith, and that they will worship Him and declare His righteousness to the nations.

In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?
readJohn 14:2-3

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will persevere in hope, remembering that Jesus went to prepare a place for them to be with Him for eternity!

And through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
readColossians 1:20

As believers cross cultures to tell others about Jesus, praise God for allowing them to be a part of His reconciling all things to Himself, asking Him to help them remember their role in His beautiful plan of salvation for others.

Bania reported in the following countries (ROP3):

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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