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 Gandhabanik of India

The Gandhabanik of India, numbering approximately 1,855,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a community of India and can also be known as Bania, Banik, Ghadhabanik, Gandhabania, Sonarbene, Putuli Bene, Subarna Banik, Podder. They are an Indigenous people, in the Bania people cluster of the South Asian Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Hinduism. They primarily speak Bengali.

Gandhabanik in India photo
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: 1,855,000
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

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Hinduism
Religious Affiliation: Hinduism

%
Hinduism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Bengali
Language Family: Indo-European

%
Bengali Speakers

Media Resources in Bengali:

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Bengali:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Bengali bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Next steps for the Gandhabanik

The Gandhabanik 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 Gandhabanik

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.

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 Gandhabanik

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.

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 Gandhabanik of India

We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
readRomans 6:4

Pray that those who need to surrender their lives to Christ will confess their sins and trust in Him, being united with Him in His death and resurrection, walking in newness of life.

And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child.
readLuke 2:17

Pray that the lost will receive the good news of salvation in God's Son, have hearts eager to share it with others, and that all who hear will respond with wonder and faith!

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works.
readHebrews 10:24

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will love and encourage one another, spurring each other on to live lives that honor God.

The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.
readActs 17:30

Pray that those God sends to cross cultures will boldly and lovingly declare that God commands all people everywhere to repent.

Bania Gandha Banik (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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