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People group profile · PG041434

The Karan Kayashtra of India

The Karan Kayashtra of India, numbering about 105,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Kayastha subgroup of Odisha, West Bengal, and Bihar whose name derives from karanik, meaning scribe, their traditional occupation. Agriculture is now their main livelihood in Odisha, supplemented by government service elsewhere.

They are an indigenous people in the Kayastha people cluster of the South Asian Peoples. Their primary religion is Hinduism, and they primarily speak Bengali.

Pray for the Karan KayashtraPrint profile

AI-generated illustration representing the Karan Kayashtra people
AI-generated illustration, not a photograph. Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite: Kayashtra, Karan

Fast facts

Country
India
Population
105,000
Affinity group
South Asian Peoples
People cluster
Kayastha
Primary language
Bengali (ben)
Primary religion
Hinduism
Strategic Progress Index ?
Engaged yet Unreached
Evangelical
Less than 2%
GSEC ?
Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
Lostness priority ?
Pioneer Unreached People Group
Region
Southern Asia, Asia

Where they live

Gospel status

The Karan Kayashtra are Engaged yet Unreached, which means fewer than 2% are evangelical Christians, but there are sustained efforts to establish self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. In GSEC terms, this people group is less than 2% evangelical, some evangelical resources are available, but there has been no active church planting among them within the past two years.

  • Congregations exist Yes
  • Church planting in the last two years No Churches Planted

Next steps for the Karan Kayashtra

  • 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

Primary religion

Hinduism

100% adherents

Primary language

Bengali · Indo-European family

100% speak Bengali

Gospel resources in Bengali

  • Bible available
  • JESUS Film available
  • Radio programs available
  • Gospel recordings available
  • Audio resources available
  • Bible stories available

Films

Bibles

Find more at the JESUS Film Project, Bible.com and Faith Comes by Hearing.

Pray for the Karan Kayashtra

  1. Romans 10:14–15. Ask God to send messengers, so that people can hear, believe and call on the name of the Lord.
  2. Matthew 9:37–38. Ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest field.
  3. 2 Timothy 2:2. Pray for faithful local leaders who will teach others, so that the church multiplies.
  4. Ephesians 5:8. Pray that those walking in darkness will turn to the light and live as children of light.

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