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People group profile · PG041580

The Bathudi of India

The Bathudi of India, numbering about 304,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Bengali-speaking tribal community of West Bengal with totemic clans, tracing its origins to the Simlipal hills of Mayurbhanj in Odisha. They combine Hinduism with traditional worship of the sacred sal grove.

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

Pray for the BathudiPrint profile

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

Fast facts

Country
India
Population
304,000
Affinity group
South Asian Peoples
People cluster
South Asian Tribal
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
Location
Andhra Pradesh: Vishakhapatnam district; Chhattisgarh: Bastar, Raigarh, and Raipur districts; Jharkhand: Ranchi and Singhbhum districts; West Bengal: Medinipur (Midnapore) district; Assam and Odisha states

Where they live

Gospel status

The Bathudi 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 Bathudi

  • 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 Bathudi

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

Download a prayer guide

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