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People group profile · PG041964

The Bagheti of India

The Bagheti of India, numbering about 48,500 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a Scheduled Caste fishing community living along riverbanks in the Cuttack, Puri and Balasore districts of Odisha. They are Odia-speaking, organized into totemic gotras, and supplement their traditional fishing with wage labor.

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

Pray for the BaghetiPrint profile

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

Fast facts

Country
India
Population
48,500
Affinity group
South Asian Peoples
People cluster
Odia
Primary language
Odia (ory)
Primary religion
Ethnoreligion
Strategic Progress Index ?
No Longer Unreached
Evangelical
2% or Greater but Less than 5%
GSEC ?
2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
Lostness priority ?
Marginally Reached 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 Bagheti are No Longer Unreached, which means 2% or more are evangelical Christians. In GSEC terms, this people group is greater than or equal to 2% evangelical.

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

Next steps for the Bagheti

  • Pray for the churches among this group to grow in faithfulness and maturity
  • Equip believers to reach the unreached peoples around them
  • Send out laborers from this people to the nations

Primary religion

Ethnoreligion

100% adherents

Primary language

Odia · Indo-European family

100% speak Odia

Gospel resources in Odia

  • Bible available, published 2021
  • JESUS Film available
  • Radio programs not 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 Bagheti

  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.

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