Poundra in India


Population
Main Language
Largest Religion
Christian
Evangelical
Progress
Progress Gauge
* Data can be from various sources including official census, agencies, and local research. Data from these sources can sometimes differ even by orders of magnitude. Joshua Project attempts to present a conservative, balanced estimate.

Introduction / History

West Bengal is the home of almost three million Hindu Pod people. They prefer to be called Poundra. Their name means lotus. Their community is divided into a number of clans. They are Bengali speakers who live primarily in India. A smaller number live in Bangladesh.


What Are Their Lives Like?

The majority live by farming small tracts of land. Some of them own their own land. The landless among them work in other occupations such as fishing, carpentry and bamboo work. Education has become important to them, and they work hard so their children can attend school.


What Are Their Beliefs?

The Pod people practice Hinduism, which has affected religious beliefs throughout South Asia, even in Muslim countries like Pakistan and Bangladesh. Hinduism is a catch-all phrase for the local religions, so it is very diverse. At the popular level, Hindus worship and serve the gods of the Hindu pantheon. They visit Hindu temples and offer prayers, food, flowers, and incense to their gods in hopes of gaining protection and benefits. They do not have a personal or familial relationship with their gods like Christians or Jews. There are other Hindus who are much more philosophical, especially among the Brahmins. Almost all Hindus participate in yearly celebrations like Holi, the festival of colors and the start of spring / Diwali, the festival of lights / Navratri, the celebration of autumn / and Rama Navami, Rama's birthday.


What Are Their Needs?

The Pod people need to submit to Jesus Christ so they can experience the abundant life He offers them in John 10:10.


Prayer Points

Pray that believers from low class communities will help the Pods in India and Bangladesh to begin their own movement to Christ. Pray that Christian literature will be provided as their literacy is increasing. May Pod extended families soon experience and embrace God's gift of salvation. Pray for a spiritual hunger that will lead the Pod community to seek and find Christ.


Scripture Prayers for the Poundra in India.


Profile Source:   Joshua Project  

People Name General Poundra
People Name in Country Poundra
Alternate Names Bartiya; Padmaraj; Padmaraja; Paundra; Paundra Kshatriya; Pondara; Pondari; Poundara Kshatriya; Pod; Pundari; Pundarika; Punro; Sapui; पॉड
Population this Country 3,368,000
Population all Countries 3,510,000
Total Countries 2
Indigenous Yes
Progress Scale 1
Unreached Yes
Frontier People Group No
GSEC 3  (per PeopleGroups.org)
Pioneer Workers Needed 67
People ID 17896
ROP3 Code 113376
ROP25 Code 306756
ROP25 Name Pod
Country India
Region Asia, South
Continent Asia
10/40 Window Yes
National Bible Society Website
Persecution Rank 11  (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking)
Total States on file 34
Largest States
(only 15 largest shown)
West Bengal
2,777,000
Assam
277,000
Odisha
93,000
Tripura
74,000
Jharkhand
66,000
Bihar
14,000
Andaman and Nicobar
11,000
Nagaland
8,400
Chhattisgarh
7,200
Meghalaya
6,700
Uttar Pradesh
6,300
Arunachal Pradesh
6,100
Maharashtra
4,700
Madhya Pradesh
3,600
Manipur
2,400
Districts Interactive map, listing and data download
Specialized Website South Asia Peoples
Country India
Region Asia, South
Continent Asia
10/40 Window Yes
National Bible Society Website
Persecution Rank 11  (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking)
Total States 34  (only 20 largest shown)
  West Bengal 2,777,000
  Assam 277,000
  Odisha 93,000
  Tripura 74,000
  Jharkhand 66,000
  Bihar 14,000
  Andaman and Nicobar 11,000
  Nagaland 8,400
  Chhattisgarh 7,200
  Meghalaya 6,700
  Uttar Pradesh 6,300
  Arunachal Pradesh 6,100
  Maharashtra 4,700
  Madhya Pradesh 3,600
  Manipur 2,400
Website South Asia Peoples
Primary Religion: Hinduism
Major Religion Percent *
Buddhism
0.03 %
Christianity  (Evangelical Unknown)
0.36 %
Ethnic Religions
0.00 %
Hinduism
99.60 %
Islam
0.00 %
Non-Religious
0.00 %
Other / Small
0.00 %
Unknown
0.01 %
* From latest India census data.
Current Christian values may substantially differ.
Primary Language Bengali (2,687,000 speakers)
Language Code ben   Ethnologue Listing
Language Written Yes   ScriptSource Listing
Total Languages 15
Secondary Languages
Assamese
154,000
Odia
75,000
Hindi
57,000
Maithili
4,300
Kok Borok
3,900
Amri Karbi
3,000
Sadri
2,400
Andaman Hindi Creole
1,300
Kui (India)
400
Telugu
400
Santhali
200
Bhojpuri
200
Kurux
200
Kui, Dawik
80
Primary Language Bengali (2,687,000 speakers)
Language Code ben   Ethnologue Listing
Total Languages 15
Secondary Languages
  Assamese 154,000
  Odia 75,000
  Hindi 57,000
  Maithili 4,300
  Kok Borok 3,900
  Amri Karbi 3,000
  Sadri 2,400
  Andaman Hindi Creole 1,300
  Kui (India) 400
  Telugu 400
  Santhali 200
  Bhojpuri 200
  Kurux 200
  Kui, Dawik 80
People Groups Speaking Bengali

Primary Language:  Bengali

Bible Translation Status  (Years)
Bible-Portions Yes  (1800-1980)
Bible-New Testament Yes  (1801-1984)
Bible-Complete Yes  (1809-2022)
FCBH NT (www.bible.is) Online
YouVersion NT (www.bible.com) Online
Possible Print Bibles
Amazon
World Bibles
Forum Bible Agencies
National Bible Societies
World Bible Finder
Virtual Storehouse
Resource Type Resource Name Source
Audio Recordings Audio Bible teaching Global Recordings Network
Audio Recordings Online Audio Scripture Talking Bibles
Audio Recordings Oral Bible stories One Story
Audio Recordings Story of Jesus audio Jesus Film Project
Film / Video Following Jesus video Jesus Film Project
Film / Video God's Love Story General / Other
Film / Video God's Story video God's Story
Film / Video Indigitube.tv Video / Animation Create International
Film / Video Jesus Film: view in Bengali Jesus Film Project
Film / Video LUMO film of Gospels Bible Media Group/LUMO
Film / Video Magdalena video Jesus Film Project
Film / Video My Last Day video, anime Jesus Film Project
Film / Video Rivka video Jesus Film Project
Film / Video Rock International: King of Glory Rock International
Film / Video Story of Jesus for Children Jesus Film Project
Film / Video World Christian Videos World Christian Videos
General Bible for Children Bible for Children
General Biblical answers to your questions Got Questions Ministry
General Faith Comes By Hearing - Bible in text or audio or video Faith Comes by Hearing
General Faith Comes By Hearing - Bible in text or audio or video Faith Comes by Hearing
General Faith Comes By Hearing - Bible in text or audio or video Faith Comes by Hearing
General Faith Comes By Hearing - Bible in text or audio or video Faith Comes by Hearing
General Faith Comes By Hearing - Bible in text or audio or video Faith Comes by Hearing
General Faith Comes By Hearing - Bible in text or audio or video Faith Comes by Hearing
General Faith Comes By Hearing - Bible in text or audio or video Faith Comes by Hearing
Photo Source Anonymous 
Map Source People Group data: Omid. Map geography: UNESCO / GMI. Map Design: Joshua Project.  
Profile Source Joshua Project 
Data Sources Data is compiled from various sources. Learn more.



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