The Pods are a scheduled caste which originated from what is now Bangladesh. They speak Bengali. They prefer to be called Poundra. Their name means lotus. They are divided into a number of clans. West Bengal is the home of almost three million Hindu Pod people, but this people group has smaller populations all over India.
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. Their women weave mats to help their families earn a living. Education has become important to them and they work hard so their children can attend school. They are endogamous (preferring to marry within the community) and monogamous. Marriage can be by family arrangement or mutual consent. On the death of the father, sons inherit the property with the oldest son becoming in charge of the home. Disagreements are settled by a council.
Almost all members of the Pod community are Hindus. Hindus tend to be pragmatic about their spiritual beliefs, worshipping whatever god they believe will offer them protection and prosperity.
The Pods need to put all their trust in Jesus Christ, the one who can and will bless them beyond what any of them can imagine.
Pray that God will give them dreams and visions leading them to Jesus Christ. Pray for spiritual discernment and hunger. Pray for a disciple making movement among the Pod people.
Scripture Prayers for the Pundari in India.
Profile Source: Keith Carey |
People Name General | Pundari |
People Name in Country | Pundari |
Alternate Names | Pundra; Punra; Puropundari; पुंदरी |
Population this Country | 329,000 |
Population all Countries | 339,000 |
Total Countries | 2 |
Indigenous | Yes |
Progress Scale | 1 ● |
Unreached | Yes |
Frontier People Group | Yes |
Pioneer Workers Needed | 7 |
People ID | 17912 |
ROP3 Code | 113393 |
ROP25 Code | 306783 |
ROP25 Name | Pondara |
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 | 17 | |||||||||||||||
Largest States (only 15 largest shown) |
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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 | 17 |
West Bengal 321,000 | |
Jharkhand 2,600 | |
Odisha 1,700 | |
Andaman and Nicobar 800 | |
Tripura 600 | |
Meghalaya 400 | |
Delhi 400 | |
Bihar 300 | |
Chhattisgarh 200 | |
Nagaland 200 | |
Maharashtra 100 | |
Mizoram 100 | |
Manipur 90 | |
Uttar Pradesh 60 | |
Madhya Pradesh 40 | |
Website | South Asia Peoples |
Primary Religion: | Hinduism |
Major Religion ▲ | Percent * |
---|---|
Buddhism |
0.00 %
|
Christianity (Evangelical 0.00 %) |
0.00 %
|
Ethnic Religions |
0.00 %
|
Hinduism |
100.00 %
|
Islam |
0.00 %
|
Non-Religious |
0.00 %
|
Other / Small |
0.00 %
|
Unknown |
0.00 %
|
* From latest India census data. Current Christian values may substantially differ. |
Primary Language | Bengali (264,000 speakers) | ||||||
Language Code | ben Ethnologue Listing | ||||||
Language Written | Yes ScriptSource Listing | ||||||
Total Languages | 6 | ||||||
Secondary Languages |
|
Primary Language | Bengali (264,000 speakers) |
Language Code | ben Ethnologue Listing |
Total Languages | 6 |
Secondary Languages | |
Hindi 12,000 | |
Odia 400 | |
Sadri 400 | |
Maithili 100 | |
Bhojpuri 40 | |
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 |
Photo Source |
(Representative photo) Copyrighted © 2023 Isudas All rights reserved. Used with permission |
Map Source | People Group data: Omid. Map geography: UNESCO / GMI. Map Design: Joshua Project. |
Profile Source | Keith Carey |
Data Sources | Data is compiled from various sources. Learn more. |