PEOPLE OF THE DAY

Day 4. Bania in India (BAHN-yuh)

Population:

23,939,000

Language :

Hindi

Religion:

Hinduism

Jesus followers:
0.000%

Workers Needed:
479 (1 worker/50000)

The term Bania encompasses many subcastes. The Bania castes have a long history of trade, money lending, and agriculture both at the high levels of society and at the village level. They are known for their new ideas in business, but many Indian sayings advise caution in business deals with them. Flipkart, an Indian online shopping company that employs thousands and serves millions, was started by a Bania businessman. It is estimated that half of the billionaires in India are a part of this people group, and the majority of businesses are started by Banias.

The Bania peoples current and historical role in business gives them a unique way to see the world and their place in it. Among the many deities worshiped by Banias, Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and prosperity, receives particular devotion. At the festival of Lights, Diwali, Lakshmi is asked to bless the new ledgers as people decorate their homes with lights and set off fireworks to attract this goddess of wealth.

Prayers for the Bania families in India:
Lord, bless Your Holy Scriptures in Hindi, the heart language of the Bania.  Bless the Bania homes with guests who share Bible stories with them and through the many audio versions of the Hindi Bible. Reveal Yourself as the Creator of the universe, our Father in heaven and Lord of eternal treasures.

Lord, send families to live in Bania communities who seek the righteousness that only Jesus can offer. Raise up Bania families that see they are blessed in order to bless all the families of the earth.

Lord, bless Bania families with the riches of God: loving, giving, healing, praying in power, teaching, breaking down strongholds and turning the hearts of their children to their parents and the hearts of the parents to their children. Draw the Bania families to Jesus and His teachings.

Proclaim the blessing of God upon His Bania Children: See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to My people, My chosen, the people I formed for Myself that they may proclaim My praise. (Is. 43:19)

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