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==Death and reaction==
==Death and reaction==
On the night of 22 January 1999, he attended a jungle camp in Manoharpur, an annual gathering of Christians of the area for religious and social discourse. The village is situated on the border of the tribal-dominated Mayurbhanj and Keonjhar districts of [[Odisha]]. He was on his way to Kendujhar with his sons, who had come back on holiday from their school at Ooty. They broke the journey for the camp and decided to spend the night in Manoharpur. After that, they slept in the vehicle because of the severe cold. His wife and daughter had remained in Baripada.
On the night of the 22 January 1999, Graham Staines had attended a jungle camp in Manoharpur, which was an annual gathering for Christians in the area to congregate for a conference and discuss their beliefs in a social setting. The village where the camp was located was right on the border between the tribal villages of Mayurbhanj and Keonjhar which are located within the district of [[Odisha]]. He was travelling to the village of Kendujhar with his sons, whom were on a break from their schooling in the hill city of Ooty in southern India, when they decided to take a break from the journey to the jungle camp, and decided to spend the night in Manoharpur sleeping in the vehicle due to the severe cold at the time. His wife and daughter didn’t accompany them in the journey having decided to remain behind in the town and municipality of Baripada.


According to reports, a mob of about 50 people, armed with axes and other implements, attacked the vehicle while Staines and the children were fast asleep and his [[station wagon]] was set alight by the mob. Graham, Philip and Timothy Staines were burnt alive.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rediff.com/news/1999/jan/23oris.htm |title=Rediff On The NeT: Missionary, children burnt alive in Orissa |publisher=Rediff.com |date=1999-01-23 |accessdate=2015-04-16}}</ref> Staines and his sons apparently tried to escape, but were prevented by the mob.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.indianexpress.com/news/staines-murder-case-dara-seeks-review-of-sc/760057 |title=Staines murder case: Dara seeks review of SC verdict |publisher=Indian Express |date=2011-03-09 |accessdate=2015-04-16}}</ref>
According to reports at the time, a mob of about 50 people, armed with axes and other implements, attacked the vehicle while Graham Staines and his sons were fast asleep, and set the[[station wagon]] alight trapping them inside and burning them to death.


<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rediff.com/news/1999/jan/23oris.htm |title=Rediff On The NeT: Missionary, children burnt alive in Orissa |publisher=Rediff.com |date=1999-01-23 |accessdate=2015-04-16}}</ref> It is reported that Graham Staines and his sons had woken up and apparently tried to escape, but were prevented from doing so by the angry mob of vigilantes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.indianexpress.com/news/staines-murder-case-dara-seeks-review-of-sc/760057 |title=Staines murder case: Dara seeks review of SC verdict |publisher=Indian Express |date=2011-03-09 |accessdate=2015-04-16}}</ref>
⚫
The murders were widely condemned by religious and civic leaders, politicians, and journalists. The US-based [[Human Rights Watch]] accused the then Indian Government of failing to prevent violence against Christians, and of exploiting sectarian tensions for political ends. Then-Prime Minister of India, [[Atal Behari Vajpayee]], a leader of BJP, condemned the "ghastly attack" and called for swift action to catch the killers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/261391.stm |title=South Asia &#124; Thousands mourn missionary's death |publisher=BBC News |date=1999-01-25 |accessdate=2015-04-16}}</ref> Published reports stated that church leaders alleged the attacks were carried out at the behest of hardline Hindu organisations. [[Hindu]] hardliners accused Christian [[missionaries|Missionary]] of forcibly converting poor and low-caste Hindus and tribals.<ref name=M1>{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/626979.stm |title=SOUTH ASIA &#124; Missionary 'killer' arrested in India |publisher=BBC News |date=2000-02-01 |accessdate=2015-04-16}}</ref> The convicted killer Dara Singh was treated as a hero by hardline Hindus and reportedly protected by some villagers. In an interview with the ''Hindustan Times'', one of the accused killers, Mahendra Hembram, stated that the killers "were provoked by the 'corruption of tribal culture' by the missionaries, who they claimed fed villagers beef and gave women brassieres and sanitary towels."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/expat/4189940/Australian-missionarys-killer-sentenced-to-death.html|location=London|work=The Daily Telegraph|title=Australian missionary's killer sentenced to death|date=23 September 2003}}</ref>


⚫
The murders were widely condemned by religious and civic leaders, of the time along with politicians, and journalists. The US-based [[Human Rights Watch]] accused the Indian Government of failing to prevent violence against Christians, and of exploiting the sectarian tensions that existed at the time for political gain. The then Prime Minister of India, [[Atal Behari Vajpayee]], a leader of the BJP, condemned the "ghastly attack" and called for swift action in catching the killers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/261391.stm |title=South Asia &#124; Thousands mourn missionary's death |publisher=BBC News |date=1999-01-25 |accessdate=2015-04-16}}</ref> Published reports stated that the church leaders alleged the attacks were carried out at the behest of hardline Hindu organisations seeking revenge for what they perceived to be forced conversions of the tribal poor into Christianity.<ref name=M1>{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/626979.stm |title=SOUTH ASIA &#124; Missionary 'killer' arrested in India |publisher=BBC News |date=2000-02-01 |accessdate=2015-04-16}}</ref> Dara Singh who was convicted of the murders was treated as a hero by the hardline Hindus and reportedly protected by some villagers. In an interview with the ''Hindustan Times'', one of the accused killers, Mahendra Hembram, stated that the killers "were provoked by the 'corruption of tribal culture' by the missionaries, who they claimed fed villagers beef and gave women brassieres and sanitary towels."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/expat/4189940/Australian-missionarys-killer-sentenced-to-death.html|location=London|work=The Daily Telegraph|title=Australian missionary's killer sentenced to death|date=23 September 2003}}</ref>
⚫
In her affidavit before the Commission on the death of her husband and two sons, Gladys Staines stated:<ref>[http://www.hvk.org/specialrepo/wadhwa/Graham.html ] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110409123228/http://www.hvk.org/specialrepo/wadhwa/Graham.html |date=9 April 2011 }}</ref><blockquote>The Lord God is always with me to guide me and help me to try to accomplish the work of Graham, but I sometimes wonder why Graham was killed and also what made his assassins behave in such a brutal manner on the night of 22nd/23rd January 1999. It is far from my mind to punish the persons who were responsible for the death of my husband Graham and my two children. But it is my desire and hope that they would repent and would be reformed.</blockquote>

⚫
In her affidavit before the Commission on the death of her husband and two sons, Gladys Staines stated:<ref>[http://www.hvk.org/specialrepo/wadhwa/Graham.html ] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110409123228/http://www.hvk.org/specialrepo/wadhwa/Graham.html |date=9 April 2011 }}</ref><blockquote> The Lord God is always with me helping to guide me in his ways in the advancement of the gospel and helping me to accomplish the work that we set out to do. However, sometimes i do wonder why Graham had to be taken away from me in such a manner, and what the real reasons were that caused his assassins to behave in such a brutal manner on the night of his death. However, the farthest thing from my mind is to seek revenge or to punish the persons responsible for the death of my husband Graham our two sons, But it is my utmost desire and hope that they would turn from their evil ways and repent to God and be saved.
</blockquote>


''[[The Least of These: The Graham Staines Story]]'', a film that is based on his killing, was released in 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fathomevents.com/events/the-least-of-these-the-graham-staines-story|title=The Least of These - The Graham Staines Story|last=|first=|date=|website=|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|access-date=}}</ref>
''[[The Least of These: The Graham Staines Story]]'', a film that is based on his killing, was released in 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fathomevents.com/events/the-least-of-these-the-graham-staines-story|title=The Least of These - The Graham Staines Story|last=|first=|date=|website=|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|access-date=}}</ref>

Revision as of 13:22, 11 May 2019

Graham Staines
Born
Graham Stuart Staines

1941 (1941)
Palmwoods, Queensland, Australia
Died23 January 1999(1999-01-23) (aged 57–58)
Keonjhar district in Odisha
Nationality Australia
OccupationMissionary

Graham Stuart Staines (1941 – 23 January 1999) was an Australian Christian missionary, who along with his two sons, Philip (aged 10) and Timothy (aged 6), were burnt to death by a gang of Hindu Bajrang Dal fundamentalists while sleeping in their station wagon in the village of Manoharpur-Keonjhar, located within the district of Odisha in India, on the 23 January 1999. In 2003, a Bajrang Dal activist Dara Singh, was convicted of leading the gang that murdered Graham Staines and his sons and was sentenced to life in prison.[1]

Before his death Graham Staines had been working in Odisha since 1965 as part of an evangelical missionary organisation named Mayurbhanj caring for people who had Leprosy, and looking after the tribal people in the area who lived in abject poverty. However, some Hindu groups alleged that during this time he had lured or forcibly coerced many Hindus into believing in the Christian faith. A charge that his widow Gladys denies ever happenned.[2][3] His wife Gladys continued to live and work in India caring for those who were poor and were affected by leprosy until she returned home to her native country of Australia in 2004. In 2005, she was awarded the fourth highest honor a civilian can recieve in India, the Padma Shree in recognition for her work in Odisha. [4][5] In 2016, she received the Mother Teresa Memorial International Award for Social Justice.[6]

Early life and early career

Graham Staines was born in the Sunshine Coast suburb of Palmwoods located within the state of Queensland in Australia. As an adult he decided to visit India for the first time in 1965 by joining the Evangelical Missionary Society of Mayurbhanj (EMSM), and working in the remote tribal area of Odisha state, which had a long history of active Christian missionary style work. He took over the management of the Mission at Baripada in 1983 after helping to establish the Mayurbhanj Leprosy Home as a registered society in 1982.[7]

Personal life

Graham Staines met his wife Gladys of 16 years in June of 1981, while they worked together taking care of leprosy patients on the mission field. Not too long after that they decided to get married in the year of 1983, working together until the time of his death. Together they had three children a daughter called (Esther), and two sons named (Philip and Timothy). During the course of his work Graham Staines had managed to assist in the translation of part of the Holy Christian Bible into the language of the Ho People of India, which included him crosschecking the work with the entire manuscript of the New Testament, though it is largely believed his main focus was on his ministry to the lepers. It was reported that he could speak the Odia language fluently, and was popular among the patients with whom he had managed to cure. In addition to this it also reported that he used to teach people how to make mats and baskets out of rope, Sabai grass, (Eulaliopsis binata) and trees leaves. [citation needed]

Death and reaction

On the night of the 22 January 1999, Graham Staines had attended a jungle camp in Manoharpur, which was an annual gathering for Christians in the area to congregate for a conference and discuss their beliefs in a social setting. The village where the camp was located was right on the border between the tribal villages of Mayurbhanj and Keonjhar which are located within the district of Odisha. He was travelling to the village of Kendujhar with his sons, whom were on a break from their schooling in the hill city of Ooty in southern India, when they decided to take a break from the journey to the jungle camp, and decided to spend the night in Manoharpur sleeping in the vehicle due to the severe cold at the time. His wife and daughter didn’t accompany them in the journey having decided to remain behind in the town and municipality of Baripada.

According to reports at the time, a mob of about 50 people, armed with axes and other implements, attacked the vehicle while Graham Staines and his sons were fast asleep, and set thestation wagon alight trapping them inside and burning them to death.

[8] It is reported that Graham Staines and his sons had woken up and apparently tried to escape, but were prevented from doing so by the angry mob of vigilantes.[9]

The murders were widely condemned by religious and civic leaders, of the time along with politicians, and journalists. The US-based Human Rights Watch accused the Indian Government of failing to prevent violence against Christians, and of exploiting the sectarian tensions that existed at the time for political gain. The then Prime Minister of India, Atal Behari Vajpayee, a leader of the BJP, condemned the "ghastly attack" and called for swift action in catching the killers.[10] Published reports stated that the church leaders alleged the attacks were carried out at the behest of hardline Hindu organisations seeking revenge for what they perceived to be forced conversions of the tribal poor into Christianity.[11] Dara Singh who was convicted of the murders was treated as a hero by the hardline Hindus and reportedly protected by some villagers. In an interview with the Hindustan Times, one of the accused killers, Mahendra Hembram, stated that the killers "were provoked by the 'corruption of tribal culture' by the missionaries, who they claimed fed villagers beef and gave women brassieres and sanitary towels."[12]

In her affidavit before the Commission on the death of her husband and two sons, Gladys Staines stated:[13]

The Lord God is always with me helping to guide me in his ways in the advancement of the gospel and helping me to accomplish the work that we set out to do. However, sometimes i do wonder why Graham had to be taken away from me in such a manner, and what the real reasons were that caused his assassins to behave in such a brutal manner on the night of his death. However, the farthest thing from my mind is to seek revenge or to punish the persons responsible for the death of my husband Graham our two sons, But it is my utmost desire and hope that they would turn from their evil ways and repent to God and be saved.

The Least of These: The Graham Staines Story, a film that is based on his killing, was released in 2019.[14]

Supreme Court of India judgement

A trial (sessions) court in Bhubaneswar, the capital of Odisha, sentenced the convicted ring leader Dara Singh of the mob to death by hanging for killing Staines and his two sons.[15] In 2005, the Orissa High Court commuted the sentence to life imprisonment. The Supreme Court upheld the High Court decision on 21 January 2011.[16]

"In the case on hand, though Graham Staines and his two minor sons were burnt to death while they were sleeping inside a station wagon at Manoharpur, the intention was to teach a lesson to Graham Staines about his religious activities, namely, converting poor tribals to Christianity," the court said. The Court stated "Our concept of secularism is that the State will have no religion. The State shall treat all religions and religious groups equally and with equal respect without in any manner interfering with their individual right of religion, faith and worship." Yet, while condemning (even voluntary) religious conversions, the Court also said "It is undisputed that there is no justification for interfering in someone`s belief by way of `use of force`, provocation, conversion, incitement or upon a flawed premise that one religion is better than the other".[17] Dismissing the Central Bureau of Investigation's plea for death penalty to Singh, a Bench of Mr Justice P Sathasivam and Mr Justice BS Chauhan endorsed the Orissa High Court's finding that his crime did not fall under the rarest of rare category. In its 76-page judgement, the court came out strongly against the practice of conversion.

However, four days later, on 25 January 2011, the Supreme Court of India in a rare move expunged its own comments with regards to conversions from its verdict.[18] This was perhaps done due to severe criticism from the media.[19][20] Leading editors, media groups and civil society members from across the country signed a statement taking strong exception to the Supreme Court's observation that the killing of Graham Staines and his two minor children was intended to teach the Australian missionary a lesson for preaching and practising conversion.

References

  1. ^ "Two acquitted in Graham Staines murder case". Timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  2. ^ "Missionary widow continues leprosy work". BBC News. 27 January 1999.
  3. ^ "Rediff On The NeT: Vir Sanghvi on the Orissa incident". Rediff.com. 8 February 1999. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  4. ^ Biswas, Soutik (22 September 2003). "Widow keeps missionary's memory alive". BBC News.
  5. ^ "South Asia | Missionary widow's emotional return". BBC News. 18 May 2005. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  6. ^ Forgiver feted. Christianity Today Jan. 2016, p.17.
  7. ^ Hindu Vivek Kendra. "Graham Staines: His Background". hvk.org. Archived from the original on 9 April 2011. Retrieved 13 October 2010. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ "Rediff On The NeT: Missionary, children burnt alive in Orissa". Rediff.com. 23 January 1999. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  9. ^ "Staines murder case: Dara seeks review of SC verdict". Indian Express. 9 March 2011. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  10. ^ "South Asia | Thousands mourn missionary's death". BBC News. 25 January 1999. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  11. ^ "SOUTH ASIA | Missionary 'killer' arrested in India". BBC News. 1 February 2000. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  12. ^ "Australian missionary's killer sentenced to death". The Daily Telegraph. London. 23 September 2003.
  13. ^ [1] Archived 9 April 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  14. ^ "The Least of These - The Graham Staines Story". {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  15. ^ "Hindu Given Death for Killing Missionary". The New York Times. 23 September 2003.
  16. ^ "Graham Staines case: Supreme Court refuses death penalty". Ndtv.com. 21 January 2011. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  17. ^ "The Judgment Information System". Judis.nic.in. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  18. ^ "The Pioneer". Dailypioneer.com. 1 January 1970. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  19. ^ "'Expunge remarks against Graham Staines'". Thehindu.com. 23 January 2011. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  20. ^ "SC changes controversial paras in ruling on Staines' killings". Timesofindia.indiatimes.com. 25 January 2011. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
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