Graham Staines
Graham Staines is a tragically martyred and murdered Australian Christian Missionary. He and his wife and children, filled with Christian love, were ministering to the lepers and the Poor of India. Whereas a band of extreme fanatical Hindutva Nationalist Thugs, filled with demonic hatred against the children of God, killed this wonderful Christian Missionary, with extreme and almost unheard of violence.
Biography
Graham Stuart Staines (18 January 1941 – 23 January 1999) was an Australian Christian missionary, who along with his two sons, Philip (aged 10) and Timothy (aged 6), was burnt to death in India by members of a Hindutva Nationalist Terrorist group named the Bajrang Dal.[1]
In 2003, Bajrang Dal activist Dara Singh was convicted of leading the murderers and was sentenced to life in prison.[2]
Staines had been working in Odisha since 1965 as part of an evangelical missionary organisation named "Mayurbhanj Leprosy Home" caring for people who had leprosy and looking after the tribal people in the area who lived in abject poverty.[3]
However, some Hindu groups alleged that during this time he had lured or forcibly coerced many Hindus into believing in the Christian faith. The Wadhwa Commission found that although some tribals had been baptised at the camps, there was no evidence of forced conversions.[4] Staines's widow Gladys also denies forced conversions ever happened.[5][6]
This is also a Preposterous Justification for Terrorist Actions as Evangelism is a matter of Freedom of Choice and Freedom of Speech. No Terrorist Thug has the right to kill Good Christians simply because Christians exercise their Constitution and Fundamental Human Right of Freedom of Speech and Evangelism by which they harmlessly proclaim the saving Gospel of Christ whereas Terrorist Thugs engage in harassment, intimidation and violence, which is illegal and anti-social behavior.
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 receive in India, the Padma Shree, in recognition for her work in Odisha.[7][8] In 2016, she received the Mother Teresa Memorial International Award for Social Justice.[9]
References
- ↑ (March 5, 2014) Women and Militant Wars: The politics of injury (in en). Routledge. ISBN 978-1-134-11606-5. “The Sangh Parivar (literally known as the Sangh family) includes groups such as the Rashtriye Swayamsewak Sangh, the Bajrang Dal, Shiv Sena and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad. They articulate a militant Hindu nationalist politics, opposing the Muslim 'other'.”
- ↑ Natasha CoutinhoNatasha Coutinho (Feb 20, 2019). Sharman Joshi brings Graham Staines' story to the screen (en).
- ↑ Singha, Minati (Jan 23, 2020). 21 years on, Odisha village still weeps for Graham Staines.
- ↑ In the age of fake news, flashback to first kill (en).
- ↑ "Missionary widow continues leprosy work", BBC News, 27 January 1999.
- ↑ Rediff On The NeT: Vir Sanghvi on the Orissa incident. Rediff.com (1999-02-08).
- ↑ Biswas, Soutik. "Widow keeps missionary's memory alive", BBC ,News, 22 September 2003.
- ↑ South Asia | Missionary widow's emotional return. BBC News (2005-05-18).
- ↑ Forgiver feted. Christianity Today Jan. 2016, p.17.