February 3, 1999
Missionary's murder a sign
of growing Hindu persecution
___MANOHARPUR, INDIA (RNS)--In response to a flurry of attacks on Christians, Indian President K.R. Narayanan said the country's unity was based on a long tradition of tolerance and finding goodness in every religion.
___The president's reminder, calling different religions to work side by side, was delivered in the wake of the brutal slaying of an Australian-born missionary and his two young sons Jan. 23.
___Christian missionary Graham Stewart Staine, 58, and his two sons, Philips, 10, and Timothy, 8, where burnt to death when the vehicle they were sleeping in was doused with gasoline and set on fire. Witnesses report that a mob beat up anyone trying to rescue the missionaries.
___The incident occurred outside the village of Manoharpur, about 620 miles southeast of New Delhi.
___Staine's wife and daughter had stayed behind while he took his boys to help teach a five-day program of Bible-reading and prayer, as Staine's group had done for 20 years.
___Police said Staine, a secretary of the Evangelical Missionary Society, and his sons were attacked by activists from the Bajrang Dal, a radical group affiliated with the ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.
___Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee pledged that no mercy would be shown to the murderers.
___So far, 47 people have been arrested, and the state police have begun an intense manhunt for Dara Singh, who is believed to have masterminded the murder.
___A reward of $600--25,000 rupees--is offered for information leading to his arrest.
___As many as 10,000 people attended Staine's funeral in Baripada, where the missionary had worked among the poor and lepers for more than 30 years. Many mourners watched from the roof of the clinic where he had worked treating leprosy.
___His wife, Gladys Staine, in a nationally televised interview, called for reconciliation.
___"We cannot demand a longer life span from God than what he has decided for each of us," she said. "I am grateful to God for giving him this long a life span to serve people," Associated Press reported.
___Other violent incidents included the beating of five Baptist missionaries Jan. 24 who were distributing Christian literature at a Hindu holy site in Allahabad, police said.
___Defending recent attacks, militant Hindu groups have repeatedly claimed the attacks are not one-sided and accuse Christians of forcing people to convert and of offering enticements to would-be converts.
___Missionary groups insist they are simply trying to help.
___Christians make up just over 2 percent of India's population of nearly 1 billion people. Hindus make up 82 percent, Muslims 12 percent and others include Buddhists, Sikhs and Jains.Frontpage / Contents/ Masthead / Why We're Here / Links / Archive / E-mail us/ SUBSCRIBE!