Tenth Anniversary of the Killing of Graham Staines

Ten years after the brutal murder of Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two sons in India’s Orissa state, widow Gladys Staines is urging persecuted Christians there to turn to Christ. On Thursday,22nd January, a mass was held at the site of murders in Monoharpur marking the tenth anniversary, followed by a prayer service on Friday and the inauguration of a new physiotherapy hall. Baptist missionary Graham Staines, 58, and his sons Philip, 9, and Timothy, 7, were sleeping in their station wagon in Manoharpur village when they were attacked by a mob of Hindu extremists and burned alive inside their vehicle on the night of 22 January 1999. Mr Staines had spent more than 30 years working with leprosy sufferers in India. In an interview with AsiaNews this week, Mrs Staines admitted there had been times of sadness during the last 10 years. “I feel sad that I do not have my husband to support me, to guard me, but these are just momentary emotions of sadness which also fill me with great hope, the hope of heaven and of being reunited with my husband and children in paradise and seeing the Father face to face. This guarantee fills me with consolation,” she said. Although Mrs Staines said she missed the support of her husband and was sad that she was not able to see her sons grow up, she affirmed forgiveness for the killers and said that Christ had been her companion over the years. “God gives me great support, and the prayers of people has been a source of great consolation, and this is the solidarity I share with the widows of Kandhamal. It is Jesus who is the source of every consolation and support. God gives us the strength to be able to carry our cross and to live in His will. Our life and our work here on earth has to go on according to His holy will.” Mrs Staines went on to express her sadness over the recent wave of attacks against Christians in Orissa but urged women who had lost their husbands in the killings to stay strong “and Christ will be your support, your companion, your guide and your strength”. “When God is working with us, nothing can be against us,” she said. “I am in prayerful solidarity with them, I share their sufferings and I want to encourage them with hope. It is painful and sad but importantly - it is not how we live, but what matters is ‘whether we are in the will of God’.” Mrs Staines returned to Orissa in 2006 to continue the work of her husband in fostering peace and harmony. She encouraged Christians elsewhere to support believers in Orissa with solidarity and prayers. “To the people of the world I say, do not give up hope, pray for India,” she said. Mrs Staines has previously stressed forgiveness for the killers. When one, Dara Singh, was sentenced to death and 12 others given life imprisonment in 2003, she appealed for clemency. Singh’s death sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment. In a 2006 interview with AsiaNews, she stressed the importance of forgiveness. "In forgiveness, there is no bitterness and when there is no bitterness, there is hope. This consolation comes from Jesus Christ." source

Karnataka High Court allows House Churches to hold Worship services

Legal Victory for House Churches in Karnataka

Posted on January 14, 2009 by cd

KARNATAKA, INDIA (ANS) – Over four months after government authorities closed several house churches in Karnataka, India, the Karnataka High Court said they should reopen and can hold worship services.

This followed the action of several pastors and Christian believers from Davanagere District who had lodged a writ petition to the High Court of Karnataka in Bengaluru.

The All India Christian Council had supported the pastors in logistical and finding legal representation. For last four and half months about twelve churches in Davanagere in central Karnataka were locked.

Following attacks on several churches on August 17, 2008, the district administration issued notices seeking a survey of churches functioning without permission. In early September, several churches were sealed. The next week Deputy Commissioner K. Amar Narayan instructed the Police Department to survey churches and prayer halls to check how many of them were authorized. The Indian media noted that worship places of other religions were not checked.

Local Christian leaders say the problems were because extremist Hindutva groups influenced officials. During 2008, groups like RSS and Bajrang Dal have beaten believers, pastors, and even set fire to churches. They also made false accusations against pastors and registered cases with the police.

The High Court chief Justice Mr. Dinakar was strict with the District Collector saying, “In a democratic country, no one has power to stop anyone worshiping according to one’s own faith. One’s faith can be a church or any other worship centre.”  more

Story of Hindutva

Augustine Kanjamala | Friday, 26 December 2008 Why Hindu extremists target Christians A militant school of Hindu thought which despises Islam and Christianity as alien creeds is growing in strength in India. Many Westerners believe that Hinduism is exemplified by Gandhi, the saintly man who led India to independence through toleration and ahimsa, or non-violence. But there is another strain of Hinduism which is far from tolerant and dreams of reviving the martial traditions of Aryan forebears. One leading Hindu monk, the Sankaracharya of Karvipith, criticised Gandhi in 1922: “Ahimsa undermines Hindu self-respect; passive and non-resisting sufferance is a Christian and not an Aryan principle.” Organized anti-Christian animosity and violence in India goes back to the Hindu reformist movement, Arya Samaj, and its founder Dayananda Sarasvati (1824-1883). When an American Presbyterian mission in Punjab began to attack Hinduism and denounce its superstitions, Dayananda was infuriated. His Hindu social reform movement bore some resemblance to Luther’s slogans. His mottoes included, “back to Vedas” (like “back to the Scriptures”). He introduced the Sudhi rite for reconversion to counter Christian proselytism among the Chura community of outcasts. In 1923, a political extremist from the state of Maharashtra, V.D. Savarkar, after imprisonment for 12 years for terrorism, published his book Hindutva: Who is a Hindu? He argued that only those who are bound by the Hindu culture and uphold India as their pitrubhumi (fatherland) and punyabhumi, (holy land) should enjoy full rights. Muslims and Christians, whose holy lands are far off in Arabia and Palestine, are not children of the soil of the sub-continent. He popularized the slogan: “Hinduise all politics and militarize Hinduism”. The exclusivist Hindutva policy was radically opposed to the inclusive and secular policies of the founders of independent India. more

India, an Exporter of Priests: New York Times

By LAURIE GOODSTEIN Published: December 29, 2008 ALUVA, India — In the sticky night air, next to a grove of mahogany trees, nearly 50 young men in madras shirts saunter back and forth along a basketball court, reciting the rosary. James Estrin/The New York Times FOCUSED ON FAITH In Kerala, a state in the southwest part of the country where 20 percent of the population is Roman Catholic, families like the Alengadans pray together at home and Mass attendance is high. They are seminarians studying to become Roman Catholic priests. Together, they send a great murmuring into the hilly village, mingling with the Muslim call to prayer and the chanting of Vedas from a Hindu temple on a nearby ridge. Young men willing to join the priesthood are plentiful in India, unlike in the United States and Europe. Within a few miles of this seminary, called Don Bosco College, are two much larger seminaries, each with more than 400 students. more

Kandhamal killings split Orissa Maoists on religious lines

December 30th, 2008 - 11:51 am ICT by IANS - Send to a friend: Berhampur (Orissa), Dec 30 (IANS) The killing of a Hindu leader and his associates that triggered attacks on Christians in Orissa have split the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) on religious lines for the first time, with many Hindu members breaking away to form a rival group.The unexpected development, which have taken many by surprise, came to light when the breakaway faction put up posters threatening to target Christian members of the CPI-Maoist in the state. The new group calls itself “IDGA-Maoist”, which some posters say is the acronym for “Idealize of Democrat Garila (Guerrilla) Army (Maoist)”. According to informed sources, the new group’s formal inauguration will take place Jan 3 at an undisclosed location under the leadership of a guerrilla identified only as M2. The origin of the split is the Aug 23 gunning down of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Swamy Laxmanananda Saraswati and four associates at Jallespata in tribal-dominated Kandhamal district. It sparked off an orgy of violence against Christians, whom the VHP blamed for Saraswati’s killing. About 40 people, mostly poor Christians in rural areas, were killed. While the police blamed the Maoists for the killings, the VHP insisted that Christians were responsible. The CPI-Maoist claimed responsibility for the murder, saying Saraswati was creating a sectarian divide in the impoverished region. The breakaway IDGA’s posters have denounced the People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA), the military wing of the CPI-Maoist, and its leader Sabyasachi Panda for the VHP leader’s death. A Maoist sympathiser close to the new faction told IANS that the main reason behind the break-up was the Kandhamal violence, for which he blamed Panda. “Maoists don’t have any religion. Their religion is to safeguard the vulnerable people and fight exploitation and oppression. But those under Panda are acting like a mafia,” he said, requesting anonymity. People familiar with the Maoist movement in the state believe that the split will result in escalation of violence. Sixteen of Orissa’s 30 districts are considered Maoist- dominated. Six southwestern districts - Malkangiri, Koraput, Raygada, Kandhamal, Nayagarh and Gajapati - are the worst hit. The existing Maoist group active in southern Orissa is known as the Bansadhara Divisional Committee. This is expected to face the wrath of the splitters. Nihar Nayak, an expert on Maoists at the Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses in New Delhi, told IANS that if a split has indeed taken place on religious lines, it would mark a first in India’s Left history. “Since the Maoist movement began in India, they have never supported a specific religion or caste or community,” he said. Nayak added that the objective of the splinter group would be “to protect Hindus from Maoist attacks and retaliate by killing Christian leaders” in the state. In its posters, the new group has threatened to kill one Christian on the 23rd of every month — to avenge Saraswati’s murder Aug 23. The new group’s area of influence includes three regions: southcentral Orissa, Ghumsar division in southern Orissa and Bansadhara division which shares a border with Andhra Pradesh. Some police officials here fear the law and order situation in the region might worsen if the new group starts revenge killing, inviting retaliation. “It is certain that violence will escalate and this split is going to be a major headache for the already burdened police force,” a senior officer told IANS requesting anonymity. Deputy Inspector General of Police P. Koche told IANS: “I don’t have any information regarding this new Maoist group.” Sanjeeb Panda, another deputy inspector general of police, added: “We don’t have any official information regarding the split. But I can’t rule out that there has been a split among the Maoists.” source

Orissa proposes deletion of 'Kui' from tribal list

Published: December 30,2008 Bhubaneswar , Dec 30 Orissa government has proposed deletion of the term&aposkui&aposfrom the list of tribals in a bid to resolve the controversial fake caste certificate issue believed to have contributed in triggering the Kandhamal riot. A meeting of the state level Tribal Advisory Committee will be held on January 19 to formally decide on deleting the term from the list, official sources said here today. There had been reports of a large section of population, including the schedule caste people converted to Christianity in Kandhamal, obtaining schedule tribe certificate by claiming that they were Kui tribals. A senior SC and ST development department official said that there is no specific group known as Kui tribe. " Though Kui being considered as a specific tribal group, but in fact it was never a tribe but a language,"he said, adding that though a large number of people speak Kui language in Kandhamal, all of them are not tribals. As per the existing law, a schedule caste person can not avail reservation and other benefits after getting converted to other religion. However, a tribal can retain his status and get benefits even if he converts to any other religion. The fake caste certificate issue had turned out to be a major problem for the administration. The officials had received as many as 600 complaints relating to fake tribal certificates mainly from areas in Kandhamal where people, mostly non-tribal Christians, had acquired tribal certificate on the basis of speaking Kui dialect. Kui Samaj Samanway Samiti (KSSS), a tribal body in Kandhamal, had been agitating since a long time demanding cancellation of fake caste certificates acquired by non-tribals in the district. more Discusssion : A move to deprive christians tribal status?

Why Christmas was peaceful in Orissa, India?

nalysis: Why Christmas was peaceful in Orissa, India? Monday, 29th December 2008. 8:35am By: Vishal Arora. New Delhi: Christians and rights groups across the world feared re-eruption of violence around Christmas in the east Indian state of Orissa, which witnessed a macabre spate of attacks on Christians in August and September in 2008. But thanks to changing political atmosphere in the country, the festival season passed off largely peaceful in the region. The ebb and flow of the targeting of the Christian minority in India in the last 10 years can put in context both the wave of anti-Christian violence in Orissa’s Kandhamal district in August 2008 and the absence of more attacks in December 2008 despite a call for a state-wide shutdown by Hindu extremist groups on Christmas Day. The decade of organised Christian persecution, which began in 1998 and climaxed in 2008, can be divided into four episodes, the ongoing being a period of restraint. I. The Genesis and Rise of Christian Persecution (mid-1998 to mid-2004): Until 1998, Hindu nationalist groups targeted only the Muslim community, which accounts for around 14 per cent of India’s population, which is more than one billion. But due to two developments, the targeting of Christians began in 1998. The Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came into power at the federal level for the first time in 1998 – though through a coalition, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). The BJP, but its admission, was started under the leadership of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or the RSS, India’s chief Hindu nationalist organization that acts as an umbrella for a plethora of smaller groups. The BJP original agenda is to make India a Hindu nation; not a theocracy like in Saudi Arabia, but a national state in the European sense of the word. The party wants to create a nation that will be recognized as a land belonging to the Hindus, who account for more than 80 per cent of the population, and where Christians (who comprise 2.3 per cent of the population) and Muslims will be seen as outsiders and in subordination to the majority community. It will also be a nation where minorities will not be allowed to preach their religion and religious conversions will be banned. In March 1998, Sonia Gandhi, the wife of late prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, became the president of the Indian National Congress, India’s grand old party and the biggest threat to the BJP’s rule at the time. Given that Mrs Gandhi is an Italian-born Roman Catholic, the BJP launched a campaign, including violent attacks, against Christians to provoke her to defend the minority community, whereby she could be branded as a minority leader as opposed to BJP’s leadership to the majority community. By launching attacks, the BJP also hoped to suggest that Christians were using money and force to convert Hindus under the protection provided by Mrs Gandhi. Following the two developments, the Independent India witnessed its first large-scale, indiscriminate attack on Christians in the Dangs district of the western state of Gujarat in December 1998. The violence led to a mass destruction of property belonging to local Christians and Christian organizations in Dangs, a tribal (aboriginal people) majority district (with 93% tribal population). The violence began after an alleged attack on a Hindu nationalist rally -— an allegation that had no evidence. In January 1999, an Australian missionary, Graham Staines, and his two underage sons were burned alive in the western state of Orissa’s Keonjhar district, another tribal district. In March 2004, India’s second massive spate of anti-Christian attacks took place in the Jhabua district of the central state of Madhya Pradesh. The violence erupted after a nine-year-old Hindu girl was found murdered in a Christian school — a Hindu man was later arrested for the murder. Over 85 per cent of the people in Jhabua are tribal. From 2000 to 2004, around 200 anti-Christian attacks were reported each year from various parts of the nations, but mainly from the states situated in the tribal belt of central India (including some eastern and western states), where 75 per cent of India’s tribal population lives. II. The Period of Sustenance (mid-2004 to 2006-end): In the general elections of 2004 –after the NDA federal government completed its five-year term, the BJP-led coalition lost to the Congress party-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA). The RSS blamed the BJP’s defeat on the party’s reluctance to whole-heartedly implement its Hindu nationalist agenda (Most political analysts, however, said it was a vote against the BJP’s non-inclusive economic policies, and that people’s interest in emotive, identity-based issues was gradually fading away.). However, Christians continued to face attacks, as the BJP was a ruling party in various states (India is a federation, and law and order is a state subject). According to the Christian Legal Association (of India), at least 165 anti-Christian attacks were reported in 2005, and over 130 in 2006. more