Indian Christians remember Graham Staines, report 135 anti-Christian attacks in 2012
January 28, 2013 - In the past year, Christians in India recorded 135 anti-Christian
attacks with most of them in Karnataka state, ruled by the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP), according to a report released last week to remember the gruesome murder
of an Australian missionary 14 years ago. The report of the Global Council of Indian
Christians" (GCIC) was released on Jan. 23, a day observed as "Day of Martyrs" by
some Christian groups to perpetuate the memory of Australian Protestant Pastor Graham
Staines and his two sons, who were burnt alive by Hindu extremists on that day in
1999 in Odisha state. Some 600 Christian leaders from different parts of India gathered
in Bangalore to remember the late pastor, who is survived by his widow, Gladys and
daughter, Esther. In 2006, Gladys and Esther, came back to live in Orissa, forgiving
Dara Singh, the man responsible for the murders. According to the GCIC report presented
by Methodist Bishop Sampath Kumar, 41 cases of attacks on Christians were reported
from Karnataka in 2012, followed by Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Kashmir and
Kerala. The bishop while releasing the report said, "the blood of martyrs is the
seed of Christian faith" and according to Christian tradition and Christian believe
those who were killed for faith are "today in the presence of the Lord." "The persecution
allows us to participate in the sufferings of Christ; secondly, to lead a purified
life; thirdly, to proclaim the Gospel of Christ," he said.