Igorsiw at 23:20, 23 April 2026

2026-04-23T23:20:59Z

New page

{{short description|Australian missionary killed in India (1941–1999)}}
{{confused|Gram stain}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2026}}
{{Use Australian English|date=May 2013}}
{{Infobox person
| name =
| image = Graham Staines Family.jpeg
| caption = Graham Staines with his wife and children
| birth_name = Graham Stuart Staines
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1941|01|18}}
| birth_place = [[Palmwoods]], [[Queensland]], [[Australia]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1999|01|23|1941|01|18}}
| death_place = [[Keonjhar]], [[Orissa]] (Odisha), [[India]]
| death_cause = Murder by burning
| occupation = Missionary
| spouse = [[Gladys Staines]]
| children = 3
}}
'''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 the [[Bajrang Dal]], a militant [[Hindutva]] organisation.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Parashar |first1=Swati |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YoH8AgAAQBAJ |title=Women and Militant Wars: The politics of injury |date=5 March 2014 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-1-134-11606-5 |page=27 |language=en |quote=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'. |access-date=13 February 2021 |url-access=limited |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref> In 2003, Bajrang Dal member [[Dara Singh (Bajrang Dal)|Dara Singh]] was convicted of leading the murderers and was sentenced to life in prison.<ref>{{Cite web|author=Natasha CoutinhoNatasha Coutinho|date=Feb 20, 2019|title=Sharman Joshi brings Graham Staines' story to the screen|url=https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/sharman-joshi-brings-graham-staines-story-to-the-screen/articleshow/68068553.cms|access-date=2022-01-28|website=Mumbai Mirror|language=en}}</ref>

Staines had been working in [[Orissa]] (Odisha) since 1965 as part of an [[Evangelicalism|evangelical missionary]] organisation named "Mayurbhanj Leprosy Home" caring for people who had [[leprosy]] and looking after the [[Adivasi|tribal people]] in the area who lived in [[Extreme poverty|abject poverty]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/21-years-after-his-killing-odisha-village-says-it-still-weeps-for-staines/articleshow/68666096.cms|title=21 years on, Odisha village still weeps for Graham Staines|last=Singha|first=Minati|date=Jan 23, 2020|website=Times of India}}</ref> However, some Hindutva groups alleged that during this time he had supposedly tricked, lured or [[Forced conversion|forcibly coerced]] many Hindus into believing in the Christian faith. The Wadhwa Commission noted that there was no evidence of forced conversions.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/in-the-age-of-fake-news-flashback-to-first-kill/cid/1687607|title=In the age of fake news, flashback to first kill|website=www.telegraphindia.com|language=en|access-date=2019-05-31}}</ref> Staines's widow [[Gladys Staines|Gladys]] has also denied the allegation of forced conversions.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/264326.stm|work=BBC News|title=Missionary widow continues leprosy work|date=27 January 1999}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rediff.com/news/1999/feb/08vir.htm |title=Rediff On The NeT: Vir Sanghvi on the Orissa incident |work=Rediff.com |date=1999-02-08 |access-date=2015-04-16}}</ref>

Gladys continued to live and work in India caring for those who were poor and were affected by leprosy until she returned home to Australia in 2004. In 2005, she was awarded the fourth highest civilian honour of India, the [[Padma Shree]], in recognition for her work in Orissa.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3129222.stm|work=BBC ,News|first=Soutik|last=Biswas|title=Widow keeps missionary's memory alive|date=22 September 2003}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4555355.stm |title=South Asia | Missionary widow's emotional return |publisher=BBC News |date=2005-05-18 |access-date=2015-04-16}}</ref> In 2016, she received the [[Mother Teresa Award|Mother Teresa Memorial International Award for Social Justice]].<ref>Forgiver feted. ''Christianity Today'' Jan. 2016, p.17.</ref>

==Early life and early career==
Graham Staines was born in the Sunshine Coast suburb of [[Palmwoods]] in the Australian state of [[Queensland]]. He visited India for the first time in 1965 by joining the [[Evangelical Missionary Society of Mayurbhanj]] (EMSM), and worked in the remote tribal areas of [[Odisha|Orissa]], a state with a long history of Christian missionary 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.<ref name="hvk">{{cite web|author=Hindu Vivek Kendra|url=http://www.HVK.org/specialrepo/wadhwa/Graham.html|title=Graham Staines: His Background|publisher=hvk.org|access-date=13 October 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110409123228/http://www.hvk.org/specialrepo/wadhwa/Graham.html|archive-date=9 April 2011|df=dmy-all}}{{unreliable source|date=February 2025}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Staines met [[Gladys Staines|Gladys]] in June 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 1983; they worked together until his death. Together they had three children: a daughter, Esther, and two sons, Philip and Timothy.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://religionunplugged.com/news/2019/1/23/film-marks-the-20thnbspanniversary-of-missionary-graham-staines-killing-in-india|title=Film marks the 20th anniversary of missionary Graham Staines' killing in India|website=Religion Unplugged|date=23 January 2019 |language=en-US|access-date=2020-04-07}}</ref> During the course of his work Staines had managed to assist in the translation of part of the Bible into the [[Ho language|language]] of the [[Ho people]] of India, which included his 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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india/bible-translated-in-oriya-dialect/story-Kk7xAxiP8nCw9eVXw79cJO.html|title=Bible translated in Oriya dialect|date=2006-11-25|website=Hindustan Times|language=en|access-date=2020-04-07}}</ref> It was reported that he could speak the [[Odia language]] fluently, and was popular among the patients whom he had managed to cure.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/cover-story/story/19990208-staines-killing-murder-of-australian-missionary-and-his-two-sons-in-orissa-shocks-india-780092-1999-02-08|title=Staines' killing: Murder of Australian missionary and his two sons in Orissa shocks India|last=BANERJEE|first=RUBEN|date=8 February 1999|website=India Today|language=en|access-date=2020-04-07}}</ref> In addition to this it was also reported that he used to teach people how to make mats and baskets out of rope, sabai grass ([[Eulaliopsis binata]]) and tree leaves.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The politics behind anti Christian violence : a compilation of investigation committee reports into acts of violence against the Christian minorities|date=2006|publisher=Media House|others=Puniyani, Ram.|isbn=81-7495-237-3|location=Delhi|pages=261–265|oclc=182969294}}</ref>

==Murder==
On 22 January 1999, Staines 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 camp was on the border between the tribal villages of [[Mayurbhanj]] and [[Keonjhar]]. He was travelling to Kendujhar with his sons, who were on a break from their schooling in [[Ooty]], a [[List of hill stations in India|hill station]] in [[Tamil Nadu]]. At a point, they decided to take a break from the journey towards the jungle camp, and elected to spend the night in Manoharpur, sleeping in the vehicle due to the severe cold at the time. His wife and daughter did not accompany them on the journey, having decided to remain behind in the town and municipality of [[Baripada]].

A mob of about fifty [[people]], armed with [[axe]]s and other implements, attacked the vehicle while 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 |work=Rediff.com |date=1999-01-23 |access-date=2015-04-16}}</ref> Current BJP MP [[Pratap Sarangi|Pratap Chandra Sarangi]] was also believed to be a part of this murder as he was Orissa State Unit Chief of the Bajrang Dal during this planned murder.

Staines and his sons had awakened 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 |access-date=2015-04-16}}</ref>

===Reactions===
The murders were widely condemned by religious and civic leaders of the time, along with politicians and journalists.

The US-based [[Human Rights Watch]] group accused the Indian government of failing to prevent violence against Christians, and for exploiting the sectarian tensions that existed at the time for their own political gain.

Then [[Prime Minister of India]], [[Atal Bihari Vajpayee]] condemned the "ghastly attack," and called for swift action in catching the killers.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/261391.stm |title=South Asia | Thousands mourn missionary's death |publisher=BBC News |date=1999-01-25 |access-date=2015-04-16}}</ref>

Published reports stated that the church leaders alleged the attacks were carried out at the behest of Hindutva organisations seeking revenge for what they perceived to be forced conversions of the tribal poor into Christianity.<ref name="M1">{{cite web|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/626979.stm |title=SOUTH ASIA | Missionary 'killer' arrested in India |publisher=BBC News |date=2000-02-01 |access-date=2015-04-16}}</ref> Dara Singh, who was convicted of the murders, was treated as a hero by the supporters of Hindutva and the Bajrang Dal 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 the women [[bra]]ssieres and [[Sanitary napkin|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 both 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 to help me try to accomplish the work of Graham, but I sometimes wonder why Graham was killed, and what also made his assassins behave in such a brutal manner on the night of the 22nd/23rd of 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 be reformed.
</blockquote>

==Supreme Court of India judgement==
A trial (sessions) court in [[Bhubaneswar]], the capital of Orissa, sentenced the convicted ringleader of the mob, Dara Singh, to death by hanging for killing Staines and his two sons.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/23/world/hindu-given-death-for-killing-missionary.html|work=The New York Times|title=Hindu Given Death for Killing Missionary|date=23 September 2003}}</ref> In 2005, the [[Orissa High Court]] commuted the sentence to life imprisonment. The Supreme Court upheld the High Court decision on 21 January 2011.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/graham-staines-case-supreme-court-refuses-death-penalty-80741 |title=Graham Staines case: Supreme Court refuses death penalty |publisher=Ndtv.com |date=2011-01-21 |access-date=2015-04-16}}</ref>

"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. All these aspects have been correctly appreciated by the High Court and modified the sentence of death into life imprisonment with which we concur." the court declared. 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." 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".<ref>{{cite court |litigants=Rabindra Kumar Pal @ Dara Singh vs Republic of India | pinpoint=72 | court=Supreme Court of India | date=21 January 2011 | url=https://api.sci.gov.in/jonew/judis/37394.pdf#page=72 | access-date=16 April 2020}}</ref>

Dismissing the Central Bureau of Investigation's plea for sentencing Singh to death, a Bench of Justice P. Sathasivam and Justice B. S. 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dailypioneer.com/313196/Staines-verdict-SC-expunges-controversial-remarks.html |title=The Pioneer |publisher=Dailypioneer.com |date= |access-date=2015-04-16}}</ref> This was perhaps done due to severe criticism from the media.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/expunge-remarks-against-graham-staines/article1117865.ece |title=Expunge remarks against Graham Staines |newspaper=The Hindu |publisher=Thehindu.com |date=2011-01-23 |access-date=2015-04-16}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/SC-changes-controversial-paras-in-ruling-on-Staines-killings/articleshow/7361029.cms |title=SC changes controversial paras in ruling on Staines' killings |work=The Times of India |date=2011-01-25 |access-date=2015-04-16}}</ref> 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.

==In popular culture==
In the Tamil film ''[[Ramanaa]]'' (2002), the protagonist's neighbour (played by [[Theni Kunjarammal]]) reveals to Devaki ([[Ashima Bhalla]]) that the parents and two younger brothers of one of Ramanaa's ([[Vijayakanth]]) adopted daughters (played by [[Amanda Deal]]) were burnt in a van in [[North India]].<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYl8gaXa99s |title=Ramana {{!}} Tamil Full Movie {{!}} Vijayakanth {{!}} Simran {{!}} Ashima Bhalla {{!}} Murugadoss {{!}} Bayshore Records |date=2024-07-14 |last=Bayshore Records |access-date=2025-12-13 |via=YouTube}}</ref> This is a loose allusion to the incident.

''[[The Least of These: The Graham Staines Story]]'', an American film about the real incident, was released in 2019.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Least of These - The Graham Staines Story |url=https://www.fathomevents.com/events/the-least-of-these-the-graham-staines-story |access-date=29 January 2019 |archive-date=29 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190129122748/https://www.fathomevents.com/events/the-least-of-these-the-graham-staines-story |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Hindu terrorism]]
* [[Right-wing terrorism]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110123121932/http://arunshourie.voiceofdharma.com/articles/wadhwa.htm "Who Killed Australian Missionary Graham Staines?"], by Arun Shourie
* [http://www.rediff.com/news/2003/sep/22staines1.htm "Graham Staines murder case: Chronology of events" at rediff.com], 22 September 2003
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160108065640/http://glsindia.com/shopping/?s=burnt+Alive&search_submit= "Burnt Alive: The Staines and the God they Loved". A Book by Gospel Literature Service]

{{Protestant missions to India}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Staines, Graham}}
[[Category:1941 births]]
[[Category:1999 deaths]]
[[Category:1999 murders in India]]
[[Category:20th-century Australian translators]]
[[Category:Anti-Christian sentiment in India]]
[[Category:Australian biblical scholars]]
[[Category:Australian evangelicals]]
[[Category:Australian expatriates in India]]
[[Category:Australia–India relations]]
[[Category:Australian people murdered abroad]]
[[Category:Australian Protestant missionaries]]
[[Category:Australian terrorism victims]]
[[Category:Bible translators]]
[[Category:Child murder in India]]
[[Category:Conversion to Christianity]]
[[Category:Evangelicalism in India]]
[[Category:Hate crimes in India]]
[[Category:Hinduism-motivated violence in India]]
[[Category:Leprosy nurses and caregivers]]
[[Category:Lynching deaths in India]]
[[Category:Lynching victims]]
[[Category:Missionary linguists]]
[[Category:People executed by burning]]
[[Category:People from the Sunshine Coast, Queensland]]
[[Category:People murdered in Odisha]]
[[Category:Protestant missionaries in India]]
[[Category:Terrorist incidents in India in the 1990s]]
[[Category:Victims of anti-Christian violence]]
[[Category:Victims of serial killers]]
[[Category:20th-century Australian nurses]]
[[Category:Hindu terrorism]]
[[Category:20th-century biblical scholars]]
[[Category:Hindu terrorist incidents]]

Graham Staines - Revision history

Igorsiw at 23:20, 23 April 2026