Graham Staines

Graham Staines

Dr. Graham Stuart Staines (1941 – 22 January 1999) was an Australian Christian missionary who along with his two sons Philip (aged 10) and Timothy (aged 6) were burnt to death by a gang while sleeping in his station wagon at Manoharpur village in Keonjhar district in Orissa, India on January 22, 1999. In 2003, the Bajrang Dal activist Dara Singh was convicted of leading the gang that murdered Staines and Singh is now serving life in prison. Staines is considered a martyr by many Christians.

He had been working in Orissa among the tribal poor and especially with leprosy patients since 1965. Hindu groups allege that he forcefully converted or lured many Hindus into Christianity, but Staines' widow Gladys Staines denied these allegations. She continued to live in India caring for leprosy patients until 2004 before going back to Australia. In 2005 she was awarded the fourth highest civilian honor in India, Padma Shree, in recognition for her work with leprosy patients in Orissa