India update 1-23-09

Wed, 21/01/2009 - 3:06pm GCIC Celebrates the Life of Graham Staines, Phillip & Timothy 23rd Jan 1999-23rd Jan 2009 -10th Death Remembrance
Graham Staines, 58, who along with his two sons Philip,10,and Timothy, 8, were burnt alive on January 23, 1999, when their station wagon in which they were sleeping was set afire.
In 1965, Graham, from Queensland, Australia came to Mayurbhanj, Baripada, Orissa State, India, to help the ostracized Leprosy patients-.
He served the socially outcast lepers in a 105-year-old Mayurbhanj Leprosy Home which had been established in 1895 by the Maharaja (King) of Mayubhanj, Rama Chandra Bhanj Deo.
Gladys, a young nurse from Australia served at Operation Mobilization, met Graham in India and married on 6th August 1983 at Ipswich Gospel Chapel, Queensland, Australia After the marriage, both of them returned to India.The Staines made their home in an old house within the Mission compound and chose a very simple lifestyle.
God blessed them with three children; Esther Joy, Philip Graham and Timothy Harold.
On 22nd January 1999, Graham along with his two sons reached the remote Manoharpur village to attend the annual jungle camp.
On the night of 22nd January 1999, Graham Staines, Philip and Timothy, slept in their station wagon
It was around 12.20 a.m. on 23rd January 1999, mob armed with sticks and tridents surrounded the station wagon,as they approached it, they began screaming.
Dara Singh struck first, wielding an axe at the tyres, deflating them. The others broke windows and prevented the Staines from escaping and then torched the jeep………….in seconds, the vehicle was on fire.Graham Staines (1941-1999) his sons Phillip & Timothy were Burnt Alive.During the funeral service, Gladys and Esther sang this song along with the believers: "There is no friend like Jesus who is humble. He knows our struggles. He will lead us".
At the funeral, Esther said, "I thank God for choosing my father as a martyr for Him".
Ten years have passed since that fateful day, Orissa continues to burn Christians.
Kandhamal Christians were burnt, decapitated and killed by the Sangh Parivar, and the Widows of Kandhamal also speak of Forgiveness
posted in: Current Issue, Persecution, East India
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Thu, 22/01/2009 - 9:59pm Mrs Kavitha Karkare and Mrs. Nirmala Carvalho wins satines award
Mrs Kavitha Karkare and Mrs. Nirmala Carvalho selected for the "Graham Staines award for peace" on the occasion of the tenth death anniversary
Women widowed by violence speak of Forgiveness and show the way forward and GCIC wishes "Graham Staines award for peace" will enables all to celebrate life in its fullness.
Kavita Karkare, widow of Hemant Karkare, chief of the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad killed in the 28/11 terrorist attack in Mumbai in 2008, said she was initially angry after the Mumbai terror attacks, "but now I think I am overcoming the anger. Because this anger and violence will not help to solve the problem. We should come together and do something constructive".
Showing kindness to Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Amir Kasab, Kavita Karkare, a lecturer in a Mumbai college, has said that her family is ready to forgive the terrorist. In an interview to a TV channel, Mrs. Karkare said, 'He is only 21 years old. He should be given opportunity to change his theories.'. This intricacies of divine civility is the root of ahimsa and from Christ to Gandhiji
Mrs. Nirmala Carvalho for her immense contribution to the civil society by her writings which have created awareness of human rights violations against women and other minority groups in India and throughout the world. Over the past four and a half years as a correspondent with the Italian based news agency ' AsiaNews , she has consistently reported on various human rights Her articles have been published in India and abroad, and her active campaign against violence has not only generated awareness but also elicited international responses to incidents that have taken place in India.
posted in: Current Issue, Misc, East India
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Thu, 22/01/2009 - 5:00am Pope to Obama: Rediscover US Spiritual Heritage
Vatican
Sends Telegram to New President of America
Pope Benedict XVI sent a telegram to the new president of the UnitedStates, Barack Obama, expressing wishes for the nation to rediscoverits heritage of spiritual values and ethical principles.
The Pope sent good wishes to the 44th U.S. president on the occasionof Obama's inauguration today, with an "assurance of my prayers thatAlmighty God will grant you unfailing wisdom and strength in theexercise of your high responsibilities."The English text of the telegram, personally signed by the HolyFather, was released by the Vatican today.
He wrote: "Under your leadership may the American people continue tofind in their impressive religious and political heritage thespiritual values and ethical principles needed to cooperate in thebuilding of a truly just and free society, marked by respect for thedignity, equality and rights of each of its members, especially thepoor, the outcast and those who have no voice."
The Pontiff expressed the hope that "[a]t a time when so many of ourbrothers and sisters throughout the world yearn for liberation fromthe scourge of poverty, hunger and violence, I pray that you will beconfirmed in your resolve to promote understanding, cooperation andpeace among the nations, so that all may share in the banquet of lifewhich God wills to set for the whole human family."
He concluded by invoking blessings of "joy and peace" upon thepresident's family and the American people.
posted in: Current Issue, , East India
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Wed, 21/01/2009 - 4:23pm Blast plotters’ goal was Hindu rashtra
By Krishna Kumar in MumbaiTHE ACCUSED in the Malegaon blast case were banking on help from Israel and probably even the Maoists for taking over the country and establish a ‘ Hindu rashtra ’. This disclosure forms part of the 4,528- page charge sheet filed by the Anti- Terrorist Squad (ATS) on Tuesday in the Malegaon blast case.The charge sheet contains two confessional statements of accused Rakesh Dhawade and Dayanand Pandey, a list of 431 witnesses the prosecution wants to examine and forensic evidence. The ATS has produced telephone, audio and video transcripts running into hundreds of pages.Special judge Y. D. Shinde, after hearing arguments from both the prosecution and defense, fixed Wednesday to decide if the accused can be booked under MCOCA ( Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act).The charge sheet blames 11 persons for the Malegaon blast in October 2008 that killed six people. These 11 persons, it adds, wanted to create a ‘Hindu rashtra or Aryavarta desh through violent means’. The charge sheet claims “the accused wanted to strike terror in the minds of people by exploding bombs in Malegaon and to overawe the government”. It goes on to add that Lt. Col. Prasad Shrikant Purohit founded Abhinav Bharat in 2007 to propagate the Godse- Savarkar line of Hindutva that strives for a Hindu rashtra with ‘ Bharat swarajya, surajya suraksha ’ in its preamble.A Hindu rashtra is also the goal of extremist elements in the Sangh Parivar, who want to establish a theocratic state, the charge sheet says.
posted in: Current Issue, Secular, Central India
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Tue, 20/01/2009 - 6:03am Three withdraw anticipatory bail application in nun rape case
Cuttack (Orissa), Jan 19 - In a new development in the nun 'rape'case in Kandhamal district, three persons named in the police recordtoday withdrew their anticipatory bail application from the OrissaHigh Court.Fakir Mohan Das, Dhruva Charan Das and Hrushikesh Das decided not topursue their cases for anticipatory bail after realising that theirapplications would be rejected by the high court.
Earlier, the court had rejected the anticipatory bail applications ofthree other accused.
The nun who lodged an FIR at Baliguda police station had alleged thatshe was raped at K Nuagaon during the Orissa bandh on August 25.
The nun had identified two persons, allegedly involved, during a TestIdentification Parade (TIP) at a jail here on JanuaryOrissa- The sangh's growthThe decadal growth of the Sangh Parivar in Orissa from the martyrdomof Graham Stuart Staines and his sons on January 23, 1999, and ofFather Bernard digal in the violence of August 2008
RSS the mother organization now has 6,000 shakhas with a 1,50,000 pluscadre.The VHP has 1,25,000 primary workers in Orissa.
The Bajrang Dal has 50,000 activists working in 200 shakhas.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has above 4,50,000 workers.
The Durga Vahini, the women’s group has 7,000 outfits in 117 sites.
The Rashtriya Sevika Samiti, another gender group, has 80 centres
Bharatiya Majdoor [labour] Sangh manages 171 trade unions with a cadreof 1,82,000 members.
The strong Bharatiya Kisan [farmers] Sangh has 30,000 in 100 blocks.
Other Sangh front organisations include Friends of Tribal Society,Samarpan Charitable Trust, Sookruti, Yasodha Sadan, Eklavya Vidyalayas[schools], Vanvasi Kalyan Ashrams and Parishads , Vivekananda Kendras,Shikha Vikas Samitis and Sewa Bharatis.Kandhamal district, one of Orissa’s thirty, has 2,415 villages, thetwo towns of Phulbani and Balliguda.
Orissa’s 36.8 million population has a mere 2.4 per cent Christians,2.1 per cent Muslims.
posted in: Current Issue, , East India
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Mon, 19/01/2009 - 7:21pm Pastor Attacked at Karimnagar Dist.AP
On Jan 16, Friday night, Pastor Patti Yakobu (Jacob) was assaulted by BJP members in Gumpula village, Odela Mandal, Karimnagar district, Andhra Pradesh. Pastor Yakobu is working with India Mission.
Pastor Yakobu was at home when at around 12:00 a..m. in the night, he heard a knock on his door. He opened the door to find six masked men who forcefully entered his home. Without a word, they started beating up the pastor. They lit the stove in the house and started heating up knives to burn him. They burnt a photograph of Jesus that was on the wall. They then proceeded to tonsure the central part of Pastor Yakobu’s scalp. Their intention was to brand a cross on his head but he escaped before they could do it. They burnt all the clothes and books in his house. The assailants starting shouting and saying that there should be no pastors in the village.
Pastor Yakobu happened to be alone in his home as his wife and children were in Bhongir for a holiday. His house is a little secluded from the other houses in the locality.
He was admitted to the Odela Mandalam Hospital for his injuries.
On Jan 17 morning, Pastor Yakobu along with other pastors in Odela Mandal went to the police station at Potkpalli police station and lodged a complaint. A case has been registered against the culprits at the Potkapalli Police station. Five of the perpetrators have been arrested so far.The district BJP leaders have ruled out their men’s involvement in this attack. The case is under investigation.