Biography
Graham Stewart Staines was born in January 1941 in Queensland, Australia. He grew up in a Christian home on a farm and was baptized as a teenager. He was a thoughtful and quiet young man who was deeply moved by the needs of the poor. In 1965, at the age of twenty-four, he traveled to India as a missionary. He joined the Evangelical Missionary Society of Mayurbhanj, a mission that worked in the state of Odisha, then known as Orissa. He was assigned to serve in the town of Baripada, in the district of Mayurbhanj, a poor and remote region where many tribal people lived.
He began to work at the leprosy home, which had been started in 1895 by a Baptist missionary. The home cared for those who suffered from leprosy, who were often cast out of their families and lived as beggars. Staines took up the care of the patients, helping with their medical needs, finding them work and teaching them skills. He was a gentle man who worked with his hands and ate the food of the people. He learned the local languages, Oriya and Santali, and became known in the area. He was also involved in translating the Bible into the Santali language and in the distribution of literature.
In 1983 he married Gladys, an Australian nurse who had come to serve in the same work. They raised a family of three children, Esther, Philip and Timothy. They lived in a simple house near the leprosy home, and they were known for their warmth and hospitality. Graham spent much of his time traveling to remote villages, where he visited the sick and shared the gospel. He conducted a series of jungle camps every year, where Christians gathered for several days of teaching and prayer.
His work drew the attention of some Hindu nationalist groups, who accused him of forcibly converting tribal people to Christianity. These charges were investigated by the authorities and were never proven. He denied them and said that he had no interest in coercion. He said that he served all people alike, and that the work of the leprosy home was open to all, whatever their religion. He was said to have had friendly relations with the local people.
In January 1999, he took his two sons, Philip and Timothy, on a trip to attend the annual jungle camp at Manoharpur, in the district of Keonjhar. On the night of January 22, the three of them were sleeping in their station wagon, parked in the village, when a mob surrounded the vehicle. The mob, led by a man named Dara Singh, set it on fire and prevented them from escaping. The three were burned to death. Graham was fifty-eight, and the boys were ten and six.
The murder shocked India and the world. It was widely condemned. The court later convicted Dara Singh and others of the crime. Graham's widow, Gladys, publicly forgave the killers, and her act became a witness of the Christian spirit. The government of India and many religious leaders joined in expressing grief.
His life was one of quiet service, and his death was a sacrifice. He gave thirty-four years to the leprosy home and to the poor of Odisha. His life shows that service to the despised is a form of worship, and that those who serve without fanfare may bear the highest witness at the last.