A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP representing Uttar Pradesh in India’s Lok Sabha (Lower House), Satya Pal Singh, falsely accused murdered Australian Christian missionary Graham Staines of child abuse during a debate on the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment (FCRA) Bill 2020 on 21 September.
Since the BJP came into power in 2014, the FCRA has been used to restrict foreign funds in order to curb the work of non-governmental organisations involved civil society development projects, research and activism.
Mr Staines was an Australian missionary who was burnt to death along with his two sons, Timothy, 8, and Philip, 10, by Hindu extremists on 23 January 1999. Mr Staines was 55 years-old at the time and had been working with leprosy patients in India for more than 30 years. The killings were described by the then-President of India Kocheril Raman Narayanan as “a monumental aberration of time-tested tolerance and harmony. The killings belong to the world’s inventory of black deed.”
During the parliamentary debate on 21 September, Mr Pal Singh accused Mr Staines and his “disciples” of molesting 30 girls belonging to local tribes in Odisha and converting them to Christianity. He cited this as the main reason for his murder and as justification for stringent amendments to the law on the basis forced conversions are still being perpetrated by Christians missionaries.
The Evangelical Fellowship of India, of which Mr Staines was an associate, has described the remarks as “outrageous and an abuse of parliamentary democracy”, adding: “These remarks besmirch a deceased man’s outstanding life of social service, 21 years after his death with hearsay and innuendo.” The fellowship also called on the Speaker of the Lok Sabha “to review the comments made by Shri Satya Pal Singh and expunge the remarks, unless the latter is able to provide evidence for his derogatory comments.”
CSW’s Founder President Mervyn Thomas said: “It is deplorable that a member of parliament would tarnish the memory of an honourable man 21 years after his death for political gain, and fuel anti-Christian rhetoric at a time when religious minorities in India are subject to rising religious intolerance. We call on Mr Pal Singh to apologise to Mr Staines’ family and issue a correction to his comments in the Lok Sabha, so that they are also included in the parliamentary record. We also urge the Indian government to develop a plan of action to tackle religious intolerance in the country.”
The State of Uttar Pradesh, of which Mr Pal Singh is a representative, is one of several states in the country which has seen a concerning rise in religious intolerance in recent years. In July 2020 two Christian families from were forced to flee their village in the state, leaving their homes and livestock behind amid fears for their lives after repeated incidents of threats and assault.