Orphanage Torched In India, Nun Dies

Hindu Extremists Suspected In Blaze Aimed At Christian Missionaries In Eastern India

(AP)  Suspected Hindu hard-liners set an orphanage run by Christian missionaries on fire in eastern India on Monday, killing one nun and seriously injuring a priest, police said.

The attack occurred in Khuntapali, a village in Orissa state, during a strike called by the World Hindu Council to protest Saturday's killing of a Hindu religious leader and four others by suspected communist rebels in another district of the state, Ashok Biswal, superintendent of police, told The Associated Press.

Khuntapali is nearly 250 miles west of Bhubaneshwar, the capital of Orissa state.

In the past Hindu extremists in Orissa state have attacked Christian missionaries. In 1999 an Australian missionary, Graham Staines, and his two sons were killed by a Hindu mob that set their car on fire.

On Monday, a group of Hindu hard-liners converged on the orphanage and asked nearly 20 residents to leave the complex, Biswal said.

They then set the orphanage on fire with the nun and the priest locked inside, the police officer said.

The nun died and the priest was hospitalized with serious burns, Biswal said.

The region is marked by religious tensions between Christian missionaries who work with mostly poor tribes in the region and hard-line Hindu groups that claim the Christians are forcing or bribing people to convert.

Churches have denied that residents have been pressured or bribed to change their religious beliefs.

Indian law accepts missionaries but bars forced conversions. Nevertheless, any missionary activity generally provokes controversy.

Hindus account for 84 percent of India's more than 1.2 billion population and Christians about 2.4 percent.

[eggy1620]

The hard-line Hindus do not view conversions as a threat to their religion as much as a threat to their socially immobile caste system. Upon becoming a Christian, India%u2019s poor are no longer subject to the massive discrimination against the Dalits. India is losing its ditch diggers and sewer scrubbers because they can get an education as Christians.

[fibonacci_89]

Religion is also for what I like to call little-brains. Can''t really think for themselves. Some come up with incredible complex and bizzare interpretations of their favorite books.

[minnick8-2009]

RELIGION POISONS EVERYTHING!

Posted by jMcGilvray

People poison everything.

[minnick8-2009]

It must have taken a lot of courage on the parts of those Hindu men to set an orphanage on fire. I''d like to meet one of those and take him home ot meet mama.

[fibonacci_89]

denn034, sorry buddy, but religion is dangerous. Atheism can be dangerous too. Time to grow up and realize there are things we have to watch out for in any ideology. You pathetic religious people do not have any moral high ground, and neither do we atheists.

[denn034]

This is sad. Unfortunately, Hindu extremists attacking Christians isn''t limited to that area. This is reminiscent of liberal attacks on conservative churches and conservative attacks on liberal churches in this country. Society has to make it socially unacceptable to attack religions, conservative or liberal. Unfortunately, that also has to include the American Psychiatric Association that views conservative religions as dangerous, the liberals being 93% of all Psychiatrists would explain that.

[haoli25]

Send in the Vatican Gestapo.....

[rohink-2009]

closethippy1

The world is filled with hateful people. I don''t think we need to go changing someones screen name. Just add another. You aren''t condoning censorship are you? The nun at the orphanage had a purpose in life, do you?

[gangesdak]

If Christianity (or Catholicism) was so great then why do we find so much heinous crimes in the USA- why do we find so much murders, so much debauchery, so much drugs,and gun violence all over the land? The big name church leaders are powerless to change it- we know that. It is no use throwing mud over people of other religious denominations. Every religion teaches the same in different language using different stories. Christianity has no problem- it is the churchanity that has caused hatred. Read your own scriptures yourself; no use listening to an interpreting pastor.

[hunterdon6]

Most of these religious people in that part of the world are cowards. Locking a priest and a nun in a building and then setting fire to it. Because the Catholic Church is helping their people when they won''t help their own. I agree with one of the other comments, pull all our work and industry out of India!

[credibility2]

Communists are atheists. Yet, the psuedo religious Hindus go after Christians as retribution for what the Communists presumably did in the killing of one of their so-called religious leaders. The Hindus apparently did nothing to help the plight of the poor, their own, and go after a group of Catholics who were trying to help the poor. The World Hindu Council is immoral and ignorant and used any excuse to justify their sick and perverted motives. And for these false and psuedo religious to have locked the nun and priest inside the orphanage and then deliberately setting it on fire is despicable. I think any faith-based organization should cease from trying to help any of these types. If they''re so devout in their belief system, then let them pray to one of their deities for helping to eradicate poverty and ignorance and not rely on Christian-based handouts. The World Hindu Council are murderers.

[closethippy1]

What?! A Catholic mission attacked in India?
Can we now please have a change of screen name from TRRRORISLAM3 TO TRRRHINDU1?
Thank you.

[docpeter-2009]

Just so I havew this correct ... The Hindus were attacked by the Communists, a basically athesits belief, rebels ... So they retaliate by killing Christians ... makes total sense to me, (being facetiuos here).

[missingamerica]

Moral of the story:

"Hard-liners" is a synonym for nuts.

[deacon20081]

DaVicar2.
I really feel sorry for people like you who make crude comments at the Death of someone and this is not the first you have made on these boards. Do us all a favor and crawl back in your hole.
---------------------------------------
As for India I would love to see all "Call Centers" that US Companies have in India closed down. Let the Hindu majority provide jobs for it''s own people.
When people who try to feed and educate those less fortunate to better their lives, are attacked and murdered, it is time to get out of that Ministry and Let God take care of them. It doesn''t matter what religion it is, caring for the poor is a community effort, or at least it should be.