Violence leaves14 dead, sends Christians fleeing for their lives

Hindu extremists are being blamed for the death of a Seventh-day Adventist pastor in the East Indian State of Orissa, late last week, local church leaders reported.

The pastor of the Phulwani Adventist Church, M. Samuel Nayak, and his mother were burned to death during anti-Christian violence sweeping the region of India, said Gordon Christo, communication director for the Adventist Church in Southern Asia.

Nayak's family was away from home at the time and escaped alive, Christo said. The Indian TV-station NDTV reported 14 confirmed dead as a result of the rioting. The All India Christian Council (AICC) reported that more than 114 anti-Christian attacks have taken place in various parts of the state.

The outbreak came after unidentified attackers killed a Hindu religious leader and four other individuals, Police investigators blamed the killings on local Maoist rebels taking sides in a controversy over religious conversions, but Hindus say Christians were to blame. Meanwhile Maoist rebels claimed responsibility for the killing.

One Adventist school in Jeypore was attacked last Sunday, and another school in Khurda was closed for several days. No deaths have been reported at the schools, Christo said.

Members of the Phulwani church escaped alive, but all lost their homes to fires set by the saffron mob, Christo said.

The Orissa state on India's east coast has experienced previous violence against Christians by Hindus, including the death of Graham Staines, a missionary and his two young sons in 1999.

Christians constitute about 2.5 per cent of India's population of over 1.2 billion, the majority of whom are Hindu. [Editors: Megan Brauner and Christian B. Schaeffler for ANN/APD]