Memorial programs were held across India on Sunday to mark the fifth anniversary of the death of Jesuit Fr Stan Swamy, the 84-year-old tribal rights activist who died in custody at a Mumbai hospital in 2021 while awaiting trial on terrorism charges. Source: EWTN News.
Archbishop Vincent Aind of Ranchi led supporters in garlanding Fr Swamy’s bust at “Bagaicha”, meaning “garden”, the Jesuit social action centre Fr Swamy founded near Ranchi, the capital of Jharkhand.
After the floral tribute, Bagaicha director Jesuit Fr P.M. Antony said: “All of us proceeded to our program hall to discuss about the present socioeconomic and political situation in the country and the state of Jharkhand today.”
The commemoration featured a screening of Carrying the Cross, a 100-minute documentary on Fr Swamy’s life and work.
In Mumbai, where Fr Swamy died, the anniversary was marked in the hall of St Peter’s Church in Bandra, where his funeral was held in 2021.
The Bombay Catholic Sabha, the lay wing of the archdiocese, organised the gathering with civil society groups, at which activists paid tribute to the priest, whom they praised as a fearless advocate for the oppressed tribal communities of Jharkhand.
“We are living in times when if you do anything to fulfil either the words or the spirit of the constitution you are likely to be the next martyr,” said senior advocate Mihir Desai, who led Fr Swamy’s legal defence.
Mr Desai repeatedly petitioned the Bombay High Court for the elderly Jesuit’s release on bail after he was brought to Mumbai following his October 2020 arrest at Bagaicha, in connection with the Elgar Parishad-Bhima Koregaon case, in which he was charged along with 15 others.
The priest, who championed the rights of oppressed tribal communities, was detained in October 2020 along with 15 other activists, academics, and lawyers on terrorism charges related to the “Bhima Koregaon conspiracy”.
The arrests, carried out on the grounds that the accused were allegedly linked to a banned Maoist organisation, drew condemnation abroad, including a posthumous resolution honouring Fr Swamy’s life and work in the United States Congress in July 2022.
Describing Fr Swamy’s death as “institutional murder”, Mr Desai said: “Why they wanted to arrest him was because they did not want any urban or rural voice … a dissenting voice of the marginalised to be heard”.
FULL STORY
Memorials across India mark 5 years since Jesuit Father Stan Fr Swamy died in custody (By Anto Akkara, EWTN News)