Stand Swamy is no more. It was a painful departure for a Jesuit Priest who devoted more than three decades of his life to the Adivasis of Jharkhand. As missionary from Tamil Nadu, he was a disciple of Christ for the adivasis who had no rights in their own land. They were exploited not only by corporates and the rich but also by the government. Tribal lands were snatched away in the name of development. Their youngsters were arrested for alleged Maoists connections; their minerals were looted. In all these situations, Stan Swamy stood with them. He posed a challenge to the system that exploited the Adivasis.

It was in such a context that he was arrested for his alleged role in the 2018 Bhima Koregaon violence and links to the Maoist Communist Party of India (CPI). The NIA accused him of conspiracy to create unrest and attempt to overthrow the government through tribal rights activism and improbable membership in a banned Maoist organisation. Stan Swamy disowned the email evidence produced by the police for it and claimed they were unethically fabricated and implanted. At the time of his arrest, he was suffering from Parkinson’s disease.

An application was filed by the 83-year-old Swamy seeking permission to allow him a straw and sipper in prison to drink water as he was unable to hold a glass because of Parkinson’s disease. The NIA had sought 20 days to reply to Swamy’s plea. Special public prosecutor Prakash Shetty, representing NIA, said, “Actually, they (Stan Swamy’s lawyers) never applied for straw and sipper. They claimed while arresting him we had recovered straw and sipper from him. We simply said that we have recovered no other articles from him.” Here we are confronted with utter loss of human worth and value if not devilish animosity to an invalid person under judicial custody. This is indicative of what awaits our democracy, which has degenerated into mob killings and fanatical mind-set in utter disregard for human beings. Stan Swany was not even worth a straw!

This is how inhumanly the National Investigating Agency behaves towards people arrested and facing trial. Fr. Swamy has been an open critic of Indian government’s mistreatment of the socially marginalised. He always worked within the framework of the Indian Constitution and the democratic processes. Moreover, while available counter-evidence was yet to lead towards his release, the hope was that Fr. Swamy’s inconvenient case would help India’s government not only to define terrorism better but also to address its own racial biases against the socially marginalised, especially by listening to those who are willing to offer their lives by being the voice of the voiceless. While terrorism is distinct from state terror, which is used by governments against their own citizens, one could imply that Fr. Swamy is in fact a victim of state coercion and intimidation. As recently stated by over 2,500 activists, Swamy represents a symbol of the plight of thousands of undertrial prisoners who languish in jail for years under fabricated UAPA charges, often aimed at harassing those who stand up for the underprivileged or oppose the government. Stan’s relentless struggle for adivasi land and people is reflected in the bold FABC statement of its President, Cardinal Bo, who says, “When Asian governments choose to evict the indigenous people and offer their lands for corporate gain, they are opting to infect the lungs of this world. This is ecological Covid.” Pope Francis has called for protecting the precious lungs like Amazon, Congo and Asian forests. Humanists like Fr. Stan Swamy are trying to save the world from ecocide.”

Stan Swamy sent out this video message just two days prior to his arrest: “What is happening to me is not something unique happening to me alone. It is a broader process that is taking place all over the country… I am happy to be part of this process because I am not a silent spectator but part of a game and ready to pay the price for it, whatever be it.”