MODI KILLED THE SWAMY
by Nirmala Carvalho
07/05/2021,
The 84-year-old Jesuit, who was arrested on charges of “terrorism” for defending the rights of tribal communities in the state of Jharkhand, died today in a Mumbai hospital after contracting COVID-19 in prison. Saddened and anguished, Indian Jesuits will “take forward” his legacy.
Mumbai (AsiaNews) – Fr Stan Swamy died today after he was taken into custody nine months ago on terrorism charges for his work with tribal peoples. He was 84 years old.
In late May a court allowed the Jesuit priest to be moved from Taloja prison to the Holy Family hospital in Mumbai when he was already in poor health.
As his conditions worsened yesterday, he was transferred to the intensive care unit. Meanwhile, his application for release was still being before the court. Death came first.
Fr Stanislaus D'Souza, the Jesuit provincial of India, issued a statement announcing the clergyman’s death.
“With a deep sense of pain, anguish and hope we have surrendered Fr. Stan Swamy, aged 84, to his eternal abode on July 5, 2021,” reads the press release.
He is now with “the author of life [. . .] who gave him a mission to work among the Adivasis, Dalits and other marginalized communities so that the poor may have life [. . .] to the full, with dignity and honour.”
“The Society of Jesus, at this moment, recommits itself to take forward the legacy of Fr. Stan in its mission of justice and reconciliation. The funeral details will be communicated [. . .] soon.”
Despite his age and advanced Parkinson's disease, Fr Swamy was arrested on 8 October 2020 by India’s National Investigation Agency in Jharkhand, where he had dedicated his life to defend the rights of local tribal communities from certain economic interests.
As part of an investigation into the clashes that took place in 2018 at the commemoration of the battle of Bhima Koregaon, the Jesuit, together with 15 other activists, was accused of contacts with Maoist guerrillas.
Fr Swamy steadfastly denied the charges, claiming that some documents were planted in his computers in order to file false accusations against him. Several times the court in Mumbai refused his bail application.
Only after he contracted COVID-19 in prison, was he moved to the Holy Family hospital.
In a highly charged hearing on 22 May, he refused to go to a public hospital, asking to be released so as to die among his people.
“During these eight months there has been a slow but steady regression of every function of my body,” he said. “Taloja prison has brought me to a condition where I am unable to write or walk alone.”
“I am asking you to consider why and how this deterioration of my health has occurred. [. . .] I don't think it would make any difference. Whatever happens I want to be able to be with my people.”
Fr Stan Swamy killed by nine months in prison
by Nirmala Carvalho
07/05/2021,
The 84-year-old Jesuit, who was arrested on charges of “terrorism” for defending the rights of tribal communities in the state of Jharkhand, died today in a Mumbai hospital after contracting COVID-19 in prison. Saddened and anguished, Indian Jesuits will “take forward” his legacy.
Mumbai (AsiaNews) – Fr Stan Swamy died today after he was taken into custody nine months ago on terrorism charges for his work with tribal peoples. He was 84 years old.
In late May a court allowed the Jesuit priest to be moved from Taloja prison to the Holy Family hospital in Mumbai when he was already in poor health.
As his conditions worsened yesterday, he was transferred to the intensive care unit. Meanwhile, his application for release was still being before the court. Death came first.
Fr Stanislaus D'Souza, the Jesuit provincial of India, issued a statement announcing the clergyman’s death.
“With a deep sense of pain, anguish and hope we have surrendered Fr. Stan Swamy, aged 84, to his eternal abode on July 5, 2021,” reads the press release.
He is now with “the author of life [. . .] who gave him a mission to work among the Adivasis, Dalits and other marginalized communities so that the poor may have life [. . .] to the full, with dignity and honour.”
“The Society of Jesus, at this moment, recommits itself to take forward the legacy of Fr. Stan in its mission of justice and reconciliation. The funeral details will be communicated [. . .] soon.”
Despite his age and advanced Parkinson's disease, Fr Swamy was arrested on 8 October 2020 by India’s National Investigation Agency in Jharkhand, where he had dedicated his life to defend the rights of local tribal communities from certain economic interests.
As part of an investigation into the clashes that took place in 2018 at the commemoration of the battle of Bhima Koregaon, the Jesuit, together with 15 other activists, was accused of contacts with Maoist guerrillas.
Fr Swamy steadfastly denied the charges, claiming that some documents were planted in his computers in order to file false accusations against him. Several times the court in Mumbai refused his bail application.
Only after he contracted COVID-19 in prison, was he moved to the Holy Family hospital.
In a highly charged hearing on 22 May, he refused to go to a public hospital, asking to be released so as to die among his people.
“During these eight months there has been a slow but steady regression of every function of my body,” he said. “Taloja prison has brought me to a condition where I am unable to write or walk alone.”
“I am asking you to consider why and how this deterioration of my health has occurred. [. . .] I don't think it would make any difference. Whatever happens I want to be able to be with my people.”
Fr Swamy, a modern day martyr, is laid to rest
by Nirmala Carvalho
07/07/2021
Fellow Jesuits pay tribute to their confrere who died at the age of 84 after a long period of incarceration prison. A friend, Fr Mascarenhas remembers how he was “inspired after Fr Stan’s stint as director, when he went to work with” the marginalised in Ranchi.
by Nirmala Carvalho
07/07/2021
Fellow Jesuits pay tribute to their confrere who died at the age of 84 after a long period of incarceration prison. A friend, Fr Mascarenhas remembers how he was “inspired after Fr Stan’s stint as director, when he went to work with” the marginalised in Ranchi.
For writer Arundhati Roy, his slow murder “is a microcosm of the not-so slow-murder” of Indian democracy.
Mumbai (AsiaNews) – Fr Stan Swamy, who died on Monday at the age of 84, was laid to rest today.
His fellow Jesuits described the service as “The funeral of a saint of our time”, held in St Peter’s Church in Bandra (Mumbai).
Only 20 people were able to take part in the ceremony due to COVID-19 restrictions, but the Mass was streamed live.
Fr Stan spent long months in prison on charges of “terrorism” for his commitment to the rights of tribal and Dalit communities.
For his final journey, his body was dressed in a red chasuble, while his hands clasped a chalice and his fingers were entwined with the Rosary.
“Fr Stan was hounded because of his staunch support for the struggle of the Adivasi and the Dalits for their basic human rights,” said in his homily Fr Stanislaus D’Souza, president of the Jesuit Conference of South Asia, citing the Gospel passage about the flagellation of Jesus.
In the eulogy, his friend Fr Frazer Mascarenhas mentioned the word “comrades”. To think that Fr Stan used it in a Maoist sense “is an absolutely ridiculous accusation. Stan was gentle; someone who loved peace,” who rejected all forms of violence. “He considered all those working for humanity [. . .] as his comrades.”
In all this he valued his priesthood above all else. “Every time I went to visit him [in the hospital]. He was interested in receiving Jesus in Holy Communion,” Fr Mascarenhas noted.
“One particular evening, when I forgot to bring the Holy Communion, after we had chatted for a while, he said, ‘now give me the Communion’. I went back to my parish and brought Fr Stan the Holy Communion, and he was truly grateful for that. This was the real Fr Stan.”
“As a young Jesuit, I went to an institute where Fr Stan was director. He taught social analysis,” Fr Mascarenhas said.
“He explained and helped us understand the undercurrents of Indian society. Later I was inspired after Fr Stan’s stint as director, when he went to work with” the marginalised in Ranchi.
Fr Stan “worked for 30 years with the most vulnerable in Indian society” using “his social analyses”. “At the time of his arrest, 3,000 young Adivasi were detained” for the same reasons he was, and he “was fighting for them”.
Immediately after the funeral, Fr Swamy’s remains were cremated; his ashes will be taken to Ranchi, where he wanted to die. Moving his body would have entailed logistical difficulties, a Jesuit source said. A monument is already planned in his memory.
Meanwhile, the elderly Jesuit priest’s death is a major topic of discussion across the country. Writer Arundhati Roy slammed Indian authorities for the way he died.
“The slow murder of Father Stan Swamy is a microcosm of the not-so slow-murder of everything that allows us to call ourself a democracy,” writes Roy. “We are ruled by fiends. They have put a curse upon this land.”
Mumbai (AsiaNews) – Fr Stan Swamy, who died on Monday at the age of 84, was laid to rest today.
His fellow Jesuits described the service as “The funeral of a saint of our time”, held in St Peter’s Church in Bandra (Mumbai).
Only 20 people were able to take part in the ceremony due to COVID-19 restrictions, but the Mass was streamed live.
Fr Stan spent long months in prison on charges of “terrorism” for his commitment to the rights of tribal and Dalit communities.
For his final journey, his body was dressed in a red chasuble, while his hands clasped a chalice and his fingers were entwined with the Rosary.
“Fr Stan was hounded because of his staunch support for the struggle of the Adivasi and the Dalits for their basic human rights,” said in his homily Fr Stanislaus D’Souza, president of the Jesuit Conference of South Asia, citing the Gospel passage about the flagellation of Jesus.
In the eulogy, his friend Fr Frazer Mascarenhas mentioned the word “comrades”. To think that Fr Stan used it in a Maoist sense “is an absolutely ridiculous accusation. Stan was gentle; someone who loved peace,” who rejected all forms of violence. “He considered all those working for humanity [. . .] as his comrades.”
In all this he valued his priesthood above all else. “Every time I went to visit him [in the hospital]. He was interested in receiving Jesus in Holy Communion,” Fr Mascarenhas noted.
“One particular evening, when I forgot to bring the Holy Communion, after we had chatted for a while, he said, ‘now give me the Communion’. I went back to my parish and brought Fr Stan the Holy Communion, and he was truly grateful for that. This was the real Fr Stan.”
“As a young Jesuit, I went to an institute where Fr Stan was director. He taught social analysis,” Fr Mascarenhas said.
“He explained and helped us understand the undercurrents of Indian society. Later I was inspired after Fr Stan’s stint as director, when he went to work with” the marginalised in Ranchi.
Fr Stan “worked for 30 years with the most vulnerable in Indian society” using “his social analyses”. “At the time of his arrest, 3,000 young Adivasi were detained” for the same reasons he was, and he “was fighting for them”.
Immediately after the funeral, Fr Swamy’s remains were cremated; his ashes will be taken to Ranchi, where he wanted to die. Moving his body would have entailed logistical difficulties, a Jesuit source said. A monument is already planned in his memory.
Meanwhile, the elderly Jesuit priest’s death is a major topic of discussion across the country. Writer Arundhati Roy slammed Indian authorities for the way he died.
“The slow murder of Father Stan Swamy is a microcosm of the not-so slow-murder of everything that allows us to call ourself a democracy,” writes Roy. “We are ruled by fiends. They have put a curse upon this land.”
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