Activism has a price that few are willing to pay. Fr Stan Swamy was willing to pay that price even as he sought justice for the voiceless tribals of this country whose lands and resource were appropriated by powerful corporate forces in an India that is increasingly tending towards crony capitalism. Fr Stan Swamy was an accused in the Bhima Koregaon violence case and arrested from Ranchi on October 9, 2020, although he repeatedly maintained that he never visited the place. Fr. Stan was arrested under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and his health had been deteriorating since. Congress MP, Jairam Ramesh has correctly questioned as to who in the apparatus of the Indian state, will be held responsible for the death of Fr Swamy. Ramesh goes on to say that it is the Indian State that killed the Jesuit priest who was a passionate crusader for social justice.
The irony in the country today is that those working to secure justice and land rights for tribals are seen as impediments to the mining lobby and their corporate interests. It is also an irony of nature that the bulk of mineral resources from coal, to aluminium, copper and bauxite etc., are all located in tribal areas. Even the forest cover of this country continues to be maintained by tribals themselves who have co-existed with forests for centuries until the state decided that they were to be evicted from their habitat. It is against these pernicious state laws that Fr Stan Swamy and other human rights activists fought. Unfortunately, they have all been booked for unlawful activities. The question today is what is lawful then. Is it lawful to deprive tribals of their constitutional rights? Is it unlawful to fight for social justice?
Fr Stan Swamy who suffered from Parkinsons and could hardly eat or hold his cup of tea asked for a sipper but even that was denied him by the judiciary. This level of cruelty by a country that calls itself a democracy is unimaginable. This was what a colonial power had done to Indians in the pre-independence era but to think that a country would punish its own citizens in such a cruel manner is a slur on the democratic ethos of India. Clearly there is something fundamentally wrong with a state whose justice system cannot differentiate a social activist from an anarchist.This country proudly showcases the words “Satyameva Jayate,” meaning “Truth will prevail.” Will that truth matter now, after a person, who by all accounts, has been wrongly incarcerated in prison, dies while still awaiting justice?
