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Fr. Stanislaus Lourduswamy, popularly known as Fr. Stan or Fr. Swamy, the Indian Jesuit who died of COVID-19 while under arrest, conducted a “relentless mission” to lift up the country’s tribal peoples and lower castes, said one of countless Indian leaders who honored him.
Priyeranjan Dwyer, secretary of the Young Men’s Christian Association in Gaya, Bihar, said Fr. Swamy’s “relentless mission for the upliftment of the Dalits ["Untouchables"] and Adivasis [tribe] cannot be forgotten.”
“Father Swamy has been a voice of the voiceless, human rights defender, a true prophet of our time,” said Fr. Antonysamy Stephenraj, regional director of the Jesuit Refugee Services. Fr. Swamy’s witness “will continue to inspire many to stand with the poor,” he added.
Fr. Swamy died July 5 at the age of 84, never regaining consciousness from the day before, when he suffered from cardiac arrest. In May, he had been diagnosed with COVID-19 and was placed on a ventilator.
Altogether, he was in detention for eight months -- on terror charges stemming from his activism on behalf of Indian society’s lowest castes. Authorities alleged that the priest supported the cause of banned communist groups through his civil rights organizations. The Economist summarized the case:
According to AsiaNews, at Fr. Swamy's funeral in Mumbai, Fr. Frazer Mascarenhas acknowledged that Fr. Swamy had used the word “comrades.” But, he said, to think that Fr. Swamy used it in a Maoist sense “is an absolutely ridiculous accusation. Stan was gentle; someone who loved peace,” and who rejected all forms of violence.
Said Fr. Mascarenhas, “He considered all those working for humanity [. . .] as his comrades.”
