The Crossbill News Desk
Mumbai’s St. Xavier’s College on Friday, August 9, called off its annual Stan Swamy Memorial Lecture following protests by the right-wing students’ group Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP).
The event, organised by the college’s Department of Inter-Religious Studies (DIRS) as part of World Indigenous Day, was to feature a virtual address by Father Prem Xalxo, associate lecturer at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, on the theme “Migration for Livelihood: Hope Amidst Miseries.”
ABVP objected to the programme, calling it the “glorification” of a person accused in a “terror case,” and submitted a letter to the administration demanding its cancellation and action against organisers.
The group referred to Swamy’s arrest in the Elgar Parishad case, in which human rights defenders and academics were accused of links to a so-called “urban Naxal” network.
Father Stan Swamy, a Jesuit priest and tribal rights activist who worked extensively in Jharkhand, was arrested by the National Investigation Agency on October 8, 2020, at the age of 84. Placed in judicial custody as the sixteenth accused in the case, he suffered from Parkinson’s disease and other health complications. His condition deteriorated during the COVID-19 pandemic, and he died on July 5, 2021, in a Mumbai hospital while undergoing treatment for the virus.
Speaking to The Indian Express, St. Xavier’s College rector Father Keith D’Souza said the memorial lecture series is intended to discuss themes related to the history and development of indigenous peoples and has been delivered in the past by reputed scholars.
“The topic this year was on the theme of migration. While the lectures are on several themes related to indigenous life – which no one has objected to – we understand that the contentious issue is mainly about the nomenclature of the lecture series, named after Stan Swamy. However, from a Jesuit point of view, Fr Stan Swamy was an Indian citizen who was accused, but not as yet convicted of his alleged crimes till his demise. As per our Indian criminal jurisprudence, a person is innocent unless proven guilty,” he said.
The event, organised by the college’s Department of Inter-Religious Studies (DIRS) as part of World Indigenous Day, was to feature a virtual address by Father Prem Xalxo, associate lecturer at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, on the theme “Migration for Livelihood: Hope Amidst Miseries.”
ABVP objected to the programme, calling it the “glorification” of a person accused in a “terror case,” and submitted a letter to the administration demanding its cancellation and action against organisers.
The group referred to Swamy’s arrest in the Elgar Parishad case, in which human rights defenders and academics were accused of links to a so-called “urban Naxal” network.
Father Stan Swamy, a Jesuit priest and tribal rights activist who worked extensively in Jharkhand, was arrested by the National Investigation Agency on October 8, 2020, at the age of 84. Placed in judicial custody as the sixteenth accused in the case, he suffered from Parkinson’s disease and other health complications. His condition deteriorated during the COVID-19 pandemic, and he died on July 5, 2021, in a Mumbai hospital while undergoing treatment for the virus.
Speaking to The Indian Express, St. Xavier’s College rector Father Keith D’Souza said the memorial lecture series is intended to discuss themes related to the history and development of indigenous peoples and has been delivered in the past by reputed scholars.
“The topic this year was on the theme of migration. While the lectures are on several themes related to indigenous life – which no one has objected to – we understand that the contentious issue is mainly about the nomenclature of the lecture series, named after Stan Swamy. However, from a Jesuit point of view, Fr Stan Swamy was an Indian citizen who was accused, but not as yet convicted of his alleged crimes till his demise. As per our Indian criminal jurisprudence, a person is innocent unless proven guilty,” he said.
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