Nishant Mishra attended an online memorial for Father Stanislaus Lourduswamy. A report:

“A caged bird can still sing” – with this message began the tribute ceremony to the martyr of the marginalized, Fr Stan Swamy. He had been a voice for the voiceless, and throughout his life had worked incessantly towards liberating the tribals. Being a Jesuit he had manifested the spirit to build an egalitarian society, and a true follower of Jesus.

The tribute ceremony was organized by the Jesuit Province of South Zone, JCSA, on 8 July, 2021 from 6 : 00 pm, conducted virtually. Members of the Jesuit community gathered from Chennai, Karnataka, Kerala, and Andhra provinces to pay homage and celebrate the life which Stan Swamy lived.

The Good Shepherd

Fr Stany D’Souza, president of the Jesuit Conference of South Asia, saw in Fr Stan a true follower of the good shepherd. Standing at the forefront, Stan gave his life protecting his sheep. “ He completely identified himself with the poor and the marginalized and bore the smell of the sheep as Pope Francis would say.”

His incessant support and devotion towards the basic human rights of the Adivasis and Dalits led him to be falsely accused of charges which Fr Stan never thought of. In addition to this, Fr Stany mentioned that Fr Stan’s death is a great loss not only for the Jesuit Community, but to the society as a whole.

Farewell with songs and poetry
Fr Sahayaraj, from Karnataka province recited a poem evoking the mission of justice and reconciliation. A music group from Chennai reverberated a chorus singing of the great deeds of Fr Stan Swamy. A satirical Kannada poem was also read by Fr Leo Florence, questioning what actually lead to the death of a selfless man.

The fight is not yet over
On the occasion, Senior Advocate, Henri Tiphagna, also Fr Stan’s lawyer in his legal proceedings , joined to pay respect and read out portions form what Stan called his will. Insisting the message that Fr Stan Swamy must get justice and the UAPA must be revoked, and for this to happen “we’ll even go to global justice forums.”

Walk as Fr Stan did
The tribute ceremony ended with a short prayer from Fr Sehrin that “ Fr Stan’s soul rest in peace”. The moderator, Fr Santhanam added that “ We must carry Fr Stan’s idea in our hearts and minds, and join hands with anyone who fights for the same cause as Fr Stan did throughout his life, that’ll be our biggest tribute to him.”

  Jesuit Conference of South Asia, Jesuits, Stan Swany, UAPA