The oldest Indian to be accused as a terrorist in India, Fr. Stanislaus, was born to Lourdusamy and Kitheriyammal on April 26, 1937 in a small village called Viragalur situated 37 kms from Trichy in Tamil Nadu. It is a lush green village whose surrounding is carpeted by paddy fields and trees, bristling with agro-related activities throughout the year. It is home to nearly 5,000 people of all faiths, one-third of them being Christians. 

The original Our Lady of Seven Dolours Church, esthetically built with Gothic architecture style, that was 165 years old gave way to a new Church.  People become nostalgic with awe as they travel back into history vividly remembering the old Church and its marvelous architectural design. The present Church is huge but is nowhere near its beauty and elegance of the old one that is there only in the memory of the yester year generation. 

Family of Fr. Stan

Fr. Stan’s family was prosperous, both in terms of number of members and land holding. He had two brothers and three sisters one of whom was a Nun in the order of Immaculate Sisters of Pondichery Blues. His father Lourdusamy died when Fr. Stan was about eleven years old and the onus of taking care of the family fell on his mother and his elder brother Mr. TPL Irudayasamy who lives in Viragalur. His father was a pioneer in the area establishing a rice mill -- St. Joseph’s Rice Mill -- in the year 1949, which is being managed by the family. 

Fr. Stan had his primary education at St. Peter’s Primary School run by Kumbakonam Diocese and moved to St. Joseph’s College High School, Trichy and completed his Intermediate and B.A History there. Then he joined the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) and began his Novitiate training at Dindigul Beschi Illam. In 1965, Fr. Stan went to Lupungutu Chaibasa in West Singhbhum district (Jharkhand) for his regency. After his pastoral studies, he went to Philippines for his Masters in Sociology. His theoretical knowledge in sociology was supplanted by practical knowledge as he witnessed a series of protests and demonstrations there.

Fr. Stan was ordained a Priest on April 14, 1970 in Manila-Philippines and his family could celebrate his priesthood only in 1971 when he came to his native place. It was a huge celebration for the entire village. His elder brother nostalgically reminisced: "In our village, we have a ritual of giving a grand welcome to anyone who becomes a priest and Stan also had one such good welcome. He was taken on a procession across the village and was gifted with a welcome plaque. It was a very happy moment."

Later, he went to Brussels. As birds of same feather flock together, he easily made friends with like-minded people, one of them being Brazilian Catholic Archbishop Helder Camara whose work among the poor people had a tremendous influence on him. Consequently, in 1971, he started his work in the Adivasi area as the Director of Catholic Relief Service in Jamshedpur province.

Later, during the period 1975 to 1986, he served as the Director of Indian Social Institute-Bangalore which is basically a training-cum-research centre mostly concentrating on the issues affecting Dalits, Adivasis, Women and other marginalized sections of the society. After this stint, he went back to Jharkhand committed to reclaim ‘Jal-Jungle-Jameen’ (Water-Forest-Land) rights of Adivasis, creating awareness among them.  

An Exemplary Life

On the eve of 6th July, 2021 during the candle light vigil at Viragalur, one of his relatives in his sixties said, “when I called on him during one of his visits to his village, I addressed him ‘mama’ (uncle in Tamil) but Fr Stan candidly said, ‘don’t call me mama, as I am beyond relationship and I am common to all’. I felt a bit insulted on that day, but now I understand why he said like this”. He lived to this ideology till he breathed his last. Another man of Hindu faith who was attending the candle light vigil said, “We came to know such a man existed only after his arrest, though we know his family well.” 

Another of his relatives lamented that he never made scheduled trip to his village. He came to Viragalur only when he happened to come to Trichy or other parts of Tamil Nadu for some specific purpose. He did not turn up even when his mother expired in 1989. He never participated in any social gathering of his family members, whether solemn occasions like baptism, holy communion, marriage, or otherwise. 

When his family told Fr. Stan in 2013 that his relatives were eager to receive him  at their  homes, he politely refused but still obliged to meet all of them when they had a celebration of ‘sons of the soil’ (priests/Religious from the village) with thirteen priests/Religious converging on the said occasion. But for this event, he never turned up during social gatherings. He used this occasion to screen videos of his work among Adivasi people and explained how “Jal, Jungle, Jameen” were snatched away from Adivasis to be given away to corporates and how he helped the tribals to fight for their rights. As the videos were in Hindi, he explained everything in Tamil.  

Once in three or four years he would visit his native place and stayed just a day or two. He was always grateful towards his elder brother (TPL Irudayasamy) who ensured his education sacrificing his own education after the demise of their father. On his every visit to his village, he insisted on meeting two people, one was his teacher Savarinathan and the other Ubathesiyar (Catechist) who helped the parish priest. He always cherished meeting them, perhaps they had their impact on him during his formative years, not taking for granted to lose touch with the roots.

He was practicing a kind of detachable attachment and led a very simple life throughout, shunned luxury, lived in a single room with bare minimum facilities, and without a bank account. This is exemplified during my interaction with his family members. On one occasion, Fr. Stan’s grand-nephew, Mr. Benitto wanted Fr. Stan’s recommendation for admission to LIBA at Loyola College Chennai. But Fr. Stan sternly and gently refused saying, “I know they might oblige if I recommend you, but then a student with better marks than you would be deprived of his admission which is not the right thing”. He eventually completed his MBA programme at Bangalore. On another occasion, Fr. Stan’s grand-niece missed the admission to XLRI just by a 0.5 cut-off. But Fr. Stan refused to intervene though he belonged to the same province where XLRI is situated. 

The Accusation

It requires a figment of imagination to accuse him as a terrorist and that he waged war against the nation and its Constitution. Even in his wildest dreams, it would not have occurred to him. First, he is a Catholic Priest and then a Jesuit. I don’t mean to say both are not error prone but they are definitely strong in their ideals and ideology. 

A Jesuit, in the name of fighting for the rights of the people, can never go against the law of the land. Even when one tends to transgress the border of legality, their system would step in and do the course correction. They do what is right and what is just for the people, always. I have closely observed them throughout the length and breadth of the country for thirty years. They derive this charisma from their founder St. Ignatius. They may miss the holy Mass but not the Constitution of a country for Jesus said ‘give Caesar what is due to Caesar’. Their law-abiding nature can never be put to test, in general, least in case of Fr. Stan. As Caesar’s wife needs to be beyond the boundaries of doubt, so is a Jesuit.

Again and again his bail plea, even on medical ground, was contested by NIA and the court denied him bail till last. NIA always maintained that they have in their procession incriminating material recovered from Fr. Stan’s computer, an allegation denied by him. Now, we know that a report by Arsenal Consulting based in Boston has stated, “Surendra Gadling’s computer has been compromised over two years before he was arrested through emails that he received, and on which Stan Swamy were copied”. 

Washington Post also reported that an unknown hacker had planted over 30 documents on the computer belonging to Rona Wilson -- another accused in Bhima Koregaon case. All these point towards the fact that the incriminating materials alleged to have been recovered from Fr. Stan’s computer may have been sneaked through these sources.  

The clarion call

Historian Ramchandra Guha called his death “a case of judicial murder”. There are several such cases in India that never got the attention of collective consciousness of the people. In Fr. Stan’s death, this sorry state of affairs has come to the forefront.  

In one of his video messages Fr. Stan said: “What is happening to me is not something unique, happening to me alone, it is a broader process that is taking place all over the country. We are all aware how prominent intellectuals, lawyers, writers, poets, activists, student leaders, they are all put into jail just because they have expressed their dissent or raised questions about the ruling powers of India. So, we are part of the process and I am happy to be part of the process because I am not a silent spectator but I am part of the game and ready to pay the price, whatever be it”.

Today it is Fr. Stan, tomorrow it could be you and I, or anyone else for that matter. Silence is dangerous as quipped by Napoleon: “The world suffers a lot. Not because of the violence of bad people. But because of the silence of the good people”. Let this not happen as it happened to Fr. Stan and in Germany. “First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak for me.” -- Martin Niemoller. 

(The writer is Dean-School of Management Studies, St. Joseph’s College, Trichy. Acknowledgement: Inputs from Mr. Benitto and Mr. TPL Irudayasamy)