Activist Stan Swamy No More

Activist Stanislaus Lourduswamy, better known as Stan Swamy, died today at 1:30 pm. He had been on ventilator support since yesterday.

A Roman Catholic priest, a member of the Jesuit order, and a tribal rights activist, Swamy held the record of being the oldest person to be accused of terrorism in India.

The 84-year-old had been arrested in October last year in relation to the Elgar Parishad case. He had been suffering from Parkinson's disease, and during his time in jail had requested access to medical treatment and interim bail on several occasions.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA), the agency that had arrested the activist in a late-night operation, had been opposing his bail petitions, maintaining that there was no evidence of his ill health. It had even repeatedly alleged that Swamy was a Maoist who had been part of conspiracies to roil up unrest in India.

Days before his passing, the priest had reportedly told the Mumbai High Court at a virtual meeting that his health was deteriorating, and that without interim bail he felt he would die soon.

Just last week, he had filed yet another bail petition at the high court. In his petition, he had questioned the extremely strict bail conditions for those charged under the draconian Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). When the hearing for the bail plea started today, Swamy's lawyer told the court that the activist had passed away.

Supporters of the elderly priest, left heartbroken by his passing, have accused the Centre of hounding him, and of having committed an institutional murder. To many, including leaders like Chief Minister of Jharkhand Hemant Soren and Rahul Gandhi, the incident does beg the question of why an ailing elderly man was not given bail even when his health was clearly failing. The Centre is yet to respond to these allegations.

The activist will be remembered for his relentless struggle for tribal welfare. For years, he had been confronting the Indian government about the non-implementation of several measures meant to promote tribal welfare, including the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution, which protects tribal interests. He had also formed the Persecuted Prisoners Solidarity Committee to fight for Adivasi and Dalit youths' rights.