Freedom, Education and Resistance: Revisiting Paulo Freire Through the Life of Stan Swamy
Countercurrents / by Pon Chandran
By drawing together the life and ideas of Brazilian educator Paulo Freire and Indian human rights activist Stan Swamy, Pon. Chandran’s review of Cultural Action for Freedom revisits one of the most enduring questions in political education: can education become a tool of liberation rather than conformity?
… There is a striking similarity between Freire and Stan Swamy, whose work among Adivasi communities in Jharkhand reflected many principles of liberation pedagogy. Like Freire, Swamy viewed education as a means of empowering marginalised communities to understand and defend their rights. Through legal awareness and constitutional advocacy, he encouraged tribal communities to critically examine the structures responsible for displacement and land dispossession.
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Also read/watch:
▪ I am not a Silent Spectator – Why Truth has become so bitter, Dissent so intolarable, Justice so out of reach – An Autobiographical Fragment, Memory and Reflection
Edition: Aug 2021
Publisher: Indian Social Institute, Bangalore
Language: English
Paperback: 149 pages
‘Why truth has become so bitter, dissent so intolerable, justice so out of reach?’ because truth has become very bitter to those in power and position, dissent, so unpalatable to the ruling elite, justice, so out of reach to the powerless, marginalised, deprived people. Yet, truth must be spoken, right to dissent must be upheld, and justice must reach the doorsteps of the poor. I am not a silent spectator. This booklet is not my autobiography. It is rather a collation of some glimpses/episodes from my life that somehow made a difference for me, and possibly for my confrères, colleagues and the people with whom I have shared my life.
Access a free PDF copy of the book here
▪ Framed to Die – The Case of Stan Swamy
Edition: Aug 2021
Publisher: Peoples Union for Democratic Rights, Delhi
Language: English
Paperback: 45 pages
Stan Swamy, as this report documents, was framed, fettered, and finally forced towards a fatal illness under due process of law. The report argues that the naturalness of Stan’s death—a cardiac arrest driven by Covid complications—doesn’t exonerate the unnaturalness of the persecution that he suffered under the UAPA. Underlying Stan’s experiences of persecution lie the life-stories of many others, including the 15 accused in the Bhima Koregaon case. Beyond chronicling Stan’s persecution under law, the report documents why Comrade Stan was a dissenter and a true patriot and why the state feared and criminalized his dissent under the UAPA.
Access a free PDF copy of the book here
▪ Video: Testimony of Stan Swamy, two days before his arrest on 8 October 2020.
en | 7:48 min | Oct 6, 2020
Watch video