The Caravan / Dayamani Barla
To understand the life struggle of Stan Swamy, it is necessary to understand the history and struggle of the Adivasi community in Jharkhand and the country. There is a need to understand the traditional rights that Adivasis have on natural resources such as water, forest, and land. It is only then that we can appreciate what Swamy stood for and fought for.
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Jurist.org / by Sambhav Sharma
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, on Monday condemned India’s restrictions placed on public assembly in Jammu and Kashmir, pursuant to the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act of 1967 (UAPA)…
This condemnation comes after many in India have continuously criticised the allegedly arbitrary and abusive law that punishes dissenters who are vocal against government actions. As many as 5,128 cases have been registered in India under the UAPA since 2015.
The law was also severely scrutinised in July after the demise of Father Stan Swamy, a tribal rights activist who was arrested under the UAPA for his alleged involvement in the Bhima Koregaon violence in 2018 and his links to Maoists.
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By Nandita Haksar
There has been a great deal of anguish, angst and anger expressed at the death of Stanislaus Lourduswamy (1937–2021), popularly known as Stan Swamy, an Indian Roman Catholic priest, a member of the Jesuit order, and a tribal rights activist for many decades…
His death has drawn focus to the cruelty of the system which denied the right to die with dignity to a senior citizen who was suffering from Parkinson’s disease. However, the imprisonment of Stan Swamy and other political prisoners, including poets, journalists, bloggers, women activists, students, Dalits and Muslims, raises crucial questions. It is not just a humanitarian issue but a political one.
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The Caravan / by SNM Abdi
The December 1985 cover story of Illustrated Weekly was about six foreign missionaries who were served deportation orders in Madhya Pradesh. After the magazine covered it, politicians intervened to prevent their deportation. In the corridors of power back then, there was a genuine appreciation for priests and nuns who serve among the oppressed in India’s underdeveloped regions. Stan Swamy, who recently died in prison, did not get the same appreciation from either politicians or the media.
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Bar & Bench / by Neha Joshi
The Special NIA Court has listed the pending applications on September 6, 2021
On July 5, 2021, 83-year-old activist and priest Father Stan Swamy passed away in a Mumbai private hospital while in judicial custody for his alleged involvement in the riots that took place in Bhima Koregaon post the Elgar Parishad event held on January 2018.
His death highlighted the state of undertrials in the Bhima Koregaon case, most of whom have been awaiting trial for the past three years.
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29/08/2021
The Statesman / by Sankha Ghosh
“Fr Stan had given his entire life to ensure the rights of the marginalized people, and he had been never silent for the rights of the poor people. But he had been arrested under false charges and he died in an inhuman, insensitive manner. We will carry forward his movement for social justice,”
Rights activists, civil society groups, mass organisations, tribal organisations and members of trade unions today vowed to continue their struggle to demand the abrogation of the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), sedition law, and unconditional release of political prisoners.
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29/08/2021
The Telegraph / by Animesh Bisoee
One of the conveners of Shahid Father Stan Swamy Nyay Morcha said the awareness campaign will start on September 1 and continue till October 8
Members of trade unions, non-BJP parties and civil society organisations who have come together in the aftermath of the custody death of Father Stan Swamy have decided to take the Jesuit priest’s struggle for the rights of the oppressed and undertrials to the panchayat level in Jharkhand.
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29/08/2021
Times of India / by Times of India
The state unit of CPM concluded its two-day state convention on Saturday where it decided that it will organise campaigns at the grass-root level to highlight issues such as civil liberties, the release of political prisoners and scrapping of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
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22/08/2021
By India Civil Watch
Here’s what you will find inside Newswire 9
1. Spotlight: South Asian Dalit Adivasi Network (SADAN), Canada
2. Vidya Bhushan Rawat, Interview with Rana Khan
3. The Compassionate Revolution of Saint Stan Swamy (1937 – 2021), Shaj Mohan and Divya Dwivedi
4. Under the Mango tree, Madhumita Dutta
5. Stan Swamy in the eyes of a Thirteen Year old, Ananya Mamatha Anil
6. This Month in History, Balmurli Natarajan
7. Poetry!
Download here
19/08/2021
By All India Lawyers´Association for Justice (A)
AILAJ’s August issue is out! It has pieces on Pegasus, UAPA, Father Stan Swamy and the plight of prisoners in light of the pandemic. It also contains all the representations AILAJ has made to various judicial and state functionaries.
en + kannada | 2h 16min | 2021
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
Live Law / by Sharmeen Hakim
The petitioners state that the Special NIA Court’s observations while refusing bail to Stan Swamy amount to preliminary findings of guilt, which the High Court can set aside.
Late tribal-rights activist Father Stan Swamy’s counsel and kin have urged the Bombay High Court to clear the odium attached to his name and reputation due to his arrest in the Bhima Koregaon – Elgar Parishad caste violence case.
“Article 21 (Right to dignity) of the Constitution equally applies to deceased persons and just as the Appellant(Father Swamy) would have had a right o clear his name if he were alive, similarly those closest to him would have a similar right to clear his name,” Senior counsel Advocate Mihir Desai said on behalf of the Jamshedpur Jesuit Province, which is seeking to pursue Stan Swamy’s case as his next of kin.
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17/08/2021
The Telegraph / by Animesh Bisoee
The spontaneous decision was taken during a resolution meeting organised by Jharkhand Krantikari Mazdoor Union at Adivasi Basti in Kadma
Daily wage earners in one of the urban slums in the steel city took a resolve to follow the ideals of Father Stan Swamy on the country’s 75th Independence Day on Sunday.
The spontaneous decision was taken during a resolution meeting organised by Jharkhand Krantikari Mazdoor Union (JKMU) at Adivasi Basti in Green Park, Kadma.
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17/08/2021
The New Indian Express / by Express News Service
The members of the House observed silence as a mark of respect for the departed souls.
The State Assembly on Monday condoled the demise of human rights activist Stan Swamy, Periyarist V Anaimuthu, Madurai Aadheenam Arunagirinathar, Tamil scholar Ilankumaranar, Dr S Kameswaran and nine former MLAs including Tindivanam K Ramamurthi and E Madhusudanan.
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16/08/2021
The Times of India / By The Times of India
A collection of artists came together on Independence Day in a virtual performance to honour Father Stan Swamy, the 84-year-old Jesuit priest and tribal rights activist who passed away in a Mumbai hospital on July 5 after being jailed in the Elgar Parishad case.
‘Kelvi Koothu’ or Dirge for Democracy, a two-hour event, had a line-up which included gaana artist G Isaivani of the Casteless Collective who was included in the BBC’s top 100 women list of 2020 and others like Gana Muthu, Muniammal, Kachha (Dholak), Citizens’ Choir, Kattiyakaari, Kalaimamani Muthuchandran’s Tholpaavai troupe, Rithvik Raja and Praveen Sparsh.
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tamil | 1h 58min | 2021
By Vettiver Collective
The price of liberty is eternal vigilance. Happy Independence Day is a greeting, a celebration, an opportunity to renew our commitment to safeguarding the Constitution of India and a reminder that democracy survives only if citizens actively thwart moves to curtail freedom. #Kelvi Koothu or Dirge for Democracy is that satirical, artistic reminder that a passive citizenry will herald the death of democracy. #FatherStan #IndependenceDay #August15 Catch the fantastic artist line up of Gana Muthu, Muniammal, G. Isaivani, Kachha (Dholak), Citizens’ Choir, Kattiyakaari, Muthuchandran’s Tholpaavai troupe, Rithvik Raja and Praveen Sparsh at #KelviKoothu.
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