Stan Swamy: A fighter, a seeker of peace and a great human being

I knew Father Stan Swamy for more than a decade. I had an opportunity to work with him. We worked together for a couple of years against the state-sponsored gross human rights violations of Adivasis.

We travelled together several times inside the dense forests in the Jharkhand portion of the so-called Red Corridor, while conducting fact-finding missions looking into the brutal killing of innocent Adivasis by the security forces.

Fr Stan was a fearless, tireless, neutral, sensitive and brave human rights activist. He was a great fighter. He had always insisted for the enforcement of the Indian Constitution, safeguarding laws and policies centred around the marginalised.

He was fighting against the brutal killings, rapes, torture, custodial crimes and cases of false implication against thousands of innocent Adivasis. Unfortunately, he was implicated by the State for fighting for the cause of the marginalised.

When I met Stan Swamy for the first time in 2006, he was the only person in Jharkhand who was recognised as a human rights activist. By that time, he already had a vast experience of dealing with the issues of gross human rights violations.

He was also known as an anti-mining activist in the state, fighting against the loot of iron ore in the Saranda forest. He was extremely happy to know about my interest in the area of human rights. In fact, he wanted young Adivasis to take up the cause of their community.

Apart from human rights work, Stan Swamy was also a great trainer and writer. He trained thousands of Adivasi men, women and youth, who later became activists and are now fighting for the cause of their communities. He also wrote tirelessly on Adivasi issues. He was one person who thoroughly understood the Adivasi philosophy of life, which has a future for everyone.  

I worked with Stan Swamy at a time when the Indian State was on the offensive against Adivasis. In October 2009, the Indian State had launched a joint anti-Maoist operation called Operation Green Hunt in all the nine Maoist-affected states. The region had been given the name of the ‘Red Corridor’ and the State’s mission was to ‘cleanse’ it of Maoists.

Instead, the security forces started victimising innocent Adivasis. Cases of extra-judicial killings, rapes, custodial torture, abuse and false implications started flooding the states of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Odisha.

Under the leadership of Fr Stan, we started fact-finding, legally intervening and writing about the state of affairs. We also started protests in Jharkhand. When schools were converted into military camps, we strongly opposed it. As a result, many schools were vacated.

I would like to mention an interesting incident involving Stan Swamy. In June 2010, we had organised a big rally in Ranchi, which was prohibited by the senior supreintendent of police, who alleged that it was a Maoists’ rally.

Jharkhand was then under President’s Rule. I and Stan decided to meet the advisor to the Governor, RR Prasad, who was in-charge of the home department. When we entered his office, he  said sarcastically: “You (Stan) are a senior Maoist and he (Gladson) is a junior Maoist. What I can do for you people?”

We requested him to allow us to hold a rally. He agreed and asked the director-general of police to permit us to hold one. We realised then as to how the State saw us. We had already become its enemies.

Stan Swamy was fighting for the cause of Adivasis, who were very close to his heart. He was a very open-minded person. His core belief was justice and reconciliation.

He would engage himself with everyone who fought for the cause of marginalised people. This was the primary reason as to why he came in the crosshairs of the State.

The State started tagging him with the Maoists / Naxals. He was committed to universal justice. And he was brave. When matters came to a head and his arrest became inevitable, many suggested that he hide. But he rejected it in the blink of an eye, saying he would face the consequences. He was always ready to face consequences for asking uncomfortable questions to the State.    

When Stan Swamy came under attack from the State, forces of the right also accused him of proselytising Adivasis, which was baseless. I laugh at the ludicrousness of it as I have never seen him even offering Mass either in church or elsewhere.

Of course, it was a big surprise for me too. Can one expect a Catholic priest to keep himself aloof of priestly duties? In fact, he was on a mission of justice and reconciliation instead of converting Adivasis. He was a true justice and peace lover. A great human being.

Gladson Dungdung is a human rights activist based in Jharkhand

Views expressed are the author’s own and don’t necessarily reflect those of Down To Earth