India – The cell in India. The death of Father Stan, witness of faith and justice among the poor
"The cost of discipleship." Thus, Father Stan Swamy concluded his reflection on Jesuit social action among the indigenous peoples of central India, published in 2019 by the journal Promotio Iustitiae. He was aware that he was speaking in the first person. In the four decades of walking alongside the Adivasis of Jharkhand, he had had to endure slander, misunderstandings, threats. The circle had become tighter after 2006, when the Jesuit had founded Bagaicha, a center for the defense of the rights of the natives, expropriated en masse from their lands by multinational mining companies.
With the arrival of ultranationalist Narendra Modi in government in 2014, it had become a noose. Under the draconian Unlawful activities prevention act, thousands of Adivasis and human rights activists had been arrested without evidence on charges of 'terrorism'. On October 8, it would also be the turn of the inconvenient Father Stan.
"The cost of discipleship." In these words is encapsulated the meaning of his life. And of his death, which occurred at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, July 4, in the Holy Family Hospital in Mumbai, where he had already arrived at the point of exhaustion on May 29.
At 84 years old, the cleric was prostrated by Covid, of which he had shown clear symptoms in the preceding weeks. But above all he was exhausted by his confinement in the Taloja prison where he had remained for 233 days and nights, despite his advanced age and Parkinson's disease. This had been stated, in a hushed voice, by his father Stan himself in his last court hearing on May 21.
By video link, his face had appeared hollow and pale. His eyes, however, emanated the same charismatic strength as always as he whispered: "I can no longer write, walk or eat alone. (...) The only thing I ask of you is to grant me freedom on bail". The judge's answer was implacable: "There are no extremes". It was not the first time that an Indian court refused to grant parole or at least house arrest to the Jesuit. It would, however, be the last.
The new hearing scheduled for today would not take place.
At the same time, a funeral Mass will be celebrated at the Bandra Church near the hospital. Then, Stan's body will return to Ranchi, Jharkhand. Finally. The desire to return 'home', to care for the "Adivasi friends", as he called them, was the Jesuit's great wish.
He knew that without his prophetic voice, his non-violent battle for justice, his evangelical courage, the natives would be even more fragile in the face of the greed of the powerful. He also knew, however, that a grain of wheat does not die in vain. The sprouts have already sprouted in recent months, with the work of PM Tony, who took Stan's place at the Bagaicha center.
And with the commitment, reaffirmed yesterday by the Society of Jesus, to carry on their brother's commitment to reconciliation and justice. But Father Stan's inspiration has 'overflowed' - in the words of Pope Francis - from the confines of the Church. So many women and men of every creed and orientation and part of the world have sent a remembrance, virtual or real, through Jesuit networks. Stan, a faithful witness to the death of Christ and a champion of integral ecology, is alive. Neither the judicial system, nor false accusations, nor illness could kill a bird that could sing even behind bars, to paraphrase one of his poems that gave hope to other prisoners. Until the last moment he thought of them, putting himself in the background. His friend and confrere Xavier Jeyaraj, secretary for social justice and ecology of the Society, testifies to this. The two were able to meet via video call on June 20. Stan was lying in bed, he couldn't get up," says Father Xavier, "he was very weak. Yet he recognized me immediately, smiled and stammered, 'I became a child again before the end.' When I told him that we were fighting and praying for his release, he managed to answer me: 'Not only for me. For everyone. For everyone who is wrongfully imprisoned. I am just one of many'."
Source: AVVENIRE
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