Fr Stan Swamy

Martyr for tribal rights and true freedom

- ALFONSO ELENGIKAL

“I am not a silent spectator… I am part of the game and am prepared to pay the price whatever that be.” — Fr Stan Swamy, SJ

Swamy did pay the price by giving his life for the people and the cause he loved, the way Jesus did, of whom the Bible says, “Having loved his own, he loved them to the very end. (Jn 13: 1). He loved (and lived for them) the marginalised tribals, and the Adivasis in Jharkhand and all across the country, till he died at the age of 84, on 5 July 2021, at the Holy Family Hospital, Bandra, Mumbai.

Stanislaus Lourduswamy was born on 26 April 1937 at Virgallur village in Trichy district of Tamil Nadu. Stan’s parents were ordinary peasants who had to work hard to keep the flame burning in the family kitchen, and to see to the education of their children. Swamy knew from his early childhood the struggles a family like his had to go through in life. He possibly also knew that it was even worse with many poor families in India, in particular, of the Adivasis and tribals, especially in north India.

So, he chose the Jamshedpur Province of the Jesuits when he decided to become a priest, as the Jamshedpur Province would give him more opportunities to serve the poor, the dalits and the marginalised tribals of the region.

The turning point