Stan Swamy did not simply die, he was murdered: by state machinery that filed laughable charges, by one political machinery that fears Adivasi and Dalit rights activists, by media moguls who make money off lies and hate, by a judiciary so cowardly that lost sight of justice ages ago.
- By Sriyansh Mohanty
To be honest, I wouldn't have known much about Stanislaus Lourduswamy (popularly known as Stan Swamy) had he not been framed in a dubious case by the state. Yes, framed because I find it unbelievable that the state with the 4th most powerful military was scared of an 84-year-old man who had been working for the tribals for so many decades. If it did, I'm really glad that activists are carrying the potential to shake the government in seeking transparency and accountability.
A fellow mate who builds his political opinions based on 'facts' shared in the University of Whatsapp asked me the other day "Why is Stan Swamy working for Adivasi people, doesn't he have any other work? He's such an opposer to development projects carried out by the government".
Just like any other human being who cares about human rights and social development of all will agree that the tribals have been exploited and oppressed beyond tolerance. This gave Stan Swamy the road that he wanted to go forward with, rather than being a mute spectator. Tribal areas, abundantly rich with minerals tend to attract businessmen and industrialists who don't shy away from extracting them for monetary gains but this has impoverished the Adivasi people to the extent that people have died of starvation. The policies and laws that were initially enacted for their well being are deliberately left unimplemented. From a general understanding, one can realise that they have reached a situation where they too believe that they've been subjected to a lot of ignorance and are striving to refurbish their identity by empowering their gram sabhas through Pathalgadis. Their action is very much understandable.
Swamy’s relentless fight against displacement and the violations of Adivasi rights by the government and corporate houses had made it difficult for some companies to advance the kind of model they favour – a form of development that impoverishes the many while favouring the very few, and brings in inequality and injustice apart from causing environmental and ecological disasters.
Knowing the tribal rights activist that Stan was
One cannot ignore Stan Swamy for the fierce advocate for tribal rights that he really was. He raised questions on the non-implementation of the 5th Schedule of the constitution, Article 244(1), which stipulates the formation of a ‘Tribes Advisory Council’ (TAC), for the administration and control of Scheduled Areas and Scheduled Tribes. It is to be composed solely of members from the Adivasi community, who will also be advising the governor of the state about any and everything concerning the protection, well-being and development of the Adivasi people in the state. The governor is considered to be the constitutional custodian of the Adivasi people as he/she is enabled to make laws on his/her own and can annul any other law enacted by the parliament or state assembly, emphasizing the welfare of the Adivasi community. But, as the general observation goes, one needs to ask if at all any state governor ever used his/her constitutional discretionary power to reach out to the Adivasi people, rather people are being sent back when they approach the high office by being given the excuse that they have to work in harmony with the elected government of the state. The TAC convenes very rarely, and it is presided over by the chief minister of the state and is controlled by the ruling party. TAC has thus been reduced to a toothless body, a constitutional deceit meted out to the Adivasi people.
He was also part of the Jharkhand Organisation against Uranium Radiation (JOAR), a campaign that was run against Uranium Corporation India Limited in 1996. The extensive campaign had helped stop the construction of a tailing dam in Chaibasa that sought to displace Adivasis in Jadugoda’s Chatikocha area.
The Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996, another important issue that was raised by Father Swamy, was neatly ignored which for the first time recognised that the Adivasi communities in India possess a vibrant social and cultural tradition of self-governance through the gram sabha. However, the harsh reality is that this Act has been deliberately left unimplemented in all nine states, only to send out a message that the capitalist ruling class does not want Adivasi people to self govern.
I had firstly come across Stan Swamy's name when I read a piece about the Adani power plant in Godda, Jharkhand where it was alleged that the land was acquired at extraordinary prices. It wasn't the only instance where environmental clearances were hastily rammed through, and the farmers never got their due. And we shouldn't be even questioning as to why Adani is being given the project. One of the reasons why Congress was banished from forming a government was because of crony capitalism. That trend didn't vanish, did it?
If the corrivals are as strong as Swamy and the Adivasis who stand alongside him, one shouldn't be surprised as to why the state sees him as a dangerous enemy.
A person of his calibre and merit would have become a national hero, but he has been given the title of a terrorist in the world's largest democracy. I don't know what's more shameful than this.
His fight for undertrial prisoners
Stan Swamy had always been a vocal advocate for the release of undertrials. He firmly believed that many Adivasis were unfairly lodged in jails and were labelled Maoists. In the year 2010, he went on to publish a book about this, titled, ‘Jail Mein Band Qaidiyon ka Sach (The truth of undertrials)’. This book substantially exposed the arbitrary and unlawful arrests of tribal youths that were carried out, with alleged links to the Naxal movement. He highlighted how 97 per cent of these tribal households had a bare minimum income, which meant that they were unable to afford lawyers to take up cases for them.
Stan Swamy along with Sudha Bharadwaj, as part of the Persecuted Prisoners Solidarity Committee, had questioned the sheer illegality under which undertrial prisoners were put under solitary confinement, which followed up after the banning of the Mazdoor Sangathan Samiti in late 2017. While we still have Sudha Bharadwaj languishing in jail under another set of frivolous charges, an investigation was taken over by the NIA as soon as there was a change of government in Maharashtra, but we don't have the esteemed presence of Stan Swamy among us today.
The National Investigation Agency had sought 20 days to respond to Father Stan Swamy’s application before a special court seeking a straw and sipper in prison to drink water, as he cannot hold a glass because of Parkinson's disease. Any person with some conscience shall never forget this.
Charges Against Stan Swamy
The NIA after taking over the investigation of the Elgar Parishad/Bhima Koregaon case asserted that Stan Swamy had links with the banned CPI (Maoist). NIA also claimed that it found documents, literature related to the banned organisation. One can only wish if the NIA officials could have been educated about two previous Supreme Court judgements. One which said that "Mere membership of a banned organisation will not make a person a criminal.." - SC on 3rd February 2011 (Criminal Appeal No(s). 889 of 2007)
And the other judgement while granting bail to Dr Binayak Sen on 15th April 2011 said "Mere possession of Maoist literature does not make a person a Maoist".
Did the state orchestrate this murder?
This is surely no accident. This is the real motive of vicious "national security" laws like the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, where even the question of innocence is worthless, because of the indefinite pre-trial incarceration. This is how the state disciplines, dominates and ultimately assassinates its citizens. I refuse to argue his "innocence" or lack thereof- for that requires a tacit acceptance that this murderous system has some legitimacy to adjudicate. One must not forget that it's the state that arrested a man in his 80s with Parkinson's, denied him basic human dignity like a sipper cup and ultimately killed him.
A review of the preventive detention laws is the need of the hour
There are certain draconian laws that either should not exist or at minimum, should not be open to misuse without consequences. The sedition law, UAPA and Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) are three such. We are now in a situation where a Facebook comment about an argument between the wife and girlfriend of a minister can get someone charged with sedition. This happened to Kishorchandra Wangkhem in Manipur. As for AFSPA, it is a martial law by another name, and it has been there in Nagaland and Manipur since 1958 when Jawaharlal Nehru and Govind Ballav Pant brought it into existence. Such an extended period of martial law is likely a world record in itself.
15 others charged under UAPA in the Bhima Koregaon case are, each in their own way, vulnerable to various health challenges, including life-threatening ones. Is this govt and its police going to watch them die behind bars?
Stan Swamy's demise is nothing but a grotesque and inevitable outcome when atrocious laws like the UAPA make the process the punishment. The state and judiciary have blood on their hands. Father Stan Swamy was never convicted of any crime. He was a prisoner of conscience, victimized by a regime that has made a specialism of using the criminal justice process as a tool with which it can punish those who oppose it. One may agree that justice died today along with Stan Swamy. He lost his freedom for a year before he died. But he retained his dignity, till the very last moment. The Indian state lost its moral compass before the idea of justice died.
The sequence that is usually followed while investigating crime is
crime -> suspicion -> detailed investigation -> arrest -> trial -> conviction/acquittal.
In India it is
political disagreement -> pick a target ->arrest a prominent figure -> concoct evidence -> deny bail -> delay trial ->wait for accused to die in jail.
Getting bail is not within the scope of most undertrial prisoners. For one thing, the lower courts unfailingly refuse to grant bails even for the modest of cases. If we apply established logic, a prisoner then has to approach the High Court, and occasionally the Supreme Court to get bail. The second factor is the expenditure involved. An average charge at the level of the High Court is between ten to twenty thousand rupees. Now how many Adivasi families can afford this expense is a big question. Most of them are not even in a position to come to the jail and meet their dear ones. At the same time, the govt does not reach out to them by empowering them with free legal aid.
One simply cannot forget the octogenarian humanitarian who worked with underprivileged tribals for decades, served their legitimate problems till the very end, putting himself in a position to be described as a terrorist by the state and yet persevering till the end. If this killing doesn't shake your conscience nothing will ever. I'm certainly devastated and crushed from inside. Some lives will stand as testimony to what country we were building.
You'll certainly be missed father Stan Swamy. Your work is no less than an inspiration for courageous individuals who intend to fight for the tyrannized sections of society.
Some articles by Stan Swamy
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