The suffering Fr Swamy endured should not befall on anyone else,” said Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K Stalin, condoling the death of Tribal rights activist and Jesuit Priest Fr Stan Swamy. The Chief Minister placed a wreath on an urn, containing the ashes of Fr Swamy at the Loyola College and paid his homage on July 18.

The Priest activist was arrested under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in the Elgar Parishad case and died at a Mumbai hospital on July 5 after prolonged incarceration in the Taloja jail in Mumbai amid his fight for bail on health grounds.

The 84-year-old Priest who worked for the rights of Tribals in Jharkhand was born in Trichy district in Tamil Nadu as Stanislaus Lourdusamy. The Tamil Nadu assembly too passed a condolence resolution and paid tributes to the late activist on August 16. Led by Mr Stalin, the members observed two-minute silence as a mark of respect.

“You were blessed by God as shown in your generous help for others; as we pray that your soul rest in peace, will you not come back to us to renew your fight against poverty,” locals, kin and friends of Fr Stan Swamy, wrote in a condolence message on a flex banner crowned by his smiling silhouette at viragulur village

Back home at Viragalur, the Priest’s native hamlet near Trichy, people saluted its brave son, who courageously fought the injustice faced by the tribals and marginalised groups for over five decades.

“You were blessed by God as shown in your generous help for others; as we pray that your soul rest in peace, will you not come back to us to renew your fight against poverty,” the locals, kin and friends of Fr Stan Swamy, wrote in a condolence message on a flex banner crowned by his smiling silhouette.

The ‘Seven Dollars Church’ at the village organised a special mass. Stanis Sundar, nephew of Fr Stan Swamy said about 500 people including Jesuits from St. Joseph College, Trichy, where Fr Stan Swamy had his early education, attended the special mass.

A special memorial meeting followed the mass at which speakers recalled his stellar role in fighting for livelihood rights of the ‘Adivasi’ communities in Jharkhand for over five decades.

Sharing memories of the Jesuit priest who was referred to as a ‘Martyr’ at the memorial service in Mumbai, Sundar said, “My uncle chose his spiritual vocation in life, to go on to become a Catholic priest, on his own volition”. In an emotion-choked voice, Sundar went on to add: “We saw pictures of Fr Stan Swamy from the hospital, where one of his legs was chained to the bed.” “What heinous crime did he do to get such a treatment; he worked all his life for the downtrodden. This (manner of his death) is like a death sentence awarded by the State,” said Sundar. “Can’t bear to see this happen to a kind soul,” he said.

Even as friends and Church Fathers from Trichy who knew Fr Stan Swamy remembered his propensity to reach out to the needy and poor from a “very young age”, Sundar said his uncle was very detached towards his family in the village, which he visited last in 2019. “Even for marriage functions in the family, he would say don’t expect me to come; my people are here (in Ranchi) and I have to look after them,” Fr Stan Swamy would say.

The Irudayaswamy family, engaged in agriculture in the village over generations, have always shown compassion and empathy to reach out to the poor. “As the Head of the family, Stan Swamy’s elder brother laments the most today,” said the Viragalur Panchayat chief, Susai Anthony.