The North-East Catholic Research Forum (NECARF) is deeply shocked and saddened by the demise of Rev. Fr. Stan Swamy SJ, an 84-year Catholic Jesuit Priest, while in incarceration and denying bail even on medical ground. In what indeed is a classic case of “Justice Delayed is Justice Denied”, we deeply mourn the passing away of Fr. Stan Swamy. But more than that, we mourn the dying of democracy in India, where the institutions of justice and equality continue to haunt and illude the most marginalized, voiceless and dispossessed social groups of India – the indigenous peoples/Adivasis and Dalits – for whom Fr. Stan had dedicated his entire life. Death is inevitable,everyone has to die one day; but death by physical, mental and psychological torture, evident from various reports, is unacceptable and highly condemnable in a democracy where natural justice, let alone the rule of law, is the least that is called for.
With heartfelt solidarities to the Jesuit Community in India, and Rev Fr. Stan’s near and dear ones far and near.
(JAMES POCHURY, Convenor, Northeast Catholic Research Forum)