Stanislaus Lourduswamy, SJ (26 April 1937 – 5 July 2021),[1] popularly known as Stan Swamy, was an Indian Catholic priest, a member of the Jesuit order,[2] and a tribal rights activist for several decades.

[5] On 8 October 2020, Swamy was arrested and charged by the National Investigation Agency under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, for his alleged role in the 2018 Bhima Koregaon violence and links to the Communist Party of India (Maoist).

[7][8][9] He later joined the Jesuits and in the 1970s, he studied theology and received a master's degree in sociology in the Philippines,[8] where he encountered a series of protests and demonstrations against the administration.

[10] He worked among the tribals of central India for over three decades[11] and had questioned the non-implementation of the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution, which stipulates setting up of a Tribes Advisory Council with members solely of the Adivasi community for their protection, well-being and development in the state.

We are all aware how prominent intellectuals, lawyers writers, poets, activists, students, leaders, they are all put into jail because they have expressed their dissent or raised questions about the ruling powers of India.

[17] He was arrested[18] by the NIA on 8 October 2020, from Bagaicha, a Jesuit social action centre,[19] and charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, under which bail can be denied.

[7] The arrests were termed as politically motivated due to his work among the adivasi community, the release of undertrials, Persecuted Prisoners Solidarity Committee,[30] among others.

[32] In a protest on 21 October 2020, leaders of opposition political parties such as Shashi Tharoor, Sitaram Yechury, D. Raja, Supriya Sule and Kanimozhi along with economist Jean Dreze, Dr Joseph Marianus Kujur, the director of the Ranchi-based Xavier Institute of Social Sciences, activists Dayamani Barla and Rupali Jadhav, and lawyer Mihir Desai called for Stan's release.

[39][40][41] On 6 November 2020, Swamy submitted an application to the special court requesting a straw and sipper, stating that he was unable to hold a glass due to Parkinson's.

[51] On 28 May 2021, the Bombay High Court directed the Maharashtra government to admit Swamy to a private hospital for 15 days, considering his rapidly deteriorating health.

[55][56][57] In November 2021, Jamshedpur Jesuit Province (JJP) petitioned the Bombay High Court, as his next-of-kin, to clear Swamy's name from the case.