Stan Swamy Memorial Lecture at Xavier’s College canceled amid ABVP protest

The St Xavier’s College in Mumbai canceled its annual Stan Swamy Memorial lecture on August 5 due to protests by members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidhyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and the Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh (RSS).

The ABVP’s Mumbai unit said that one of its members submitted a representation to the principal demanding “immediate cancelation of the lecture.” “ABVP firmly believes that organising a lecture in memory of a person accused in the Elgar Parishad–Bhima Koregaon case, facing UAPA charges for links with banned Maoist groups, is an attempt to glorify urban Naxalism on campus,” the representation said.

The ABVP further urged the Maharashtra government to take action against events which are allegedly being conducted under the “guise of academic freedom.”

According to Maktoob Media, the Stan Swamy Memorial Lecture organised by the Department of Inter-Religious Studies, Xavier’s College was supposed to be delivered by Father Prem Xalxo on the theme “Migration for Livelihood: Hope amidst Miseries.”

Father Stan Swamy was an 84 year old Jesuit Priest who was jailed under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Activities (UAPA) for seven months in 2021. He died while undergoing treatment at a hospital in Mumbai ahead of his bail hearing.

Swamy was an advocate of for marginalised tribal communities. He was arrested in 2020 on charges of having connections with banned organisations and inciting violence in Maharashtra in 2018.

It is noteworthy that Swamy was repeatedly denied bail despite suffering from Parkinson’s disease.