Mumbai: Father Stan Swamy’s funeral service held at St. Peter's Church Bandra

Illustration/Uday Mohite

The funeral service of Jesuit priest and tribal rights activist, Father Stan Lourduswamy, who passed away while in custody on Monday, was performed at St. Peter's Church Bandra here on Tuesday afternoon.

Owing to Covid-19 protocols only 20 mourners were permitted.

Priests of the Society of Jesus (SJ) had urged people to view the mass online on the YouTube channel of St. Peter's Church, Bandra, from 12 noon onwards, informed Father Frazer Mascarenhas.

During the funeral service of Father Stan Swamy, which was telecast live on YouTube, Father Frazer Mascarenhas called him the "true son of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits" who gave but never counted the cost.

"He knew what a dangerous territory he was getting into given that anybody who works for the poor or the marginalized is branded ‘urban naxal,'" added Father Mascarenhas.

Father Stany D'Souza, the Jesuit Provincial of India and South Asia said, their hearts are filled with sorrow because of the sudden demise of Father Stan but also gratitude because they had "the opportunity to know and learn from him."

Reuben Mascarenhas who was present outside the church to show solidarity with Father Stan said he is "angry, sad and at a loss of words because no matter who the person is, if they stand with the oppressed, the government will come after them."

"He (Father Stan Swamy) did not die but was killed. Even his death is being weaponised."

Also, leaders of major opposition parties have written to the President seeking his intervention to hold accountable those responsible for the "detention and inhuman treatment" of Father Stan Swamy.

The UN body on human rights has said it was deeply saddened and disturbed by the death of 84-year-old rights activist Stan Swamy during his pre-trial detention.

It said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet and the United Nations' independent experts have repeatedly raised the cases of Swamy, a Jesuit priest, and 15 other human rights defenders with the Indian government over the last three years and urged for their release from detention. Swamy, who was arrested in 2020 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in connection with the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, died at a Mumbai hospital on July 5.

"We are deeply saddened and disturbed by the death of 84-year-old Father Stan Swamy, a human rights defender and Jesuit priest, in Mumbai on July 5, following his arrest in October 2020 under India's Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act," Liz Throssell, the spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said.

"Father Stan had been held in pre-trial detention without bail since his arrest, charged with terrorism-related offences in relation to demonstrations that date back to 2018," she said in a statement.

With inputs from Raj Patil and agencies