The institute cancelled its annual Stan Swamy Memorial Lecture following ABVP's objections. The outfit alleged that the lecture glorified a Bhima Koregaon case accused. The event, focused on migration issues, has left the alumni surprised by the decision
-1754814917690_d.png "Alumni, members unhappy as Mumbai’s St Xavier’s scraps Stan Swamy memorial lecture")
Mumbai’s St. Xavier’s College. File pic
Mumbai’s St. Xavier’s College has cancelled its annual Stan Swamy Memorial Lecture after receiving a letter from the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP).
Organised by the Department of Inter-Religious Studies (DIRS), the lecture was scheduled for August 9 and was to focus on “Migration for Livelihood: Hope Amidst Miseries.”
The move follows an August 4 letter from ABVP, a student wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), which condemned the event, alleging it ‘glorified a person declared the main accused in the Elgar Parishad–Bhima Koregaon case.’
The cancellation has left several members and alumni of the St. Xavier’s College community surprised and disappointed.
“We are surprised that the college has shown cowardice and yielded to pressure tactics. We teach our students about the values of justice, democracy, and peace, but when it comes to taking a stand, we bow down to the pressure, even when Stan has not been proven guilty. This has been the general pulse of the St Xavier’s alumni and the community,” said a source from the St Xavier’s College Society, while talking to mid-day.
Reacting on the developments, Frazer Mascarenhas, a former principal, said, “The lecture cancellation is saddening since the accusations against Jesuit priest Father Stan Swamy are unfounded. Thus far, the Pune Police and the NIA have only made allegations against him that they could not prove in the court for over five years."
"The lecture was cancelled as the college wished to avoid disruptions during the lecture and also unnecessary controversy over the issue, which is not even central to the college's educational offerings," Fr Keith D'Souza, SJ, Rector, stated.
“Last year, this lecture was held in the Anjuman-i-Islam school, and this year it won't be held at all," said Nandini Sardesai, a former faculty member of the college's Sociology and Anthropology Department. "It is shameful to succumb to communal hatred, and we must take a stand against it. All ex-faculty members and students are feeling anguished!"
Based out of Jharkhand, Father Stan Swamy was a tribal rights activist and Jesuit priest. In 2019, Stan Swamy was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on alleged charges related to the Bhima Koregaon violence and was kept in state custody till 2021, when he tested positive for COVID-19 and died at a Mumbai-based hospital.
ABVP Mumbai Secretary Prashant Mali states that the group took up this matter after a few students from the college approached the ABVP group. “We did not suggest any protests and simply handed in a letter to the current principal of the college. During our discussion, we asked pressing questions after which the college said they’ll look into the matter,” said Mali.
In a letter addressed to the institution, Mali wrote, “It is extremely sad that prestigious colleges like St. Xavier’s are trying to encourage Naxalist ideas by glorifying a person accused of committing anti-national conspiracies. We demand that the principal cancel this lecture immediately. We also urge the Chief Minister, Home Minister, and Higher Education Minister of Maharashtra to take immediate action against such activities and ensure that educational institutions are not used to propagate leftist, anti-national ideas,” said ABVP Mumbai Secretary Prashant Mali.
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