DMK members and several church dignitaries—including Bishop Jeevanandam of Kumbakonam and Archbishop Francis Kalist of Pondicherry-Cuddalore—unveiled a statue of Stan Swamy to mark the fourth anniversary of his death. Held in Viragalur, Swamy’s birthplace, the ceremony drew over 5,000 attendees, turning it more into a beatification of the late Jesuit than a simple memorial.
Swamy was celebrated by the crowd as a tribal rights advocate. DMK MP Kanimozhi described him as a victim of state oppression, arguing that questioning the government invites accusations of being anti-national or pro-Naxal.
She also stated that in prison, Swamy was deprived of basic necessities and branded unfairly. Fellow politician Thirumavalavan even alleged that evidence was planted on Swamy’s devices in order to trap him in a fabricated assassination plot targeting Prime Minister Modi.
However, official records from 2021 tell a different story. An NIA-special court, while denying him bail, noted that Swamy appeared to be substantially involved with the banned CPI (Maoist) group and its agenda. This court finding challenges the portrayal of him as merely a benign activist.
What the DMK-led gathering and other similar nationwide commemorations underscore is a clear effort to recast Swamy as a heroic advocate for the oppressed—even as legal documents suggest his active role with a recognized terrorist organization.
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