St Xavier’s College in Mumbai cancelled its annual Stan Swamy Memorial Lecture on Saturday after the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) protested against the event. The students’ organisation had objected to the lecture, alleging that it glorified Maoist Pastor Stan Swamy, who was an accused in the Elgar Parishad–Bhima Koregaon case.
The lecture, organised by the college’s Department of Inter-Religious Studies (DIRS), was scheduled to be delivered virtually by Fr. Prem Xalxo, associate lecturer at the Faculty of Theology, Pontifical Gregorian University. The planned topic was “Migration for Livelihood: Hope Amidst Miseries.”
Earlier in the week, the ABVP sent a letter to the college administration opposing the event and calling on the state government to take action. The organisation stated that Stan Swamy had been declared a main accused in the Elgar Parishad–Bhima Koregaon case and charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
Stan Swamy, a Jesuit priest and tribal rights activist from Jharkhand, was arrested by the National Investigation Agency in October 2019 and remained in custody until his death in a Mumbai hospital in 2021.
College officials stated that the lecture series is usually held on 9 August 2025 to coincide with World Indigenous Day, with past lectures focusing on the history and development of indigenous communities. They said the topic for this year’s lecture was related to migration but acknowledged that the naming of the series after Stan Swamy had become the contentious point. They maintained that from the Jesuit perspective, Swamy was accused but had not been convicted of any crime at the time of his death, and that Indian law presumes innocence until proven guilty.
The college administration said the DIRS promotes a philosophy of “respecting the other” and expressed concern that controversies of this nature could negatively impact international higher education relations.
(With inputs from Indian Express)
Subscribe to our channels on Telegram, WhatsApp, and Instagram and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.
