A Political Call

He saw a bush burning but the fire was not consuming the bush. When he went close to see the strange event, he was told that the place he was standing was holy and he should remove his sandals. The voice from the bush said, “I have seen the humiliation of my people at the hands of their exploiters and I have heard their cries. Go now, I am sending you to bring my people out of their slavery.”

In a similar fashion, a young boy from Tiruchirappalli was called by God to go to the tribal region of Bihar/Jharkhand to set His people free. After his priestly ordination on 14th April 1970 in the Society of Jesus (SJ), he left for Bihar/ Jharkhand to work with the Adivasis. Stan believed that it was not enough to dole out material goods and food relief to the Adivasis. He should work for their emancipation and development. The only way to work for the development of the Adivasis would be to educate them to understand their rights and fight for their rights.

After working for several years in Bihar (Jharkhand) he was asked to work in Indian Social Institute the Nation’s premier research, training, and documentation institute in Bangalore. Through this institute he trained many social workers and youth to work for rural development and nation building. He enabled them to understand the social, economic realities of our society and equipped them to work effectively with the Dalits, Adivasis and weaker sections of the society.

An Advocate of the Adivasis
After completing his term at the Indian Social Institute, he went back to Jharkhand to work with the Adivasis. He knew that the Indian Constitution and the legal framework has enough space for the rights of the Adivasis. For example, “the 5th schedule of the Constitution” deals with the administration of Schedule areas as well as Scheduled Tribes residing in different states. Secondly, in 1996 the central government had passed a law called “Panchayats (extension to Scheduled Areas) PESA Act 1996.” By virtue of this Act, the Constitution gives to the people living in the schedule area the power of self-governance through traditional Gram Sabhas. These laws prevent outsiders to enter the schedule area to exploit the people and the natural resources for their private gain.

The successive governments did not have political will to implement these laws which protect the lives and livelihood of the Adivasis. Fr. Stan was concerned about non-implementation of the 5th Schedule of the Indian Constitution and PESA. One does not need rocket science to understand why these laws were not implemented. The schedule areas where Adivasis are living are rich with mineral resources. The hitherto practice has been that the government would evict the Adivasis from their homes and lands and hand over their land to the corporates and multinational companies to excavate the minerals below their land. To put in the words of Fr. Stan, “Every mine that is dug not only destroys the green forests, fertile lands and water bodies but displaces entire village habitations.”

Perhaps, in olden days when Adivasis were ignorant and unorganized, they could be easily pushed out of their land. With sustained work of conscientization by people like Fr. Stan, Adivasis have woken up to understand their rights. Through their prolonged struggles PESA Act was passed in 1996. They have started resisting the oppression. They started a movement called Pathal Ghadi. They started erecting stone slabs at the entrance of every Adivasi village. They inscribe relevant parts of the Constitution and PESA Act on the slab. They also inscribe the names of the people who have given their lives in the struggle to protect the rights of the Adivasis. The government has dealt with a heavy hand with all the resistance of the Adivasis to their eviction. More than 6000 youth are languishing in jail without charge sheet or trial.

The Arrest
Fr. Stan has meticulously documented the torture and the sufferings of these Adivasi youth. Along with other civil right activists, Fr. Stan has filed public interest litigations to bring relief to the Adivasis. In response to this, the government filed the case of sedition against Fr. Stan. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has implicated him in Bhima Koregaon violence. At first, he was only a suspect; but now they have accused him of being involved in Bhima Koregaon violence. They have further accused him as a cadre of the Maoists. They raided his office in Ranchi and took away his mobile phone and laptop. The most atrocious thing the NIA has done is that they have planted material in his laptop to prove that he is a Maoist. What is ludicrous is that such material the NIA has planted in many who have been arrested in Maharashtra contain the same spelling mistakes and Marathi words. Since Stan does not know Marathi one wonders how could he use Marathi words in the documents planted in his computer.

Fr. Stan being a staunch Christian and a Jesuit priest does not believe in indulging in falsehood, let alone using violence. The real issue is not that Fr. Stan is a Maoist or uses violence. NIA’s charge sheet will not stand the test in trial court. The real problem is that Fr. Stan has awakened the Adivasis to understand their rights to their land and homes. They have started resisting. They are demanding a share in the wealth that lies beneath their land. This creates difficulties for the government to hand over their lands to the crony capitalists for excavating rich minerals from the lands of the Adivasis. Fr. Stan asks, “Why truth has become so bitter, dissent so intolerable and justice so out of reach?”∎

Alex Tuscano has worked with Fr. Stan for about twelve years in training social activists in the premier Indian Social Institute, Bangalore.