St Xavier's cancels Stan Swamy Memorial talk after ABVP letter
The lecture on 'Migration for Livelihood: Hope Amidst Miseries' was to be delivered virtually by Father Prem Xalxo, an Indian Jesuit, who is also an associate professor at the Gregorian University in Rome. 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". It was the fourth edition of the memorial lecture.
Stating that controversies like this do not create a healthy and fair impression about the quality and ethos of Indian education and the aptitude and openness of the very gifted student bodies throughout the country, Rector of the college, Fr Keith D'Souza, said, "From Jesuit point of view, Fr Stan Swamy was an Indian citizen who was accused, but not as yet convicted of his alleged crimes till his demise. As per our Indian criminal jurisprudence, a person is innocent unless proven guilty.
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" The lecture, now cancelled, was organised by the college's Department of Inter-Religious Studies, an extra-curricular unit on the campus, which conducts several events throughout the year.
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The letter from ABVP alleged that Father Swamy was accused in the Elgar Parishad-Bhima Koregaon violence case and had been arrested under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, an anti-terrorism law and was also linked to banned Maoist outfits.
The students' organisation demanded the cancellation of the lecture, failing which the organisation would initiate widespread student agitation, file petitions with the UGC, among other measures.
The college, though, said the memorial lecture was organised to commemorate the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples on Aug 9. "While the lectures are on several themes related to indigenous life—which no one has objected to—we understand that the contentious issue is mainly about the nomenclature of the lecture series, named after Stan Swamy," said Fr D'Souza. "Our annual Stan Swamy Memorial Lecture has been delivered by reputed scholars who have done research in the area of the history and development of indigenous peoples across the globe.
The topic this year was on the theme of migration," he said.
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