Memories of the Father of Our Movements, Father Stan Swamy

Father Stan Swamy had many dogs at Bagaicha; when he came out of his room, all the dogs would come running to him, play with him, and he would feed them. Between 2016 and 2018, first as a volunteer and then as a coordinator for Sahpathi (a project that was mentored by economists Jean Drèze and Reetika Khera), I visited Bagaicha, Father’s home for years. A Jesuit-run training and social action centre in Ranchi, Bagaicha was managed and supervised by Father. It is as much a training centre and a community place as it is a beautiful and lively place full of plants, birds, animal, and insects. It is also home to a big black statue of Birsa Munda holding a mashaal (flame torch), a memorial for Adivasi martyrs, every wall pasted with posters of slogans and stories from people’s movements, as well as an amphitheatre, and a backyard full of trees and places to sit, where we would spend time together after dinner. Bagaicha also had a small library with books and research booklets that perhaps one would get nowhere else, written by tribal writers, researchers and activists like, Dayamani Barla, Gladson Dungdung and Aunj Lugun.