Father Stan Swamy is no more but his mission for “peace, justice and reconciliation” will continue.

This was the message that emanated from the memorial service organised by the Assam Christian Forum and the North East Regional Catholic Bishops’ Conference at the Peace Centre here on Tuesday afternoon.

His demise was widely mourned in the Northeast which has a significant Christian population, about 18 per cent of the over 4.5 crore population, having contributed significantly to the education and health sectors. Nagaland, Mizoram and Meghalaya are Christian-dominated states.

The 84-year-old Jesuit priest and the “voice of the marginalised” died in a Mumbai hospital on Monday while in judicial custody.

He was arrested by the National Investigation Agency under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in 2020 in connection with the 2017 Elgar Parishad-Maoist link case.

Speaker after speaker, amid paying glowing tributes to Fr Stan’s life-long mission of serving the marginalised and oppressed, the gathering vowed to take forward his legacy. They also wondered why the ailing Fr Stan was denied bail and the “strange ways” of the State and judiciary.

Paresh Malakar, educationist and general secretary, Axom Nagarik Samaj, in his tribute, said Fr Stan’s death was a “most tragic” thing, a “sad” commentary on the State and the judiciary.

“Till his death Stan Swamy steadfastly stood for the truth and rights for the marginalised people. Now it is up to us how we carry forward his legacy. To uphold his spirits and legacy we should unitedly work for true justice, democracy and peace,” Malakar said.

The Archbishop of Guwahati, John Moolachira, who is also the president of the North East Regional Catholic Bishops’ Conference, led the memorial service.

The Assam Christian Forum and the United Christian Forum of North East India told The Telegraph that he was “falsely” implicated, imprisoned and made to suffer” because of his mission and work among the Adivasis, Dalits and other marginalised communities, as he believed, that the poor must have life and life to the full, with honour and dignity, as enshrined in the Constitution.

Allen Brooks, one of the organisers of the memorial service and spokesperson for both the forums, said community members have “pledged” to recommit themselves to take forward Fr Stan’s legacy and to “work” for peace, justice and reconciliation because “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”.

Father G.P. Amalraj, deputy secretary, North East India Regional Bishops’ Council, said they “failed to understand” why an 84-year-old social worker, greatly weakened by multiple ailments could “not” get bail for a case in which he claimed “absolute” innocence.

“Aside from the pain it has caused to the poor tribal people on whose behalf he laboured, it has shaken the confidence of society in our justice system and tarnished the image of the country at the international level.… May his innocence be established and may more and more young people come forward to dedicate their lives on behalf of the poor,” Fr Amalraj said.