Mangaluru College Halts Plan For 'Stan Swamy Park' Amid Right Wing Protests

The management wanted to name the park after the activist who had contributed for the upliftment of tribal people.

Calling the Jesuit priest Swamy an ‘Urban Naxal,’ several Hindu outfits have reportedly threatened to hold protests.

(Illustration: Kamran Akhter/The Quint)

The management of St Aloysius College in Mangaluru has postponed its decision to name one of its parks after tribal rights activist Father Stan Swamy, following opposition from Hindu right-wing groups.

Calling the Jesuit priest Swamy an ‘Urban Naxal,’ several Hindu outfits have reportedly threatened to hold protests.

The management wanted to name the park located in the Kotekar Beeri campus of the college after the activist who had contributed immensely for the upliftment of tribal people across the country, especially in Jharkhand.

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), Bajrang Dal and Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) have reportedly told the college management that Stan Swamy, arrested under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), was facing serious allegations including terrorism and Naxalism for his alleged role in the Bhima-Koregaon violence, and so should not be revered this way.

The management had scheduled the naming ceremony for Thursday but postponed it due to President Ram Nath Kovind’s visit to Karnataka.

“We are not against naming the park, they can name it after Oscar Fernandes or George Fernandes or the founding fathers of St Aloysius College which has immensely contributed to the field of education, but not after Stan Swamy. Though Swamy is dead, the charges against him have not been cleared,” VHP leader Sharan Pumpwell told The Indian Express.

(With inputs from The Indian Express)