By Matters India Reporter
Secunderabad, July 14, 2026: Indian economist and political commentator Parakala Prabhakar delivered a memorial lecture in honor of Father Stan Swamy, warning that India’s democratic values face “mortal danger” under the current dispensation.
Speaking July 11 at St. Patrick’s High School in Secunderabad, Prabhakar titled his address “Who’s Afraid of Stan Swamy? & Why?” and declared that the frail Jesuit priest, who died in custody in 2021, continues to haunt those in power because “he personified all the values that are needed for our country, that are dear to us but are inimical to the project of the powers that be in Delhi.”
‘He did not simply die’
Prabhakar recalled writing a chapter called “Who Killed Father Stan Swamy?” in his book The Crooked Timber of New India.
“I meant that he did not simply die. I meant that he was, indeed, killed,” he said, adding that the question today is not who killed him but “who is afraid of Stan Swamy, and why?”
Quoting Swamy’s own words before his arrest in October 2020, Prabhakar reminded the audience:
“Over the last two decades, I have identified myself with the Adivasi people and their struggle for a life of dignity and self-respect … If this makes me a ‘deshdrohi,’ then so be it.”
Prabhakar emphasized that Swamy’s commitment to Adivasis, Dalits, and the marginalized, along with his insistence on dissent and solidarity, made him a threat to the ruling powers.
“He would not have minded being called a Deshdrohi a thousand times over, and pay the price, if he were to express his dissent and face the consequences,” Prabhakar said.
Cautionary alarms
The economist issued stark warnings about India’s political trajectory. “If some people in this gathering think that we can continue to hold this kind of meetings in future, I appeal to them to shed that delusion,” he cautioned.
He pointed to recent developments, including a Union Home Ministry circular mandating the singing of all six stanzas of Vande Mataram before the national anthem.
“If the present drift continues unchecked, sooner than later, Jana Gana Mana could be gradually phased out,” he warned.
Prabhakar also criticized the creation of a High-Level Committee on Demographic Changes, saying its repeated references to “illegal immigration” reveal intentions that could reshape society in divisive ways.
Economic denial and inequality
Turning to the economy, Prabhakar accused the government of “massaging data to present a rosy picture” and ignoring the lived reality of ordinary citizens.
“The dispensation is tone deaf to the plight of the poor and the marginalised,” he said, citing demonetization’s lasting damage and the rupee’s steep decline.
He argued that the government’s policies enrich “a few of its cronies” while leaving youth unemployment and inequality unaddressed. “Its sole aim seems to be the enrichment of a few of its cronies,” he declared.
‘Bloodless political genocide’
Prabhakar described the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls as a tool of disenfranchisement. “SIR is nothing but a bloodless political genocide,” he said.
“It exterminates citizenship, pushes people out of the political society, makes people stateless even as they continue to live within the borders of the Indian state.”
He warned that India’s secular, plural, and federal identity is being dismantled at “a fiendish pace.”
“Our country’s social compact of secularism, plurality, federalism, diversity, justice, fraternity, equality and liberty are in mortal danger today,” he said.
Stan Swamy’s enduring legacy
Prabhakar concluded by urging the audience to emulate Swamy’s courage. “Father Stan Swamy did not make noise. He was quietly working in the remote and neglected parts of the country,” he said.
“The current dispensation was afraid of a frail, unwell, octogenarian. That is because he personified all the values that are needed for our country.”
The lecture, delivered on July 11, underscored how Swamy’s life and words continue to inspire resistance against exclusion and authoritarianism.
“I am sure, he would want us to do that,” Prabhakar said, calling on citizens to defend constitutional values even at personal cost.