Dear Stan, 
It is not normal to wish someone who is in prison ‘A Happy Birthday!’- seems a kind of contradiction. Not sure if one’s birthday can actually be happy there; nevertheless I am doing so! In wishing you – we celebrate your life: your mission and your message and above all, those whom you have identified with all these years so “Happy birthday dear Stan!”

“Happy birthday dear Stan!” :we thank the Almighty for the Gift of You to so many people everywhere: particularly the  poor and the excluded, the Adivasis  and Dalits; and also to the  Country, the Church and the Society of Jesus.

“Happy birthday dear Stan!” : we marvel at your unflinching commitment to causes of justice. Over the years you have shown us all what it means to be a person for others, rooted in the non-negotiable faith-justice mandate. Your life as a Jesuit and Priest has been greatly shaped by Vatican II and the 32nd General Congregation of the Jesuit which states, “the mission of the Society of Jesus today is the service of faith, of which the promotion of justice is an absolute requirement; for reconciliation with God demands the reconciliation of people with one another.”  You have internalised this spirituality and you radiate it! 

“Happy birthday dear Stan!”: we cannot help but think of  your incredibly simple life-style. Your frugality was known to all. You have lived your vow of poverty to the fullest; your material needs are few; your  actual possessions are even less . The media had a field day, when  some time ago the ‘authorities’ came to seize your possessions- they could find and take away almost nothing!

“Happy birthday dear Stan!” : you have taught us  the true meaning of ‘solidarity’ what it means to actually walk the talk; that to meaningfully empower the exploited and the excluded one has to be in solidarity with them in their struggles and to accompany them visibly and vocally, with prophetic courage for a more just and humane society. 

“Happy birthday dear Stan!”: we celebrate the amazing work you have been doing! You are a known Adivasi rights activist working on various issues of the Adivasis: land, forest and labour rights; questioning the non-implementation of the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution, which stipulates setting up of a Tribes Advisory Council with members solely of the Adivasi community, for their protection, well-being and development; your work also involved opposition to the setting up of  ‘land banks’, which  you believed would free up land belonging to the community in favour of the corporate sector. Besides, you helped form a group called the ‘Persecuted Prisoners’ Solidarity Committee’ that sought  to do a study of the nature of undertrial prisoners (3,000 Adivasis illegally put in jail) and to have recourse to legal action, so that justice can be done. Your   work has  involved expressing dissent with several official policies and laws, which you were convinced were violative  of the Constitution. The Adivasis and other excluded, who  have been denied their legitimate rights, see in you  a person who has left no stone unturned, to champion their cause.

“Happy birthday dear Stan!” : you are an extraordinary person; in a selfless manner, you have given and have not counted the cost! As a  young priest, you lived in an interior Adivasi village  sharing a small room with one of the local families. During that time, you mastered the Ho language, studied their culture and customs, ate their food and even sang and danced with them. Insertion into the tribal way of life  has always been paramount to you and in a way also ‘your forte’! You believe in youth, gave them a sense of identity and helped them to critically analyse what was happening to their tribal society. With the  generosity and help of the locals you also  built your own residence which was an ‘open house’ to one and all ! 

“Happy birthday dear Stan!”: we listen to those  heartfelt words which you said a short while before your arrest on 8 October 2020  "What is happening to me is not something unique- happening to me alone. It is a broader process that is taking place all over the country. We are all aware how prominent intellectuals, lawyers writers, poets, activists, students, leaders, they are all put into jail because they have expressed their dissent or raised questions about the ruling powers of India. We are part of the process. In a way I am happy to be part of this process. I am not a silent spectator, but part of the game, and ready to pay the price whatever be it”.  Yes you have not been and will never be a silent spectator!

“Happy birthday dear Stan!” : On 15 January 2021 , on the hundredth  day of your  incarceration, in a message the  Jesuit Superior General  Fr Arturo Sosa reminded us all that, "Father Stan dedicated his whole life to the poorest in the world, the indigenous Adivasi and the Dalits. He is the voice of the voiceless. He has stood before the powerful and told them the truth, he is committed to defending the human rights of minorities."

“Happy birthday dear Stan!”: you have epitomised  in a very profound way the ‘joy of the Gospels’. In his Apostolic Exhortation on holiness ‘Gaudete et Exsultate’ Pope Francis says, “we are inspired to act by the example of all those priests, religious, and laity who devote themselves to proclamation and to serving others with great fidelity, often at the risk of their lives and certainly at the cost of their comfort. Their testimony reminds us that, more than bureaucrats and functionaries, the Church needs passionate missionaries, enthusiastic about sharing true life. The saints surprise us; they confound us, because by their lives they urge us to abandon a dull and dreary mediocrity.”.  You fit this description so beautifully!

Even in prison , you reach out to the less fortunate prisoners in every possible way! You tell us with such positivity, that even a caged bird sings.  You are not a silent spectator that is why on 26 April , your 84th birthday , we say with lots of love THANKYOU and Happy birthday dear Stan!”

Your brother,
Cedric

*(Fr Cedric Prakash (GUJ) is a human rights, reconciliation and peace activist/writer. Contact: cedricprakash@gmail.com )