An Essay And Article On The Power Of Pen

For a layman only something that is concrete has value and significance. That which cannot be seen or that which has only symbolical significance has no value for him. Erroneous view is, therefore, held by some people that the sword is mightier than the pen. They actually do not understand the meaning of pen. When comparing with the sword they have in mind only some object about six inches long with which one can write. This object of six inches in length and less than one inch in thickness compares ridiculously in power with the one or two feet long sword with sharp edges, the very sight of which sends shudders of fear down the spine. Understood literally pen has no power when compared with the striking power of the sword. But here we have to use the word ‘pen’ in a symbolical way.

Make The Better Use of Pen

Pen stands for expression, for literature, for what comes out of a writer’s pen. And it is true that literature or writing wields far more power than the arms can ever wield. Battles are fought over a certain period of time and within a particular area. They certainly affect and influence events but in a limited way. The effect of the pen or literature is wide. Sometimes it is universal. The messages of Buddha, Christ, Confucius, Gandhi and Marx are universal in their appeal. They are valid for all times and for all climes. The sword has a physical effect; it hardly affects the mind and the spirit, while the pen affects the mind, intellect and spirit. The latter can shape the minds, hearts and the spirit of people in a desired way if only the wielder has the mastery of its use in the required measure. Arms represent violence and they have in most cases a destructive effect. The pen or literature must exercise a positive effect.

The sword cuts, the pen may also cut by the use of irony and satire, but while the sword lacks the restorative effect the pen may exercise a healing power also. The superiority of the pen also lies in the fact that even where the sword is used and success is attained, the use of pen is necessary to consolidate that success. The world wars were justified by declaring that they were fought to make the world safe for democracy. The pen is a source of power and inspiration for all times and for all climes. The fact of superiority of the pen over the sword should not lead us to believe that the sword has no value. Arms have changed history. Sometimes only force brings about the results. When everything fails, when persuasion, negotiations etc. fail, the use of arms is left the only alternative. Rama had ultimately to use force to teach Ravan a lesson.

Arms were used to ensure the victory of the forces of good over the forces of evil. If the great war of Mahabharata had not been fought, the forces of evil which the Kauravas represented would have continued to plague the kingdom and the rule of justice and righteousness could never have been established. Lord Krishna, therefore, induced Arjuna to fight a violent war to destroy the forces of evil and rehabilitate the rule of the right. In Indian mythology, there are numerous references to violence committed with a view to safeguarding good and justice and honour by killing the demons and Rakshasas. Many subject people resorted to arms to regain their freedom from the colonial masters. Even the story of India’s freedom struggle is interspersed with spells of violence.

The extremists and terrorists have made their own contribution to the achievement of freedom for India. Even Gandhiji would allow the use of force or violence, if the opponent totally failed to understand the language of reason, persuasion, appeal and petition. The use of the sword proves effective in controlling rebellious and recalcitrant sections of people upon whom all persuasion has fallen flat. In the wake of India’s freedom some secessionist princes and former rulers of Indian States could not be brought to book by nothing short of a military action. Even the Khalistan movement in Punjab could not be curbed without resort to the use of the sword. The strength of a country is measured by the strength of its army and its arsenal.

The super powers are feared and respected because they possess the power of the sword in a greater measure than any other country of the world. India cannot have her voice heard in the assemblies of the comity of nations until she commands viable military power. Her championing the cause of the undeveloped and developing world, her advocacy of the rights of the minorities in different countries her organizing international conferences and meetings would not bring her respect unless these efforts of hers are backed by solid military power. Her voice can be heard only when it is delivered from a position of strength. Power has always ruled and power comes from the barrel of the gun.

China has succeeded in earning respect and attention of such a mighty country as the United States because she has been able to develop her military potential in a fair measure. The Soviet Russia which exploited China for decades and centuries and treated her people with contempt came out to pay attention and respect to her. History is witness to the fact that empires were built and destroyed not by pen but by the force of arms of strong emperors. The founding of the Ottoman Empire, the Mongolian Empire, and the Indian Empire and of late of the British Empire was a determined and dedicated exercise in the use of the sword. The plundering of the Somnath temple by Mahmud Gazni and the foundation of the Muslim rule in India by Mohammed Gauri could not have been possible and India could have been saved from enslavement for hundreds of years, if only the people here comprehended the power that goes with the sword.

Even now we will do well if we realize sooner than later that might has always been worshiped, that the sword has always ruled and that the only way to keep India’s freedom intact is to have strong and unbreakable and invincible swords, that is, to strengthen herself militarily. The above description of the importance and power of the sword should not, however, blind us to the immense and unspeakable power possessed by the pen. There is might in the sword, nobody can gainsay this, but there is more might in the pen. The American Revolution of 1776 was the product of the writings of a host of political philosophers and statesmen. The very slogan of liberty, equality and pursuit of happiness raised in their writings by the American revolutionaries and almost the identical slogan liberty, equality and fraternity raised in the writings of the French revolutionaries not only did much to change the history of these two countries, but also revolutionized the very thought and outlook of the people about the role of the state all over the globe.

Knowledge Speaks Out With Pen

It is a matter of common knowledge for a student of history that what Benjamin Franklin, Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson in America and Rousseau, Voltaire and Montesquieu in France, could do by their writings could never have been achieved by a Robespierre, a Napoleon or a Hitler. True that the Russian Revolution was an outburst of the centuries old people’s grievances, but the background for it had been prepared by the writings of a host of creative writers as well as statesmen like Trotsky and Lenin. What Gandhi could achieve by the use of his pen could never have been achieved by thousands of strong emperors ruling by the force of their arms. The writings of a host of patriotic writers and men of literature contributed very significantly in burning the fire of patriotic zeal in the hearts of the multitudes of people and inspiring them to sacrifice their lives for the sake of freedom. V.D. Savarkar’s ‘Indian War of Independence’, Lala Lajpatrai’s ‘Unhappy India’, the fiery messages of Swami Vivekananda exercised much greater power than the actual exploits of these great men.

The whole democratic and communistic thought which issued from the minds of a host of individuals and liberal writers has done more in democratizing and socializing our attitudes than the orgies of bloody warfare indulged in by kings and emperors through centuries. And then, there is the power of the Press. What a mighty power the Press wields now-a-days can hardly are described, so much so that it has come to be treated as the Fourth estate. The journalist sometimes proves to be more powerful than a Minister or a President. Krishna Menon tendered his resignation in the wake of the Chinese aggression on India. Richard Nixon resigned the President ship of the United States of America, Mrs. Indira Gandhi had to revoke the state of Emergency and order fresh elections in 1977, all this because of the pressure mounted on them by the Press. International Press has played a significant role in getting many countries liberated from the colonial yoke.

The policies of the Super Powers pursued by them in different parts of the world have been condemned outright by the World Press and in many cases these Powers have had to change them. Thus while it is true that the sword wields power, it is equally true that the pen wields more power and in the present world when means of communication and transportation are so convenient and quick and the Press material gets distributed within a very short time, the pen has come to play an unusually very powerful role both in national and international fields.

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