There is a famous English saying “The pen is mightier than the sword“, which was first written by playwriter and novelist Edward Bulwer-Lytton in 1839, in his historical play Cardinal Richelieu. Seldom do we know that it will become a cruel reality in the modern era.
Some people might disagree with this notion, but in reality, the pen is indeed so powerful that it can subtly transform the thinking and actions of people, communities, or a nation. A pen can subtly change people’s orientation through various propaganda and writings.
Media houses, writers, and eminent intellectuals have been able to sway a large group of people through the various propaganda, they write or unleash via their various outlets: journals, magazines, newspapers, etc. In this article, we will explore the modern repercussions of the famous saying, that too in the context of India.
The famous writer and journalist François Gautier has recently shared a picture, where he has put together the images of 6 journalists and other personalities. These people who are known for provoking the masses for their political and personal gains by spreading false and misleading information.
Gang of Fake News Peddlers
One such instance was when the Wire and many other leading news outlets reported fake news, where they allegedly depicted a group of Hindu men beating an elderly Muslim man, cutting off his beard, and forcing him to chant a Hindu slogan. An FIR was filed against Rana Ayyub, Saba Naqvi, and Mohammed Zubair at the Loni Border police station in Ghaziabad. These people tried to provoke the Muslims by sharing this misleading piece.
Do you remember the Republic Day riots in Delhi? One protestor died due to an accident, which was captured on the camera as well, but few journalists claimed that a bullet injury was seen on the head of the deceased, and he was allegedly shot dead by Delhi Police.
An FIR was registered against alleged journalists including India Today’s Rajdeep Sardesai, Mrinal Pande, Congress mouthpiece National Herald’s Zafar Agha, far-left rag Caravan’s Ananth Nath, Vinod Jose, and Paresh Nath. Noida police booked them for sharing fake news and claimed that their intention was to cause unrest and riots.
An RJ who loves to spit venom against Hindus
One such notorious personality is Radio Mirchi RJ Sayema, who is known for sharing misleading information to incite violence. She took to Twitter to incite a mob to take to protest aggressively outside the Delhi Police headquarters.
She was unhappy since the Delhi Police took action against the rioters at Jamia Nagar, where several Muslim rioters set buses on fire and raised Islamic slogans in front of Jamia Millia Islamia university.
How Zubair and Rana incite Muslims against India
It was Mohammad Zubair who cleverly trimmed a video clip of the debate to target Nupur Sharma. He published a tweet and said, “Prime Time debates in India have become a platform to encourage hate mongers to speak ill about other religions. Times Now’s Anchor Navika Kumar is encouraging a rabid communal hatemonger & a BJP Spokesperson to speak rubbish that can incite riots. Shame on you, Vineet Jain.”
It was Zubair who incited the Muslims to take action against Nupur Sharma. He specifically targeted the Middle Eastern nations and provoked the Muslims to tweet against the Indian Government. As per Delhi Police, Twitter handles supporting Alt News’ Zubair post-arrest were mostly from middle-east countries. Have you ever wondered why he was getting such overwhelming support from these Islamic Nations?
How can we expect no reaction from Rana Ayyub on such issues? She took on Twitter and wrote, “As somebody who grew up witnessing two of the worst anti-muslim pogroms in India, I think like a journalist, and as a Muslim, I have NEVER witnessed this level of brazen, televised hate. This lady is the national spokesperson of Narendra Modi’s BJP. THE NATIONAL SPOKESPERSON.”
She provoked the Islamic bigots and ignored the fact that it was a Muslim panellist who used the derogatory remarks against Bhagwan Shiv first. Unfortunately, this nefarious propaganda lead to a brutal reaction, where several Hindus had to paid with their lives.
Students who became Anti-National Bigots
Another such bigot is Umar Khalid, a former JNU student. He has been jailed for delivering a speech in Amravati in February 2020. It was an extremely calculated speech that brought various points including the Babri Masjid, instant triple talaq, Kashmir, suppression of Muslims, and the CAA and NRC.
The primary objective was to create a sense of fear in the Muslim population and force them to react against the Hindus. The speeches of accused Sharjeel Imam, Khalid Saifi, and Umar Khalid were not only related to the religion, it was an issue of national integration.
We are not compromising with our ideology but are changing our strategy
Arfa Khanum Sherwani is an alleged journalist who is better known for spreading hatred against Hindus in the name of secularism and inclusiveness. She provoked Muslims to carry out protests against the CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act), but with caution. She said that Muslims must keep protesting, but they must try to appear inclusive in order to “not lose the battle”.
No prize to guess which ‘battle’ she is referring to, it is Gazhwa-Ae-Hind.
She further added, “You must make these protests as inclusive as you could and make its base bigger. You read your Kalmas, do the Ibadat, Indian constitution is still present in that manner. But when you come out in the public, you are a Muslim, there is no doubt about it”. Well, this is to make Muslims aware of the changing strategies and make fools of Hindus.
These journalists, RJs, Students, intellectuals, and other eminent personalities want a right to peddle fake news so that they can cause incitement to violence or cause a riot. They want to use their pen, and their voices to create an anti-national narrative, to mislead the people, to create anarchy in India.
Unfortunately, they have been very successful in their strategy, at least till now. This validates the analogy that “The power of PEN is more DEADLY than the power of WEAPON”.
