Power of the Pen

“The pen is mightier than the sword” is an old saying whose origin can not be traced, although it exists in many languages in all parts of the world. Normally it is interpreted as meaning that a scholar wields greater power than a soldier or military general. However, the study of the history of colonialism yields a different and interesting angle to the adage.

The indigenous populations of the American and Australian continents were almost completely wiped out by the invading colonizers from Europe. One thing common among those nations was the fact that in spite of being reasonably civilized and organized they lacked a written language or script.

The disadvantages of being illiterate are manifold. For one thing, they could not send written messages or make written agreements. It is a simple fact that the spoken word can only be heard by those present within a limited distance and repetitions by the listeners are often inaccurate to say the least. On the other hand, the written message can be read for ever and transmitted in original or in exact copies to any part of the world. That is why we do not have an account of what happened from the view point of the obliterated nations.

At the same time the people of the lands where literacy or a written language existed managed to survive the onslaught of the equally cruel and blood-thirsty invaders starting from the Aryans in India to Europeans in most parts of the world. Most countries of Asia are examples of this survivability of literacy. In fact most of the once colonized literate nations were able to eventually oust the colonizers and some are now taking a leading role in the community of nations.

My antagonists must be wondering, “What about Africa?” The answer is quite simple. Most nations in the coastal areas of Africa had already had contacts with Arabic language and literature. Although the literacy rate there may not have been enviable, there must have been at least a few literate persons in each community. As for the semi-civilized and illiterate people in the hinterlands, they were lucky that Christian missionaries had reached them before the Christian soldiers and given them the divine shield of literacy.

If there are any ambitious generals or politicians in the world who think that the history of the American and Australian continents can be repeated, they will be disappointed. Literate peoples can not be obliterated.