The power of the pen

In May 1789, Louis XVI summoned to Versailles a full meeting of the ‘Estates General.’ The First Estate consisted of 300 nobles. The Second Estate consisted of 300 clergy. The Third Estate consisted of 600 commoners. Some years later, after the French Revolution, Edmund Burke, the Irish philosopher and statesman, looking up at the Press Gallery of the House of Commons said, "Yonder sits the Fourth Estate, and they are more important than them all.”

In all countries around the world, wherever and whenever freedom has been imperiled, or injustice and abuse of the law have reared their ugly heads, the Fourth Estate has risen to the occasion and played a stellar role in restoring sanctity and the rule of sanity.

The abundance of intellectual wealth in the community is probably the raison d’être why discussions turn into debate, debate into differences, differences into dissent. When sensitive issues engulf our minds the atmosphere becomes surcharged with emotion. Whenever efforts have been made to highlight critical issues, there has been a backlash from those who feel that the ‘feel good’ factor should not be disturbed and issues however crucial or decisive must best be left unsaid. Be that as it may, one should never shy from associating with the truth, however unpalatable it may be.

When a community is faced with such sensitivities, the Fourth Estate, by the manner in which it performs during such fragile situations, displays maturity or the lack of it. The Fourth Estate can be neither passive nor proactive; it has to be balanced. The functioning of the Fourth Estate is not enviable. It has a very vital role to perform in reporting and projecting the truth, however difficult it may be, however many brickbats they may have to endure.

The Fourth Estate is saddled with the responsibility to not only present the truth, but also through the power of the pen, to create an environment of harmony and unity in which men can discuss and debate issues objectively and rationally, and if need be even agree to disagree without becoming disagreeable.

The future belongs to those who fuse intelligence with faith and who with courage and determination march forward from chance to choice, from blind compliance to creative development.

In conclusion, let us recall the words of Walter Lippman: "There can be no higher law in journalism than to tell the truth and shame the devil.”

Hamazor Hama Asho Baad – Let us be one in strength and righteousness.

DINSHAW TAMBOLY