Power of words

Power of words

(Ideas for Freedom of Expression, picked from Yojana)

A freedom fighter from Bihar, who was fond of music, was once arrested from his home. While in prison, he sent a note to his family.

The note when censored by the prison authorities was found to be highly seditious and conspiring against the British Raj. It had just a single line written in Hindi that read, Is-Raj ke taar dheele kar do. This was deciphered as ‘Let the reign of this Raj (British) be loosened.’ He was summoned by the authorities and inquired about the said note.

The imprisoned nationalist humbly replied that he was misunderstood and he merely wished to convey to his family to ‘loosen the strings of his musical instrument, Esraj (इसराज),’ that he had left midway while being arrested.

Such is the power of wordplay that was enough to shake the foundation of oppressors. Words give the power to ‘imagine’ something that is beyond ordinary comprehension.