Rahul Gandhi while delivering his speech at Stanford University recently said that one of the lessons he learned from Bharat Jodo Yatra is the difference between power and force. Power is an act of imagination and it comes when one is close to truth, he said. 

Mahatma Gandhi had no force but he had power to confront and defeat the British Empire. On the other hand, the British had all components of force: the armed forces, communication system, transportation facility, financial resources and other systems. 

He also said that he could see and experience the power of people during the Bharat Jodo Yatra. That is why the government couldn’t stop the yatra. The implication of his statement, although not made explicit, is that people’s power can defeat the force of any government.

According to Emmanouil Giakoumakis, the author of the book: “Power Vs Force: The Hidden Determinants of Human Behaviour”, power comes from within and is based on principles such as integrity, courage, and compassion. On the contrary, force is external and relies on fear, coercion, and manipulation. 

Power is sustainable and promotes growth, while force leads to destruction and ultimately weakens the individual or society. For example, a team leader who leads through power will inspire his/her team members towards a shared vision, fosters positive work culture and achieve the goals of his/her organization. In contrast, a leader who relies on force to get things done, such as using threats and intimidation, may achieve short-term gains, but ultimately harm morale of the team and hinder long term success.

If one turns the pages of history, he/she can see examples of leaders who used power and leaders who applied force to achieve their goals. Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela are examples who used power to fight for justice for their people and got success in the end. 

History is also replete with dictatorial leaders like Hitler and Mussolini who used force and led not only their countries but also many countries in the world to disaster. Sri Budha and Jesus Christ are two excellent examples who used their personal power to transform people. Even today their teachings are inspiring thousands of people to bring about change within themselves and others by developing and using personal power.

Mahatma Gandhi has said that “strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will”.  The strength that comes within a person is genuine power. He believed that non-violence is the best means to defeat force. “It is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of man”.

Ever since the BJP came to power under the leadership of Narendra Modi, India witnessed confrontation between power and force. One of these confrontations was passing the anti-constitutional Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) without much discussion in the parliament and imposing it on the people of India. People, especially the Muslim community all over India with the support of many Civil Society Organizations protested against it. The government used brute force to suppress the protest.

In UP criminal cases were filed against many protesters. Posters of those who were accused of destroying public property during the protest were publicly displayed in Lucknow to shame them. It was certainly a blatant misuse of force because in Uttar Pradesh, there are lakhs who are accused of serious crimes, but their personal details have not been made public. Later the Allahabad High Court ordered the Lucknow administration to remove the posters. “In entirety, we have no doubt that the action of the state, which is (the) subject matter of this public interest litigation, is nothing but an unwarranted interference in (the) privacy of people. The same, hence, is a violation of Article 21 of the Constitution of India," the high court bench said.

The Shaheen Bagh protest against CAA led by women from December 2019 to March 24, 2020 was one of the longest peaceful protests of magnitude in modern India. It was a display of the power of ordinary women. Guided by women, the ‘leaderless’ Shaheen Bagh sit-in is often referred to by the supporters of the protest as a site of modern-day Satyagraha. If not for the outbreak of Covid 19 and the consequent lockdown, the protest would have forced the government to rethink about the CAA.

Another very significant confrontation between power and force was the passing of three controversial farm laws and the farmers’ non-violent movement against the laws. The government used its brute majority in the Lok Sabha to pass the three laws without any dialogue with the two most important stakeholders, the representatives of farmers and the state governments under whose legislative power comes agriculture as per the provisions of the Indian Constitution. The Modi government used all its might to suppress the farmers’ struggle that lasted for 13 months. 700 farmers died during the struggle. Finally, the government was compelled to repeal the three laws.

It was a decisive victory of the power of the people over the force of a dictatorial regime because it achieved what was deemed impossible. An authoritarian regime was forced to bow down and accept the major demands of a struggle. Severe repression, extreme weather conditions, the extraordinary situation arising out Covid-19 pandemic and an unrelenting propaganda onslaught could not defeat the indomitable spirit of the farmers.

The third example for the confrontation between power versus force is the protest by the wrestlers, demanding actions against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, Wrestling Federation of India’s (WFI) Chief, for his alleged sexual harassment and intimidation of seven women wrestlers. The athletes led by Vinesh Phogat, Sangeeta Phogat, Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia have accused the WFI chief of sexual harassment over a span of more than a decade and had been staging protests at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi since April 23. When they were preparing to go to Mahila Samman Mahapanchayat near the new Parliament Building on 28th May, they were dragged, forcibly pushed to the ground, manhandled and thrown into buses. Brutal force of the state was used against the moral power of the wrestlers.

In the light of the assurances given by Anurag Thakur, Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, the wrestlers have temporarily suspended their stir.  But they have reiterated that they would resume their stir, if chargesheet is not filed against Brij Bhushan before 15th June, as promised by the minister. They also have threatened that they would boycott the Asian Game, if their demands are not met. They shared with the media that a lot of pressure is being put on them to compromise.  

The prime minister who often repeats the slogan Beti Padhao and Beti Bachao has remained silent throughout the struggle of the wrestlers. Many people ask why the prime minister is afraid of taking action against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh who happens to be a powerful BJP Member of Parliament from UP. Despite the might of the government and strong pressure on the wrestlers, they are determined to fight for justice and they are ready to pay any price for it. The wrestlers are able to hold on to their decision to fight for justice against the might of the government because of the power that comes from within and the power of the people who support them.

All the three examples show that the power of people can withstand the force of the state. The Bharat Jodo Yatra of the Congress party under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi could bring to the fore the latent power of people. The emphatic victory of the Congress party in the recently held assembly elections is viewed as a fruit of identifying and mobilizing the power of people. 

If the opposition political parties can honestly reach out to people to understand their problems and propose viable solutions, the BJP-RSS that adopts force, violence, division, hatred and exclusion can be defeated. A coming together of opposition parties on a common platform just to defeat the BJP need not be successful. They have to win the hearts of people and mobilize their power to defeat the BJP.

Those who are in authority, whether it is in politics or religion, have a tendency to use force against people who disagree or challenge their authority. Many reformers of religion had to face the wrath of the orthodox leaders who used all forms of force at their disposal, especially the religious laws and political connections. Jesus Christ who had immense personal power was persecuted and crucified by using the Jewish legal system and the support of the Roman administration.

Jesus had power emanating from his authenticity, courage, compassion, wide knowledge, excellent communication skills and above all his continuous relationship with his Father in contemplation. He could realize, actualize and maximize the Divine within Him. He was a spiritual person and not a religious person who blindly followed the rituals and dogmas. Ordinary people could experience His power.

Spiritual persons who follow the core values of religions will have power. The core values of Jesus are summarized in the Sermon on the Mount. Mahatma Gandhi was greatly attracted by the Sermon on the Mount. “The Sermon on the Mount left a deep impression on my mind when I read it”, wrote Gandhi. On the contrary, religious persons are mainly concerned with rituals, rules and dogmas and they have no problem compromising with the core principles and values taught by their religion. They often connive with political leaders and allow religion to be commercialized and politicized. Such religious leaders have no power and often they resort to force.

Throughout history many genuine followers of the founders of religions like Jesus Christ were persecuted by the later religious leaders with the aid of the religious laws and political support. Today also the situation is not very different. The force of the religious laws, structures, institutions and even political support are being used to suppress persons who have power emanating from their honesty and integrity and who question the wrong decisions of the authorities. In order to bring out the power within, one needs reflection/contemplation and readiness to face oppositions and persecutions.