Pen is mightier than sword

"Pen"- this three letter word plays a predominant role to target a wide audience. The maxim highlighting the power of a pen was first penned by an English author Edward Bulwer-Lytton in 1839 for his play Richelieu. It is considered as the omnipotent ruler of the world. It expresses a personnel or public opinion. It implies press, literature, newspaper books and other writing. It may also imply opinions, ideas, thoughts, beliefs, positive and constructive views. It represents diverse persons such as scholars, thinkers and  philosophers  publishers, writers and authors. On the contrary, sword connotes force coercion, violence, weapons, negative postures and destruction. The days are gone where deadly battles were fought to bring a change since the sword suffers from serious inherent drawback. We are living in an era where ideas have   a considerable impact than violence. An idea can cause a revolution, a change and a difference.

The pen commands an authoritative power of changing the face of the world. With the advent of the printing press in 1440 by Johannes Guttenberg, the printed words became the most effective means of propagating one's ideas and beliefs. The written words are immortal and can inculcate a permanent impact on several generations. Many religious books like Gita and Mahabharata, Bible have inspired millions of people to tread the path of righteousness. Ideas are easily expressed through the power of the pen. The sword can only engender subjugation and violence but cannot propagate ideas. Albeit pen is a small instrument, yet it has the power of cultivating an awakening spirit among the masses.

India witnessed its glorious independence on the 15th Aug 1947 against the British rule by the supremacy of the words. The freedom fighters and social activists contributed their cumulative efforts for the attainment of one goal i.e. freedom. They were able to instill a spirit of nationalism and unity among people through the printed words. The triumph of our freedom movement can be attributed to the impact of the pen. Our constitution also espouses the power of the pen. Therefore, declares freedom of speech and expression as one of the fundamental rights under article 19(1)(a).Major social evils like sati, purdah system, female infanticides, untouchability, child marriage prevalent before independence were eradicated using this effective tool. Enforcement of the new economic policy1991 in India was a product of the pen. It has consolidated the position of our country at the world's panorama and has succeeded in achieving unprecedented growth since then.

Who can forget the notorious men like Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Napolean Bonaparte in the history?? They tried to conquer the world using the power of sword but their desire remained unfulfilled and fell to dust .It is realized that the pen acts as a device to raise one's voice against tyranny and oppression. Pen exercises an effective control over the mind's of multitude. Many great leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther, Nelson Mandela have manifested the power of Pen to the world.

Pen can resolve many intricate issues. Strained relationships between different nations can be improved by the peaceful and amicable agreements. Establishment of United Nation Organization marked as a historic event in the world's history to overcome the poignant disaster caused by the world wars. It was made possible with the persuasive ability of the pen.

Today we are living in an era where the entire world is moved by the influential thoughts. India is a democratic country and confers certain fundamental rights on its citizens. People are empowered to express their thoughts freely. People have a greater unflinching conviction in the power of the pen than that of a sword. Newspapers, periodicals, social media inform people about significant event on a daily basis.

With the advancement of information technology the almighty power of the pen can be viewed as an effective tool of a common man. Various movements and campaigns took place over the internet with the presence of social networking sites, blogs and web forums. They triggered various social- economic problems existing in the country and had spread awareness among the masses. Recent example was the Anti corruption movement started by the social activist Anna Hazare, Arvind Kejrival who brought into light various scams related to corruption and money laundering. Many eminent personalities came forward and associated themselves to support this noble cause via twitter and facebook.

The pen has a stronger influence than the sword. The written word can bring about a change in a person; however this weapon should be use judiciously and carefully. One must be careful in expressing and propagating one's thought.