"The Pen Is Mightier Than the Sword." Discuss.

Pen stands for expression, for literature, for what comes out of a writer’s pen. And it is true that literature or writing wields far more power than arms can ever wield. Battles are fought over a certain period time and within a particular area. They certainly affect and influence events but in a limited way. The effect of the pen or literature is wide. Sometimes it is universal. The messages of Buddha, Christ, Confucius, Gandhi and Marx are universal in their appeal. They are valid for all times and for all climes. The sword has a physical effect, it hardly affects times and for all climes. The sword has a physical effect, it hardly affects the mind and the spirit, while the pen affects the mind, intellect and spirit. The latter can shape the minds, hearts and spirit of people in a desired way if only the wielder has the mastery of its use in the required measure.

The pen is a source of power and inspiration for all times and for people in all walks of life. The fact of superiorty of the pen over the sword should not lead us to believe that the sword has no value. Arms have changed history. Sometimes only force brings about results. When everything fails, when persuasion negotiations etc., fail, the use force to teach Ravan a lesson. Arms were used to ensure the victory of the forces of good over the forces of evil. If the great war of Mahabharat had not been fought, the forces of evil which the Kauravas represented would have continued to plague the kingdom and the rule of justice and righteousness could never have been established. Lord Krishna, therefore, induced Arjuna to fight a violent war to destroy the forces of evil and rehabilitate the rule of the right.

There is might in the sword, nobody can gain say this, but there is more might in the pen. The American Revolution of 1776 was the product of the writings of a host of political philosophers and statesmen. The very slogan of liberty, equality and pursuit of happiness raised in their writings by