The Pen is mightier than the sword

The Scribe’s murder has caught the imagination of the common man. I was shopping at the local Spencer’s this morning and overheard an animated conversation between two young shop assistants. They were discussing the Mumbai murder case. That the scribe was a Bengali was mentioned repeatedly. They felt a kinship . Bengalees are generally considered to be a meek and mild mannered nation. There have been extraordinary heroes from Bengal but they are few in numbers and their names can be counted on your fingers. I could make out from the expressions of these young people that one more hero was being created in their imagination. De was a fearless crusader. We salute him. It is apt that people across the country are talking about him with admiration and awe. Like Binayak Sen , De was also a man of conviction fighting to make the world a better place to live in.

This is one more example of the power of the written word and of the pen being mightier than the sword. The criminals are smart and intelligent people. It is not only politicians who are afraid of the free press, criminals from Mumbai’s dreaded underworld are also equally paranoid of jholawallas .