Books! They are the most dangerous weapons. The written word is knowledge; the written word is power, whichever way you look at it. And it is this written word that the world loves and, at the same time, is afraid of. For children, words open a world of imagination that brings with it knowledge and perception. For corporations, words are a tool to earn profits. For politicians and religious leaders - the straight and the crooked both - they are the source of power, used as they are to win support for causes both good and bad.

It is this fear of words, used against their wishes to spread the knowledge of humanity and love, which drives extremists to target innocent souls. And it is this fear of words that prompted the Pakistani Taliban to storm a school in Peshawar, Pakistan, on Dec 16 and massacre 132 children and nine others.

Children, innocent souls too young to fathom the wicked ways of the world, have become easy targets of religious extremists across the world - from Nigeria to Norway, from the Middle East to Pakistan and India.