By Robert Clements
Bullied by the Bully!
I remember a boy in school who strutted around as if he owned the playground. He pinched smaller boys, hid their tiffin boxes, pushed them off the swings and generally behaved like the uncrowned king of the place. If there was a frightened child nearby, he would somehow find him. He seemed to possess an uncanny radar that detected weakness. There was no bravery in him, only arrogance disguised as courage.
Then one day, during an inter school sports meet, a giant of a fellow from another school wandered into the playground. He was not looking for trouble. He simply happened to be there. Suddenly our resident bully underwent a miraculous transformation. He disappeared faster than free samosas at a political rally. Not only did he stop tormenting the smaller boys, but he smiled politely at everybody, offered to carry cricket bats and even began saying, “After you!”
Funny how bullies become saints when they meet a bigger bully. That memory returned to me as I read reports and claims emerging from our northern borders. According to today’s newspaper, there are allegations that areas claimed by India, including places such as Oying, Paniar, Marpan, Potrang and Tindingdang, have slipped under Chinese control. Border villagers have expressed concern. Politicians, including Subramanian Swamy, have publicly questioned the government. Yet from those who usually thunder from every platform and television studio, there appears to be an unusual silence.
If these reports are true, why are we so quiet?
Before social media warriors sharpen their keyboards and accuse me of wanting war, let me make something absolutely clear. I have no desire for conflict. Wars are not fought by those who shout the loudest on television debates. They are fought by young soldiers who leave their mothers, wives and children behind. They are fought by families who receive folded flags instead of warm embraces. Nobody with even a grain of humanity wants war.
But surely there is something between waving a white flag and waving the national flag.
Surely there is room for clarity, confidence and conviction. Perhaps we are afraid. And if we are, I understand. China is no ordinary neighbour. It is an economic giant, a military giant and a geopolitical giant. Standing up to such a nation requires wisdom, preparation and immense courage.
Then a rather uncomfortable thought entered my head: Are we not behaving exactly the same way inside our own country?
How brave we become when dealing with minorities. How bold our speeches sound when those with less power are involved. How quickly laws are framed, slogans shouted and muscles flexed before communities that cannot easily answer back. How often women still walk our streets wondering whether they will return home safely. How easily those with little influence become targets for loud displays of authority.
Yet when faced with someone much larger than ourselves, suddenly the volume comes down.
It reminds me of a fellow in our neighbourhood who spent every morning chasing stray puppies away with a stick. He would roar, stamp his feet and proclaim himself the terror of the locality. Then one afternoon the neighbour’s enormous German Shepherd wandered through the gate. Our fearless champion quietly stepped behind his wife and politely asked whether someone could kindly call the dog’s owner.
Strength had suddenly become selective.
Unfortunately, that is often how bullies operate. They mistake vulnerability for victory. They confuse domination with leadership. They believe that frightening weaker people makes them powerful. It does not.
Real strength is tested only when you stand before someone stronger than yourself.
History has never admired those who crushed the weak. It has admired those who defended them. Look at the truly great leaders of the world. Whether or not one agreed with every policy they pursued, they understood that greatness is measured not merely by military hardware or economic statistics but by moral authority. A nation earns respect not because it can frighten its own citizens but because its citizens know they are safe in its hands.
That is where genuine patriotism begins.
Patriotism is not shouting the loudest slogan. It is ensuring that every citizen, irrespective of religion, caste, language, gender or economic status, feels equally protected under the same flag. When the weakest citizen sleeps peacefully, the nation itself sleeps peacefully.
A country that protects the weak develops a quiet confidence that no foreign power can easily shake. A nation that respects every community builds unity. A nation that honours its women earns dignity. A nation that values justice acquires something no army can manufacture.
Character: Character is invisible, yet it is stronger than steel.
Countries with character produce soldiers who fight not merely for territory but for values. Citizens stand together because they trust one another. The world respects them because they first learned to respect their own people.
Bullies never really possess strength. They merely borrow courage from somebody else’s weakness. Remove the weaker victim and their confidence evaporates like morning mist.
That school bully eventually left our school. Years later I met one of his classmates who told me he had spent most of his adult life avoiding confrontation with anyone stronger than himself. Nothing had changed. The playground had simply become larger.
Perhaps nations too should occasionally look into the same mirror. Before asking why another country is bullying us, perhaps we should ask whether we have learned to stop bullying our own. Because a truly strong nation has no need to intimidate the powerless. It already possesses something infinitely greater: Character. And nations with character seldom remain bullied for very long…
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