Gen-Z Stands Against Bullying: A New Era of Resistance

New Delhi, India Jul 30, 2026 ALN: By Binodan Sarma

We all know what bullying feels like: We all know what a bully looks like. It is a repetitive, intentional aggressive behaviour involving a real or perceived imbalance of power, used to hurt, frighten, or coerce someone perceived to be weaker. Further reading on the mentality of a bully reveals that he/she relies on intentionally targeting vulnerable individuals through threats, exclusions, or manipulation to have their way. We have all experienced such individuals in our lives. At least I have in school. The aftertaste of being bullied is harrowing, leaving a scar that shapes how an individual conducts themselves in society as an adult. Contrary to popular belief that a bully suffers from low self-esteem, research shows that they often possess strong social skills and a sense of entitlement. This they use to set a performance of hierarchy, deliberately pushing down those who they perceive as a threat to their thought process. It is not unknown that they are reactive and resort to aggression to sort neutral situations. Because they get adulated with this ‘act or privilege,’ bullies are known to lack conscience and empathy.

Giving in to bullying is worse than bullying

Bullies are a worry until you decide to stand up to them, alone or collectively. That snatches away their entitlement and reduces them to scared individuals. Unfortunately, most Indian middle-class parents hardly teach their children to stand up to bullies. They try to circumvent around the problems, the way they have learnt from an earlier generation – “Avoid conflict.” They never realize that their inability to act leads to larger repercussions, which can mushroom as an epidemic behaviour in society. This is how a large section of the generation of Boomers and Millennials were brought up: to comply and accept what bullies in school, college, work, and society ask for. To protest in closed groups. To wait and raise a voice only if the neighbour has. Such docile behaviour over time has led to a world order with bullies in the political power circle, who try to force their agendas through instruments of power, like media and police.

In the last few years, America, Iran, India, China, and many other countries have seen the rise of the political bully who is changing the fabric of society with selfish intentions. These bullies shape narratives, taking advantage of them to further their respective political ambitions. Most Boomers and Millennials have allowed this phenomenon to mushroom because of the collective apathy to national problems and despair in seeing no action to protests over a period. So, what changed with the generation that has followed Millennials? Gen-Z, although vulnerable, has displayed a different mindset towards bullies or bullying. They grew up educated by the internet, debunking archaic moral values of subservience. They grew up making opinions of right and wrong through peer understanding. And that perhaps makes all the difference. They collectively learnt to stand up against bullies and oppression in any form and order because they want their world order to be “no cap” and free of “toxic vibes” with only “positive aura.”

Gen-Z cannot be bullied

The last few weeks, I watched how our nation’s Gen-Z collectively refused to be bullied by a government that behaved like that petulant bully of school, snatching lunch from the children. (Literally considering that innumerable videos surfaced where members of Delhi Police were seen taking away food meant for protestors for themselves from food delivery agents). If we observe closely, we will find striking similarities between a mental image of a bully and the government. Take, for example, the consistent narrative of a 56-inch-chest leader who is touted as a ‘Vishwaguru,’ his able aide, a home minister who professes as the self-styled ruthless ‘Chanakya’ of Indian politics, and a coterie of other poster boys (men) in the party who strut around the country like a gang of bullies in high school, waiting to take on any ‘weakling.’ This picture of the government, the way they steamroll through different policies for their own power agenda, is defined in the psychology of a bully as “performance” of hierarchy. They hold a paranoia and urgency to close what they seek so that the hierarchy is not destabilized. This is true for all bullies, real and imaginary. Be it Mogambo in Mr. India, Gabbar in Sholay, Draco Malfoy in Harry Potter, Thanos in Marvel, or a minister in power. Each of them exhibits the traits of a bully, always in a tearing hurry to have their way, their egos validated. This is one thing about bullies: they have fragile egos which leads to their doom. As we saw in the case of the current protests, a group of young resilient kids stood up to the bully with steadfast resolve. Gen-Z refused to be bullied into submission. This is what I loved most about the entire protests.

How to deal with a bully like a Gen-Z?

Psychologists lay down three rules to deal with ego-led bullying. First up is to not take it personally and be objective. The behaviour of the bully reflects their inner weakness and not that of the one being bullied. Abhijit Dipke, Ranka, Das, and Sonam Wangchuk did exactly that. They did not take things emotionally and made the cause and the standoff bigger than themselves. Secondly, it is advised repeatedly that to deal with bullies, one needs to set boundaries, standing firm and refusing to feed into their need to fear and control. The entire Gen-Z in India, on ground or online, took on this by the book. They set firm boundaries by reminding the government what was not okay and why the oppression must stop. Finally, the last stand is to deflect with confidence. This is where the protest, in my opinion, stood out. Gen-Z’s playbook of confidence was something that the government, media, and police were completely unprepared for. Meaning how do you take on a brigade that addresses the prime minister as a “Kuchu Pucchu” or has protest slogans that say, “Even my ex was less toxic than Dharmender Pradhan.” How does a group of RAF personnel deal with a young girl who is seen repeatedly asking if they will be lathi charging because she did not have her protein shake and needed to know?

The last word: The Indian Gen-Z handled the bullying of the government fearlessly. They not only pushed the bully to the corner of the class together but also sent a message to the dormant fence sitters of every generation that it is not okay to comply with bullies; that it is okay to take a stand, a stand for the right. That when a bully tries to push his way through, we need to be a Gandalf with a staff in our hand and tell him loud – “Thou shalt not pass.”

(The author is an avid reader and observer of politics in India. The opinions expressed here are the author’s own).