Bulldoze the tormenters

Bullying is a common occurrence in schools, despite being illegal. Last week, a young Bengaluru boy, Raunak Banerjee, a Class 9 student jumped to his death because he had been bullied with taunts, and humiliated by his schoolmates, publicly. A number of celebrities have also openly spoken about how they were bullied as kids including Hrithik Roshan, Abhishek Bachchan and Priyanka Chopra. Priyanka expressed how she was called “brownie” in her US school at the age of 13 because of her Indian origin. On Children’s Day, we talk to a few youngsters who have been bullied, it’s impact on their lives, and how they tried to get past it.

There are innumerable bullying tactics that seniors resort to, according to Sakshi Agarwal, a young Bengaluru girl who was bullied in school. “I have always been introverted which I feel made me a softer target, because the bullies knew I wouldn’t go and complain as I never voiced anything anyway,” explains the 16-year-old about what made her a soft target.

“Both – the girls and boys in my school would constantly pick on me about how much baby fat I still had, the pimples on my face and how curly my hair was – and they were successful at making me feel beneath them for the longest time, because they were all lean, had great complexions and clear skin. I absolutely hated school because of this, which was concerning to my parents who then took me to a counsellor to help me out,” she admits.

As opposed to popular culture, the quiet ones and introverts aren’t the only ones subject to bullying. Sanjay, was one of the most popular people at his school, where he admits he too was bullied! “Being the headboy does not keep me from getting bullied. My peers feel they can throw me under the bus for all of the mistakes they make and make me feel obligated to protect them. When I don’t, I get the cold shoulder from everybody in my section. And the worst part is that even the administration can’t do anything about it because they are unaware. It’s a terrible state to be in,” reveals the 15-year-old.

Throwing a little light on the issue at hand, a counsellor, Dr. Madhavi, explains, “Bullying is something which needs to be addressed head-on. More often than not, bullies suffer from major inferiority complex and self esteem issues and hence such behaviour can be attributed as a cover up to underline insecurities.

Unreported cases of bullying can lead to bigger traumas like depression, anxiety related disorders and concentration problems. Personally I would suggest parents as well as the faculty to be more pro-active and pay attention to their children’s behaviour and be more open to understanding what they are going through without brushing it off as a phase.”