Patriotism cannot be instilled inside anybody, it just happens

The words of Boney Kapoor—“Patriotism cannot be instilled inside anybody, it just happens to be there. And it can rise above any notion, any emotion.”—resonate like a truth whispered through the ages. He speaks of patriotism not as something that can be forced upon a person by decree, education, or command, but as a flame that arises naturally from the depths of the heart. It is not planted like a seed from outside, but springs forth like a well from within, flowing from identity, belonging, and love of the land that gave one life.

This vision of patriotism rejects the idea that governments or leaders can manufacture loyalty by spectacle or coercion. Flags, anthems, and parades may awaken emotion, but they cannot create devotion where none exists. Patriotism is older, deeper, more mysterious. It is the call of the soil, the bond of memory, the sense of home that is felt, not taught. When Kapoor says it “just happens to be there,” he points to the truth that true loyalty cannot be imposed—it must rise unbidden, a gift of the spirit.

History offers us shining examples of this truth. During India’s struggle for independence, countless men and women who had never been trained in politics or military service rose up in devotion to their motherland. Farmers left their fields, students left their classrooms, women marched in protest—all moved by an inner fire that no empire could extinguish. This was not loyalty imposed by leaders; it was patriotism welling up from within, stronger than fear, stronger even than the instinct for survival. It was love of country rising “above any notion, any emotion,” as Kapoor declares.

We see the same in other lands. In the dark days of occupied Europe during the Second World War, ordinary citizens risked death to shelter fugitives, carry secret messages, and sabotage oppressors. Many of these people had never sworn an oath or received an order, yet their love for their homeland and their people compelled them. Their patriotism was not instilled by command, but born from within, rising above logic, comfort, and even fear of death.

The ancients, too, recognized this mystery. The Spartans taught discipline, but what made them stand at Thermopylae was not only training, but an inner devotion to their polis, a love beyond reason. The Romans built their empire with law and sword, but it endured through centuries because citizens believed in Rome as more than a place—they felt it in their blood. Patriotism, when genuine, is not a lesson memorized; it is an inheritance lived.

The lesson for us, children of later days, is clear: do not mistake outward signs for inward truth. You cannot force others into loyalty, nor should you try. Instead, tend the soil where patriotism grows naturally: justice, belonging, community, and love. If people feel valued, if they feel their land is theirs, if they believe their nation is just, then patriotism will bloom without compulsion. It will rise above selfishness, above fear, and even above personal loss.

In daily life, this means living in a way that strengthens the bonds of home and community. Serve with honesty, build with diligence, protect with courage, and speak with truth. Do not seek to impose love of country through empty ritual, but let your life inspire others to love by seeing what is worth loving. This is how patriotism, that fire of the soul, is preserved and passed on—not as a command, but as a living inheritance.

Thus let Kapoor’s words echo: patriotism cannot be instilled—it is born. It is not taught by force, but revealed by love. And when it rises, it rises above all things—above fear, above hatred, above every other emotion. It is the flame that binds the generations, and the fire by which a people endure.