bhaskar saikia

It is often said that great tragedies are the breeding ground of great people. At first glance, the statement feels harsh, even uncomfortable—as though pain were being celebrated. But history and lived experience suggest something more nuanced.

Tragedy, by itself, creates nothing noble. It wounds, fractures, and diminishes. What tragedy does offer, however, is exposure—it strips life of illusion. Comfort hides character; crisis reveals it.

In moments of great loss or upheaval, people are forced to confront questions they can otherwise postpone:
What truly matters?
What can be endured?
What must be defended, rebuilt, or let go?

Some break under the weight of these questions. Others, unexpectedly, rise.

Great individuals are not born because of tragedy, but in response to it. Tragedy compresses time. It accelerates moral development. It demands decisions without guarantees and action without clarity. In such conditions, latent courage, empathy, and resolve sometimes find expression.

History bears this out. Many who reshaped societies, advanced human understanding, or articulated enduring wisdom did not emerge from ease. Their greatness was not the absence of suffering, but the refusal to let suffering define the limits of their humanity.

Yet it is important to say this clearly: tragedy does not ennoble everyone, nor should it be wished upon anyone. Suffering is not a prerequisite for greatness, and no pain is justified by the excellence that may follow. What matters is not the tragedy itself, but the meaning individuals wrestle from it.

Perhaps the truest reading of the statement is this: tragedy is a crossroads. One path leads to bitterness and retreat. The other leads—rarely, quietly—to depth, perspective, and uncommon strength.

Great people are those who, when faced with unbearable circumstances, choose to expand rather than contract, to understand rather than harden, and to build rather than merely survive.

In that sense, tragedy is not a creator of greatness—but it is often the place where greatness is first asked to speak.