Sometimes the lion must roar, just to remind the horse of his fear

“Sometimes the lion must roar, just to remind the horse of his fear” is Abdel Khader Khan’s explanation of a public display of power. Faced with a policeman causing problems around Haji Ali Shrine, he makes a point of giving the officer a conspicuously large bribe. The image of the lion and the horse turns that transaction into a lesson about authority: the policeman is to be reminded of his place, while the people watching are meant to recognize who commands respect.

The saying in context

Lin notices a policeman saluting as he moves away from Abdel Khader Khan’s car. The conspicuousness of the bribe is itself part of the act; it is not simply a private payment meant to end an immediate problem. Abdullah explains that the policeman has been making trouble at Haji Ali Shrine because people do not respect him. His unhappiness makes him cause more problems, which in turn earns him still less respect.

The lion and the horse

Abdullah describes the policeman as a horse and Abdel Khader Khan as a lion. The bribe, or baksheesh, is large enough to impress onlookers: they see that Abdel Khader Khan pays the officer more than a policeman like him would ordinarily receive. In Abdullah’s account, that display gives the officer a measure of public respect and should make him less troublesome. The lion’s roar is thus both a warning to the subordinate and a spectacle for the surrounding community.

Power made visible

The expression links authority to its public performance. Abdel Khader Khan does not need to protect himself from the policeman; Abdullah explicitly distinguishes his loyalty from any claim that his employer needs a bodyguard. Instead, the payment stages a hierarchy that other people can see, recasting a troublesome officer as someone whose status depends on the favor of a more powerful man. The saying condenses that strategy into an animal image: the roar does not need to become a fight to make the relationship of power unmistakable.