George Orwell, the famous author, essayist, journalist, and critic, was born on 25th June 1903. Today is his 114th birth anniversary. Orwell was born as Eric Blair to a British civil servant in Motihari, Bihar, India. At the age of 5, he was sent to Britain to attend the prestigious Eton school.
Orwell decided to join the Imperial Indian Police right after school, and he was posted to Burma as a cop. The experiences in Burma culminated in the publication of his first novel ‘Burmese Days’ in 1934. He also volunteered in the Spanish civil war and wrote ‘Homage to Catalonia’ based on his personal experiences and the war.
One of the most famous essays of George Orwell is ‘Politics and the English Language’. Orwell was a committed social democrat and vehemently opposed dictatorship, tyranny, and totalitarianism of all hues.
Two of his most famous novels are Animal Farm and 1984.
Animal Farm is an allegorical critique of Stalinist totalitarianism. It was rejected by dozens of publishers in the USA initially because the world war 2nd had just ended and cold war yet not begun, so Stalinist USSR was more of an ally than an enemy.
“All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others” is the most memorable line from the novel.
1984 is a dystopian novel about mind control and totalitarianism. It is an ominous warning against personality cults, propaganda and mind control, that is still relevant. The book became the number 1 bestseller in the USA after the election of President Donald Trump.
“War is peace
Freedom is slavery
Ignorance is strength”
Are the immortal lines from 1984 that still scare us in the world of alternative facts, post-truth and fake news.
His some of the thoughts, even after decades, make a lot of sense in today’s political scene and society.
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