The one-kilometre-long stretch that passes through the bustling market at Motihari Chowk in Bihar’s East Champaran district honors the legacy of three heroes who left a mark on the politics and philosophy of democratic socialism: Mahatma Gandhi, Ram Manohar Lohia, and George Orwell.
Statues of Gandhi and Lohia are located on this road, which is also the birthplace of Orwell, the famous author of “1984” and “Animal Farm,” works that provided the world with the language to think about and describe totalitarian regimes, coining phrases like “Big Brother,” “thought police,” “doublethink” and “ministry of truth.” However, in the midst of the ongoing elections, with the campaign ending on Sunday, the three appear to have been abandoned.
Orwell’s House is a protected building under the Ancient Monuments (Protection) Act 1976, with a solitary stone plaque at the entrance announcing to anyone wishing to visit that this is the place where Orwell, whose real name was Eric Arthur Blair, was born on 25 June 1903, to Richard Blair, a British Opium Administration official, and Ida Limousin Blair. Orwell himself had no memory of the house as his mother returned to England with him and his sister the following year.
Bhola Meena says the building is Motihari heritage and needs to be restored.
The house underwent a major renovation about a decade ago, but is now in very poor condition, with a rusted iron gate, a front yard covered in weeds, partially collapsed ceilings, cracked plaster, and rooms filled with feces and insects. A bust of the author that had been installed in the front courtyard was defaced during the renovation. The iron railings surrounding the house are either broken or have been removed. Now the complex serves as a children’s playground, a pasture for animals, or a home for the pigs in the area.
Goat herder Bhola Minna starts his day as usual, taking his animals to Awwal’s home for grazing. “Bahut bura lagta hai ye buiding dekh ke, ye hamari dharohar hai, hume ise bachana chahiye (I feel bad when I see the condition of this house, this is our heritage, we must preserve it). Many foreigners come here, what will they think of us?” says the 77-year-old, adding that locals broke down the wall and Orwell’s bust.
The house is surrounded on four sides by a college, a park, a village for the Dalit Dom community and a high school. Although no one visits it, the park is one of the few public places in Motihari that is bustling with visitors.
Shravan Kumar, a ninth-grade student, says the building would have remained in one piece if there had been a security guard. “There was a guard here, but as soon as he left, the whole area turned upside down,” he says.
“My grandfather gave me this book,” says Harsh Kumar, an eighth-grader, with a smile. “I haven’t read him yet. I don’t understand much of him. But I know he’s a very famous person.”
The government has not been able to restore the heritage structure because “a lot of restoration work is going on across the state and the workload is high,” says Dr Ajay Kumar Singh, state department of arts, culture and youth officer, adding that they will look into the matter.
Ram Kumar Dhoom, an 18-year-old who will be voting for the first time, says he does not know who Orwell is except that it was only after the police arrived in the area that “someone broke the murti”. When asked which direction he was leaning towards, he said: “I can’t say whom I will vote for. But I know one thing. Lalu ji had respect for the poor.”
On one side of the garden, called Satyagraha Garden, sisters Khushi and Suman Kumari came to spend the afternoon because their teacher did not come that day. Neither of them ever crossed to see Orwell’s house. “I haven’t thought much about politics yet. But I like Nitish Kumar. He gave us a bike. I want to go outside Motihari to study. There is not much to learn here,” says Khushi, who is in Class XII.
Near Orwell’s home, a group of political science students are concerned that their acceptance into the classroom will be delayed again, putting the completion of their studies in jeopardy. None of them remembers ever having heard of the writer. They have more pressing concerns. “Delay has become a normal thing now. We were supposed to be admitted for the fourth semester in April. But it is not over even today. In Bihar, the future scares the youth. Caste has overtaken everything. It is only caste that has gained importance over the years and hence the parties have engaged in social engineering. But who will fix the broken education system?” asks Randeep Kumar, one of the students.
Motihari is a BJP stronghold, and has been won by former state law minister Pramod Kumar since 2005. Last time, Kumar got nearly half the votes (49.44%), while the RJD came in second place with 41.63%. This time, the opposition party has pitted 35-year-old Dewa Gupta against the veteran.
As the bright afternoon light begins to fade, the political megaphones become a little quieter. Soon someone arrives to close the gate that serves as the entry point to both the garden and the house. About two hundred meters away, two children are running and one of them says: “I know who Orwell is.” He quickly went into his house and brought back a book with Orwell’s picture on the cover. It is titled “Making Art Out of Politics: New Perspectives on George Orwell.”
“My grandfather gave me this book,” says Harsh Kumar, an eighth-grader, with a smile. “I haven’t read him yet. I don’t understand much of him. But I know he’s a very famous person.”
(Tags for translation)Bihar Assembly Elections
