George Orwell Birthplace

Eric Arthur Blair, who would later become known to the world as the political writer George Orwell, was born to a "lower-upper-middle class" English family not in England, but on the other side of the world in Motihari, India in 1903. His father was working as an opium agent in the British Indian civil service, in charge of the lucrative and now illegal drug that was exported to China. His mother, of French descent, was born in a business family in British Burma.

Although Orwell spent little time in India, leaving for England when he was just one year old, he would later end up working in neighboring Burma as a civil servant himself. His subsequent understanding of colonialism in Asia would end up shaping his conception of power and inequality, as seen in books such as Burmese Days and 1984.

The Motihari bungalow in which Orwell was born survives to this day, being rediscovered in the 21st century. However, it currently lies in a rather dilapidated state, despite promises by the state government to restore it as a museum. One can only hope that this overlooked site will one day be rehabilitated and properly enjoyed by the public.