I recently finished reading Animal Farm by George Orwell, and I couldn’t help but picture India instead of a farm full of animals. What was meant to be a fictional novella forced me to look at my own country—and it was terrifying to recognize my motherland in a story filled with manipulation, oppression, exploitation, and gaslighting.
What struck me the most was how the pigs kept changing the rules—the Seven Commandments—and still managed to convince the animals that it was their memory at fault. The animals were overworked, their rations cut down, their lives getting harder day by day. But they still believed things were better than before—better than under Jones. Why? Because the pigs told them so. Because they were made to feel it was their choice, their dream, their progress.
Sounds familiar?
In today’s India, the same story plays out—just without the talking animals. People are made to believe we’re developing at an unmatched pace, that we have foreign relations everyone envies, and that we’re heading towards a glorious future. But look around—youth unemployment is at an all-time high, the middle class is crushed under work and rising costs, and more young people than ever are dreaming of leaving India for good. Yet somehow, we’re told we’ve never been better.
And then there’s the terror—the unspoken fear of speaking up. In Animal Farm, Napoleon used the dogs to keep everyone in line. Here too, dissent is met with trolling, FIRs, or worse. The sheep, who mindlessly chant slogans in the book, feel eerily similar to a section of society that supports the powerful no matter what—no questions asked.
But what scared me the most wasn’t even the pigs or the dogs or the fear. It was how slowly the animals started to forget what they had originally wanted. They gave up. They stopped dreaming of a better farm.
That hit hard. Because I see that happening around me. I hear people say “India can’t be fixed,” “this is how it’s always been,” “what’s the point of fighting?” And I get it. But giving up is exactly how the pigs win.
Animal Farm isn’t just a book. It’s a warning. And maybe, it’s already too late. But maybe it’s not.