‘Under the spreading chestnut tree I sold you and you sold me:
There lie they, and here lie we
Under the spreading chestnut tree.’
India has erupted into flames of protests in almost every city. In the backdrop of the anti-CAA protests, citizens are disgruntled. People are dissatisfied with the government.
They are angry that their freedom is being curtailed at every step and their opinions suppressed. They are enraged at how their dissent is being tossed about.
People are living in constant fear of being watched and monitored.
In a nutshell, people are living in ‘1984’, even in 2020.
George Orwell’s 1984 is a dystopian novel that depicts a society under constant surveillance under an authoritarian regime. To restrict people’s freedom of speech, the government even imposes a new language: ‘Newspeak.’
In Orwell’s valley of fear, the ruling party, Ingsoc, has created a world where every individual is simultaneously watching and being watched through a series of telescreens set up in every nook and corner of the cities.
In this society, thinking of ideas that defy the rhetoric of the ruling party is considered a criminal offence, referred to as ‘thoughtcrime.’
Although our society has not yet found ways to criminalise thoughts, Orwell’s fictional depiction of the future world is eerily coming true.
The Logical Indian decodes how George Orwell’s 1984 in an uncanny depiction of the world we are living in today.
Big Brother Is Watching You
1984 – The citizens of the dystopian country, Oceania, are constantly being watched through telescreens, their every step being monitored. The Party says that this surveillance is for the greater good of the country. Those who violate the Party’s rules are labelled as ‘traitors’ and they are eventually ‘vapourised.’ The people of Oceania always see Big Brother’s face plastered on posters on the streets, on their telescreens and stamped onto the coins – a constant reminder that they are being watched.
2020 – The world is moving into the Orwellian era where every movement is being monitored – not only bodily movements, but the likes and dislikes of an individual.
Internet freedom declined in Indiaâthe result of an increase in arrests for online activity and continued internet shutdowns during times of perceived unrest.
In its 2017 response to a Right to Information (RTI) request, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology confirmed that as many as 23,030 websites or URLs had been blocked. In another acknowledgement reflecting the scale of government blocking, the DoT confirmed in August 2018 that it had requested the blocking of 11,045 websites, webpages, and URLs since 2016. Some of the content that has been blocked includes social media networking groups and websites engaged in flaring up ‘anti-India’ sentiments.
Controversies also continued around Aadhaar, the world’s largest biometric identification system and a problematic draft data protection bill remains in limbo. Meanwhile, ahead of the 2019 elections, incumbents and candidates manipulated content, used bots and employed volunteers to push inorganic content and exacerbate existing social tensions for political gain. Within this environment, marginalized groups, in particular, experienced online harassment and trolling.
The Supreme Court ruled in September 2018 that the government’s controversial biometric Aadhaar project is constitutional but set limits on the program’s use. In March 2019, despite the court’s restrictions, the government promulgated the Aadhaar Ordinance, allowing for the voluntary linking of Aadhaar numbers for commercial use.
Local authorities continue to restrict connectivity routinely in India justifying shutdowns on the basis of protests, misinformation, exams and to maintain public order, among other things.
The ‘Child-Spies’
1984 – The child-spies are an important component of the Big Brother system that monitors the thoughts and activities of the citizens. Orwell writes that the children ‘were systematically turned against their parents and taught to spy on them and report their deviations.’ The motivation for the children to give up on their parents was being rewarded by public acknowledgement, being hailed as heroes.
2020 – In an uncomfortably similar scenario, a disturbing video surfaced in December 2019 amidst the anti-CAA protests where some children could be seen donning BJP caps, joyously walking and chanting slogans such as ‘Desh ke gaddaro ko, goli maaro saalo ko!’ and ‘Aatankwaad ki kya pehchaan? Mulla, Masjid, Pakistan!’ Hatred breeds more hatred. Children – the future of our country – should be protected from vile and hate, for their sake and the sake of the country.
Thought Police
1984 – The most terrifying part of the book is that one couldn’t keep Big Brother out of one’s head.
The real goal of Orwell’s authoritarians in 1984 is to control the grey matter between the ears.
The Thought Police use psychological warfare and false-flag o…
