A relatively quick read about the overthrowing of humans by farm animals and the renaming of Manor Farm, as Animal Farm. Well this book is a bit more complex. At first, it is hard to keep up with who is who when most characters are introduced but as you unravel the plot along with the all-knowing third person narrator, you easily keep up.

Animal Farm is an allegory, an extended metaphor of the 1905 world event, the Russian Revolution, the whole spectacle and eventual debacle following its failure to achieve its set out goals and ultimately it’s after effects.
Astonishingly George Orwell has chosen a pig to be the leader, guide, policymaker and later dictator. If I were Orwell, I would have made the obvious choice and gone with a stallion for a leader, however, I must admit there are few like Orwell who willingly point out the hypocrisy of society through a satirical plot.

Animal Farm, true to the Russian Revolution has its very own Stalin played by Napoleon the pig, and the KGB played by the puppies turned ferocious dogs protecting Napoleon. In the very first chapter we are introduced to our first antagonist, Mr. Jones the rightful owner of Manor Farm, whom we can say is an obvious reference to Czar Nicholas ll. Now that we have all the main characters’ in place, the rest of the animals form the proletariat. Old Major is definitely a faint version of Karl, Marx.

At the beginning of the revolution the Seven Commandments were painted on the wall and referred to as the rules of Animalism, a close reference to communism. However as months went by, the Commandments became corrupted and liberal free society which was the holy grail of the revolution began to become a non-existent dream. George Orwell cleverly uses allusion, enabling the reader to make the Russian connection.

However, apart from the striking resemblance the plot has to the Russian revolution, I began to draw parallels from our national struggle for Independence. It happens to be merely coincidently that Animal Farm came to be first published on 17 August 1945, which is just two years shy from our date of Independence.

All Indians pledged in the beginning that we were brothers and sisters. Our leaders drew up our constitution, a beguiling document, inviting all Indians to fight for freedom for the sake of its implementation. Mr. Jones maybe the British Empire, but Napoleon and the rest of the pigs’ role was assumed by our political leaders.

Newspaper publications of recent times prove rampant distortion of the implementation and ideals of the constitution. The free society where all Indians are brothers and sisters no longer exists. No longer are we the one society who so bravely over threw our Mr. Jones. We are now greatly divided by caste and gender, feuding amongst ourselves, each taking turns to be a villain in his own right. The society we set out to be when Nehru uttered his speech at midnight has slowly dissolved into a divided nation where people naively follow hate propaganda without thinking for themselves. This is much like how Squealer in the book gave instructions to the citizens of animal farm.
We believe we are better off with these leaders than our British ones, just like

The animals thought they were better off with Napoleon than Mr. Jones, when in reality the state of affairs was no different irrespective of who was leading the farm. The animals were still not fed to satisfaction and life was still far from free.

In conclusion, Animal Farm for me does not only signify the Russian Revolution alone. It also has its meaning in today’s world as well. Orwell ends the book with Napoleon and Pilkington breaking bread and playing cards but still suspicious of each other’s intentions. This is much like all countries that put up a diplomatic front while tension and suspicions still brew between them.

I believe that we have too much knowledge, art, technology, science and experience to continue living with distorted ideals of justice and freedom and give our freedom fighters a break from rolling in their graves.