Politics of Control in Orwell’s 1984: Education, Surveillance, and Authoritarian Legitimacy in South Asia

Abstract

Fascism, an extreme form of nationalism that suppresses individual freedom, remains a pervasive force used by ruling parties to consolidate power through youth indoctrination. George Orwell’s 1984 (1949) vividly depicts this phenomenon, as seen with the Parsons children who eagerly denounce their own parents, demonstrating how family, education, and media become tools of authoritarian control. This paper investigates parallels between Orwell’s fictional Oceania and contemporary South Asia, where similar patterns of manipulation are visible. The study adopts a textual analysis of 1984 alongside contextual analysis of South Asian politics, examining how educational curricula, propaganda, and digital surveillance function as mechanisms of youth indoctrination. The findings reveal that in Bangladesh, appeals to national glory and the memory of the 1971 Liberation War are strategically mobilized to silence dissent and enforce loyalty, echoing Orwell’s dictum that “who controls the past controls the future.” Comparable trends appear in India, where textbook revisions under Hindutva ideology reshape historical narratives, and in Pakistan, where online propaganda and surveillance mirror the Party’s slogan, “Big Brother is watching you.” The conclusion is that youth indoctrination, reinforced through educational fascism and technological control, systematically undermines critical thinking and ethical reasoning, producing submissive citizens aligned with ruling powers. Ultimately, Orwell’s dystopian vision is no longer distant fiction but a lived reality in parts of South Asia, raising urgent questions about the future of democratic agency in the region.