Eric Blair's father spent thirty-five dutiful years in the poppy fields of India as an "Assistant Sub-Deputy Opium Agent (third grade)" -- though by retirement he'd made it to first grade. His job was to maximize output and monitor quality for Britain's lucrative drug trade, making sure a steady flow of high-grade narcotic made it to the opium dens of China. Blair grew up in England, hardly ever seeing his father, but at the age of nineteen he too seemed bound to become another loyal son of the Empire. He joined the India Imperial Police, and took up a post in Burma as an Assistant Superintendent. ... FULL STORY »
