Britannica Sources used in this answer

Why did George Orwell resign from the Indian Imperial Police?

Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

George Orwell, c. 1940 — George Orwell Known best for his powerful anti-utopian novels *Animal Farm* (1945) and *Nineteen Eighty-four* (1949), English author George Orwell came to be regarded as a prophetic voice in 20th-century literature.

George Orwell resigned from the Indian Imperial Police because he became increasingly ashamed of his role as a colonial officer. Having realized that the Burmese people were being ruled by the British against their will, he grew to despise the "dirty work of Empire" and the dehumanizing effects of imperialism on both the colonizer and the colonized.1

While serving in Burma, Orwell felt guilty that barriers of race and caste prevented him from connecting with the local population. Consequently, he decided not to return to his post while on leave in England in 1927, formally resigning on January 1, 1928. He sought to expiate his guilt by immersing himself in the lives of the poor and outcast in Europe, an experience that fundamentally shaped his character as a writer and his eventual political shift toward socialism.2