Editing George Orwell (section)

===Policing in Burma===
[[File:OrwellBurmaPassport.jpg|alt=|thumb|upright|Blair pictured in a passport photograph in Burma. This was the last time he had a [[toothbrush moustache]]; he would later acquire a [[pencil moustache]] similar to other British officers stationed in Burma.]]

Blair's maternal grandmother lived at [[Mawlamyaing|Moulmein]], so he chose a posting in [[British rule in Burma|Burma]], then still a province of British India. In October 1922 he sailed on board SS ''Herefordshire'' to join the [[Indian Imperial Police]] in Burma. A month later, he arrived at [[Rangoon]] and travelled to the police training school in [[Mandalay]]. He was appointed an Assistant District Superintendent (on probation) on 29 November 1922,<ref>{{cite book|page=514|title=The India Office and Burma Office List: 1927|publisher=Harrison & Sons, Ltd.|year=1927}}</ref> at the pay of [[Indian rupee|Rs.]] 525 per month.<ref>{{cite book|page=399|title=The Combined Civil List for India: January 1923|publisher=The Pioneer Press|year=1923}}</ref> After a short posting at [[Maymyo]], Burma's principal [[hill station]], he was posted to the frontier outpost of [[Myaungmya]] in the [[Irrawaddy Delta]] at the beginning of 1924.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Unknown Orwell: Orwell, the Transformation |date=1994 |publisher=Stanford University Press |page=176}}</ref>

Working as an imperial police officer gave him considerable responsibility while most of his contemporaries were still at university in England. When he was posted farther east in the Delta to [[Twante]] as a sub-divisional officer, he was responsible for the security of some 200,000 people. At the end of 1924, he was posted to [[Syriam]], closer to Rangoon. Syriam had the refinery of the [[Burmah Oil Company]], "the surrounding land a barren waste, all vegetation killed off by the fumes of [[sulphur dioxide]] pouring out day and night from the stacks of the refinery." But the town was near Rangoon, a cosmopolitan seaport, and Blair went into the city as often as he could, "to browse in a bookshop; to eat well-cooked food; to get away from the boring routine of police life".<ref>Stansky & Abrahams, ''The Unknown Orwell'', pp. 170–171</ref> In September 1925 he went to [[Insein Township|Insein]], the home of [[Insein Prison]].<ref name=Shelden>Michael Shelden ''Orwell: The Authorised Biography'', William Heinemann, 1991</ref> By this time, Blair had completed his training and was receiving a monthly salary of Rs. 740, including allowances.<ref>{{cite book|page=409|title=The Combined Civil List for India: July–September 1925|publisher=The Pioneer Press|year=1925}}</ref>

Blair recalled he faced hostility from the Burmese, "in the end the sneering yellow faces of young men that met me everywhere, the insults hooted after me when I was at a safe distance, got badly on my nerves". He recalled that "I was stuck between my hatred of the empire I served and my rage against the evil-spirited little beasts who tried to make my job impossible".<ref>{{cite book |title=The Broadview Anthology of British Literature Volume 6: The Twentieth Century and Beyond |date=2006 |publisher=Broadview Press |page=546}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Orwell |first1=George |title=Facing Unpleasant Facts: Narrative Essays |date=2009 |publisher=HMH |pages=29–30}}</ref>

[[File:KatharBritishClub.JPG|left|thumb|British Club in [[Katha, Myanmar]] ]]
In Burma, Blair acquired a reputation as an outsider. He spent much of his time alone, reading or pursuing non-''[[Pukka sahib|pukka]]'' activities, such as attending the churches of the [[Karen people|Karen]] ethnic group. A colleague, Roger Beadon, recalled that Blair was fast to learn the language and that before he left Burma, "was able to speak fluently with Burmese priests in 'very high-flown Burmese'."<ref>''A Kind of Compulsion, 1903–36'', p. 87</ref> Blair made changes to his appearance in Burma that remained for the rest of his life, including adopting a [[pencil moustache]]. [[Emma Larkin]] writes in the introduction to ''Burmese Days'': <blockquote>While in Burma, he acquired a moustache similar to those worn by officers of the British regiments stationed there. [He] also acquired some tattoos; on each knuckle he had a small untidy blue circle. Many Burmese living in rural areas still sport tattoos like this—they are believed to protect against bullets and snake bites.<ref>[[Emma Larkin]], Introduction, ''Burmese Days'', Penguin Classics edition, 2009</ref></blockquote>

In April 1926 he moved to Moulmein, where his maternal grandmother lived. At the end of that year, he was assigned to [[Katha, Myanmar|Katha]] in [[Upper Burma]], where he contracted [[dengue fever]] in 1927. Entitled to a [[leave (military)|leave]] in England that year, he was allowed to return in July due to his illness. While on holiday with his family in [[Cornwall]] in September 1927, he reappraised his life. Deciding against returning to Burma, he resigned from the Indian Imperial Police to become a writer, with effect from 12 March 1928.<ref>{{cite book|page=894|title=The India Office and Burma Office List: 1929|publisher=Harrison & Sons, Ltd.|year=1929}}</ref> He drew on his experiences in the Burma police for the novel ''[[Burmese Days]]'' (1934) and the essays "[[A Hanging]]" (1931) and "[[Shooting an Elephant]]" (1936).<ref>{{cite news |title=Exploring Burma Through George Orwell |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4761169&t=1610634531933 |access-date=14 January 2021 |agency=NPR}}</ref>