“Do you know? I am an Indian, I was born there,” said Eric Arthur Blair to economist Jay Dubashi during a lunch in London in the late-1940s.

Blair, famous to the world as George Orwell, was born on June 25, 1903 in Motihari. His father, Richard Walmesley Blair, was in-charge of an opium warehouse in the town, around 160km north of Patna. Orwell was sent to England as a child and never returned to India.

In the town where he was born, his memories linger in the grey zone between revival and oblivion.

A 5-acre area surrounding the house where Orwell was born has been declared a protected site by the government. On April 13 this year, the foundation stone was laid to develop a Satyagraha Park over the land to commemorate Mahatma Gandhi’s Champaran Movement of 1917.

The effort to remember together Orwell, a lifelong socialist who fought against the fascists in the Spanish Civil War, and Gandhi, an apostle of non-violence, is not an aberration. The writer of Animal Farm, a caustic critique of Soviet-style communism disguised as a beast fable, also wrote an insightful essay on the Father of the Nation. Titled “Reflections on Gandhi”, it began with the iconic line: “Saints should always be judged guilty until they are proved innocent…”

The construction of the Satyagraha Park, however, has run into rough weather.

District magistrate Vinay Kumar has stopped the construction, citing legal issues. Asked about it, he said: “What problem could I have with the construction of the park on the plot associated with Orwell? But, since the state government owns the land, any construction can be made on it only after either it is transferred to Motihari municipality or a no-objection certificate is issued by the government.”

He added: “I have written to the executive engineer of district urban development agency and executive officer of the municipality about this.”

A protective fencing has been constructed around the plot but it is still easily accessible to criminals, who plunder the remains of Orwell’s father’s opium warehouse.

The family of retired teacher R.B. Rai have been residents of the house, where Orwell was born, for two decades. They are always on their guard to protect the historic site from vandals.

“Whenever we spot a suspicious person lingering around the spot, we inform the police,” said Rai’s son Aditya Abhishek.

But their vigilance is not enough. Criminals have managed to vandalise the statue of the 1984 author erected by the Rotary Club 10 years ago. Sub-divisional magistrate P.K. Gupta who came to the spot on Tuesday to pay floral tributes assured that further damage to the site would be prevented. “The police have been instructed to take action against all those who damage this historical site,” he said.

However, the apathy surrounding the site where Orwell spent his infancy could hardly have pleased the author, who was always keen to return.

Then secretary to Krishna Menon, Dubashi was introduced to Orwell by India’s first high commissioner to UK, during a meeting of Indian students at a Chinese restaurant in Piccadilly, London. Dubashi, planning to translate some of Orwell’s novels, became a regular visitor to his office, not far from the India House on the Strand.

He also visited the author during his final days at University Hospital at Russell Square. Orwell was planning a short trip to Switzerland to recuperate. Dubashi had asked him if he was still keen to visit the country where he was born.

In his essay “Orwell Spoke the Truth” (2003), Dubashi reports that in response to his question, the English author had said: “Oh yes. Don’t forget I am an Indian and was born there.”