Dr Veraswami and his significance in literature

Ambivalence of Dr. Veraswami of George Orwell's Burmese Days

Better known for his classic novels, Nineteen Eighty-Four and Animal Farm, George Orwell was also the author of a number of other compelling books that have attracted a great deal of scholarly attention over the years. In his first novel, Burmese Days, though, Orwell provides modern readers with some poignant examples of what life was like in colonial Burma when the British were in control but were not universally accepted by the indigenous peoples. Moreover, Burma was certainly not unique among the nations of Southeast Asia, and with the sole exception of Thailand, all of these countries experienced the colonization of imperialist European nations at some point in their long histories in ways that left a lasting legacy. In order to gain some fresh insights concerning how the colonization of Burma played out from the perspective of the native Burmese, this paper provides an examination of Orwell's novel, Burmese Days, to determine how one of the relatively minor characters, Dr. Veraswami, is sometimes with the empire, supporting it although he is colonized, as well as the manner in which he also evinces his native behaviors that are congruent with his Burmese heritage. A summary of the research and important findings are presented in the conclusion.

Review and Analysis

When any country is colonized by another, there will be some natural reactions that occur in response that are simply the result of human nature. On the one hand, there will be some degree of accommodation involved because a country does not become colonized by other countries that are less powerful of course, but on the other hand, no one likes to see foreign invaders on their native soil. These points are made by Aung-Thwin who relates that by and large, resistance to British colonialism in Burma was shaped by the particularly decentralized nature of the pre-colonial state and was further antagonized by the increasingly intrusive administration of the British (2003:376). According to Aung-Thwin, "The commercialization of agriculture and the expanding demands of the colonial administration created new concerns for peasants and elites alike, resulting in the development of alternate forms of political mobilization and vocabularies of protest" (376). The type and level of reactions by the Burmese nationals, though, was tempered by the realization that they lacked the ability to mount a coordinated response to the British at the time and they had been on the short end of the social stick in their dealings with the British for a number of years. In this regard, Guan emphasizes that, "The 19th century British colonial state which found itself increasingly reliant upon armed coercion to administer its territories because the indigenous institutions which it could have deployed for indirect rule had been destroyed in a series of Anglo-Burmese wars" (2004:386). It was in this turbulent, dynamic and politically charged environment that George Orwell found himself upon his return to the subcontinent.

The events that are described in Burmese Days are based on some empirical observations and personal experiences. When he was still a young man, Orwell returned to India and subsequently served in the Imperial Police in Burma for almost five years during the period from 1922 to 1927; however, there remains a dearth of primary documentation from this period in the author's life and there are no letters, reports, or administrative papers that have survived from Orwell's life in Burma (Paczulla 53). All that remains today are reminiscences of a few people who knew Orwell at one point or another during this formative period in the young author's life. The near consensus that emerges from what is available in the historical record, though, suggests that while Orwell was initially dedicated to his position as a colonial policeman and personified the role of a pukka sahib (e.g., a British colonizer); however, one of his contemporary describes Orwell as being "bookish and unclubbable" (quoted in Paczulla at 53). According to Paczulla, like his mother, Orwell adopted many of the native practices of the Burmese but unlike his mother in Bengal, he took the trouble to learn the native languages as well. In this regard, Paczulla advises, "Unlike most servants of the Empire, Orwell immersed himself in the culture and languages of the Raj. He learned Burmese and Hindustani as well as the more obscure Shaw-Karen tongue of the Burmese hill people" (Paczulla 2007:53). Over time, Orwell learned a great deal about the Burmese people and ultimately rejected the British imperialism that had been firmly in place and performed his duties as a policeman with a growing sense of discontent (Paczulla 53).

The novel is in fact replete with contrasts, contradictions and dualities that reflect this increasing sense of dissatisfaction by Orwell. For instance, according to Meyers, "Burmese Days, by George Orwell, is symptomatic of the reaction against conventional portrayals of Burma as a land of tinkling temple bells, gentle charming Burmans, and strong, silent Englishmen" (52). Although modern Burma in its current incarnation as Myanmar has assumed some truly sinister qualities as the ruling elite have prosecuted their own unique brand of totalitarianism, the images of late 19th century and early 20th century Burma in the minds of most Westerners are vastly different -- but still misplaced. In this regard, Meyers adds that, "The scene is Kyauktada District during the rebellion period, but there is nothing heroic about it. The English -- they number only half a dozen men and two commonplace women -- are too aloof, the Burmese too abject. Mind and body alike deteriorate in the heat and boredom" (52). Reflective of the Ugly American syndrome that characterized Western influence in Southeast Asia throughout the 20th century and the contrasts mentioned above, the British colonists in Burma described in Burmese Days were not above reproach by any measure but the native Burmese depicted are not much better either. For instance, Meyers points out that, "The one man among them who would have liked to take an interest in the people, Flory, the forest manager in a second-rate timber firm, is cold-shouldered for making friends with an Asiatic, the Civil Surgeon, Dr. Veraswami. The jungle Burmese are attractive enough, but those of the town seem to consist mainly of pimps, professional witnesses and corrupt magistrates" (52).

It is with these townspeople that Orwell concerns himself, including the focus of this paper, Dr. Veraswami, as well as other civil servants who provide much of the intrigue for the novel. Many modern observers might question why these native Burmese would even concern themselves with the uppity and snooty British who occupy their town and hold them is such disregard and contempt, but there is a great deal of prestige involved with becoming part of the controlling British in-crowd even though they are resented at the most basic level by most Burmese. For instance, Stewart notes that it is reasonable for Dr. Veraswami to seek to gain admission to the exclusive European club because he is, after all, a physician and although he did not have the same level of education or training that are required today, two years of education of whatever sort placed Dr. Veraswami head and shoulders above the vast majority of his fellow Burmese. As Stewart points out, "Besides Orwell's use of a mocking narrative voice, which takes every opportunity to point out the protagonist's shortcomings, Burmese Days also features the secondary character of Dr. Veraswami who exhibits a genuine decency in the sense Orwell prized" (38). The ambivalence of Dr. Veraswami is made evident throughout the storyline as he is drawn first one way and then another in his quest for acceptance among those he would prefer to hate while embracing his erstwhile friendship with Flory. For example, Stewart notes that, "Veraswami, a Burmese physician, is influenced both by his Burmese heritage (which situates him as a subordinate in the colonial outpost) and by his standing as a physician (which gives him some status, even with the Englishmen)" (38).

Dr. Veraswami is not alone in his ambition to gain access to the Europeans' club and their acceptance as an equal on whatever terms, and herein is the source of yet more intrigue in Burmese Days. In this regard, Meyers notes that one of the corrupt magistrates involved, one U. Po Sing, manipulates both the native Burmese as well as the British for his own nefarious ends. According to Meyers, "U Po Sing, the sub-divisional magistrate, actually wins promotion for suppressing a rebellion he never saw, a rebellion at which, indeed, he had connived for that very purpose; he then proceeds to frame false charges and ruin Dr. Veraswami simply because the poor little man is honest" (52).

With these types of evil machinations taking place, it is little wonder that even the most likeable characters in the novel meet with less than desirable consequences and this is certainly what happens with the book's protagonist, Flory. Not only is it incredibly hot and humid where he lives, but Flory is beset by a wide range of personal problems that simply become too much for him and he takes the coward's way out. In this regard, Meyers concludes that, "As for Flory, environment has been too much for him, for he is not really alcoholic or crapulous by nature, and he regrets it when a girl from England arrives to stay at Kyauktada; she is a poverty-stricken little snob on the look-out for a husband, but he has not seen a spinster for a decade, and he succumbs on the spot whereupon his discarded Burmese mistress makes a scene in front of her and every one else, and he ends by committing suicide" (Meyers 52). While it may seem that Flory simply got what he deserved given his wishy-washy nature and lack of fortitude when it came to standing up for his friend, Dr. Veraswami when put to the test, but the suicide of the protagonist provides a useful literary vehicle whereby Orwell advances the plot and highlights just how shallow the friendship between Dr. Veraswami and Flory was in the first place. In fact, it is this defining event that serves as the basis for much of what precedes and follows it and provides the framework in which Orwell develops the characters involved, particularly as it relates to both Flory and Dr. Veraswami. For instance, according to Brunsdale (2000), "A scheming, corrupt Burmese magistrate, U Po Kyin, wants to be the token native in the Kyauktada European Club. He engineers a concerted campaign of slander against Dr. Veraswami, a decent and humble Indian physician whom the Europeans tolerate, to keep him from being chosen instead" (55).

Not all of the British residents even go so far as to tolerate Dr. Veraswami, referring to him time and again is disparaging and racist terms, and Flory's friendship with him sets him apart from the rest of the Europeans as well. According to Brunsdale, "Veraswami is the friend of John Flory, Orwell's protagonist, a thirty-five-year-old English timber merchant. Flory, who has a bruise-colored birthmark stretching halfway down his left cheek, is scorned as a 'bolshie' (Bolshevik) by the hate-filled Ellis and the other five whisky-swilling Europeans in Kyauktada because of that friendship and because Flory is sympathetic to the Burmese and other nonwhites" (55). Demonstrating the Flory was in fact a fair-weather friend only, following U. Po Kyin's successful efforts to disgrace Dr. Veraswami, he is snubbed by the entire cadre of Europeans residents -- Flory -- who Brunsdale suggests ". . . gives in to social pressure and his own cowardice" (55).

The reality of how the elitist British residents in Kyauktada feel about the native Burmese is made clear early on in the novel. According to Patai (1984), "There is a scene early in Burmese Days, Orwell first novel, in which five Englishmen have their prebreakfast drinks at the European Club, their sole bastion against the four thousand Burmese among whom they live" (21). While the "n" word references to the Burmese natives abounds, this was not particularly unusual and the use of the word was common in colonial India as well as is clearly demonstrated in George MacDonald Fraser's colorful "Flashman papers" series; nevertheless, to modern ears the references to the Burmese in general and Dr. Veraswami in particular are particularly offensive and are intended by Orwell to establish just what the prevailing British mindset is concerning the native Burmese. For instance, Patai reports that, "The Englishmen fall into argument over the order they have received to accept an Oriental as a member of the club. Degrees of racism divide these men. At one extreme is the rabidly racist and vulgar Ellis, a company manager; at the other is the novel's protagonist, the 'Bolshie' Flory, who has spent fifteen years working for a timber firm in Burma and is notorious for his friendship with an Indian physician, Dr. Veraswami" (21). Likewise, Patai emphasizes that, "Something of the sexual and racial hierarchy at work in the novel is indicated in a chapter in which most of the major plot lines are brought together within the space of eight pages. First, Flory is berated at the club for his friendship with Dr. Veraswami, called 'Very-slimy' by the racist Ellis. Ellis also labels Flory a 'nigger's Nancy Boy,' thus indicating that Flory has placed himself outside the white man's definition of manliness (white, heterosexual, racist) by his friendship with an Indian" (31).

It may be that Flory was willing to drink whiskey with Dr. Veraswami and shoot the breeze when it was convenient and pleasurable for him, and it was just a gut reaction to the hypocrisy that he was forced to endure at the Europeans' club that finally drove him to propose the ultimate violation of the club's membership rules. For instance, Patai notes that, "Westfield then reminds Flory of the five beatitudes of the pukka sahib, and Flory is so disgusted that he announces his intention to propose Dr. Veraswami's name for club membership at the next general meeting" (31). Perhaps the shock value of such a proposal was Flory's true intent and the events that follow would appear to bear this proposition out. Indeed, Flory has much more in common with his fellow club members than he does with Dr. Veraswami and it would be foolhardy to suggest that Flory would risk everything for the sake of a native, no matter how esteemed he might be regarded otherwise. As Patai emphasizes, "Although the issue of race divides these Englishmen, they are united by their privileged status not only as white Britishers but, especially, as white males" (21).

The descriptions of the characters and events that unfold in Burmese Days appear to be tangential to the real problems that were taking place in this part of the world at the time. In this regard, Patai notes that, "Rather than deal with the actual problems of rising Burmese nationalism in the post-World War I period, Orwell focuses on this more limited drama, as U. Po Kyin schemes to improve his standing by attacking and discrediting various other people -- beginning with Flory's Indian friend, Dr. Veraswami, and ending with Flory himself" (23). In addition, it is apparent that Orwell was fed up with the whole imperialism approach to doing business and wanted no further part of it. As Patai emphasizes, "Orwell's state of mind at the time he wrote this novel becomes clear when we consider that there is hardly a single positive character in the entire novel. Both Burmese and English are depicted in extraordinarily negative terms, all pursuing their egocentric ends" (23). Slightly less negative and therefore more positive by comparison, Dr. Veraswami is nevertheless still subjected to the same type of stereotypical references that characterize the Burmese nationals throughout the novel. For instance, Patai notes that, "Dr. Veraswami appears in a slightly comical light by the narrative's focus on his language" (45).

Moreover, Orwell highlights Flory's lack of fortitude in the face of the varying degrees of harsh objections he receives at the proposal to have Dr. Veraswami join the elitist club. In this regard, Paxton notes that, "Goaded by the ugly racism of the colonial bureaucrats at the Kyauktada Club, [Flory] proposes that his Indian friend Dr. Veraswami be admitted to the all-white British club. Unlike Cyril Fielding, however, Flory does not even have the 'small spark of courage' he needs to persist when others oppose Veraswami's membership, and he soon betrays his friend as well as his own principles" (259). In an attempt to make this change of heart plain, Orwell provides one of the only segments in the book that communicate a psychological viewpoint concerning Flory's inconsistent behavior: "Flory has received a 'third rate' imperial education. As a result, he becomes a 'good liar and a good footballer, the two things absolutely necessary for success in school'" (quoted in Paxton at 259).

In the end, though, the most important result of Flory's suicide was that Dr. Veraswami was ruined, "even as he had foreseen. The glory of being a white man's friend -- the one thing that had saved him before -- had vanished" (268 quoted in Patai at 48). According to Horton and Baumeister (1996), "Without the support of his white friend, Veraswami is undermined by the magistrate and U. Po Kyin achieves his objective of membership of the club and indeed all his ambitions. This is a story without heroes, a story of mendacity, treachery and hypocrisy, of racial and social repression and hatred" (220). These issues are all the more poignant given the author's personal experiences and first-hand observations of how imperialism played out in the real world. For instance, Patai notes that, "Orwell's own critique of imperial domination is conveyed by many subtle details within the novel: the servants' zealous regard for their masters' status as typical Englishmen; the self-alienating effort to identify oneself with the oppressor (evident in nearly all the native characters); the painful interiorization of the label of inferior (the rejection of Indian culture on the part of Dr. Veraswami, for example, so that he takes on the role of defender of the empire in the face of Flory's assaults on it)" (51).

This point is also made by Meyers who emphasizes the ambivalent nature of Dr. Veraswami: "By an admirable stroke of irony, Mr. Orwell makes Flory and the Doctor, a pompous plump little Hindu, argue at cross-purposes. Flory sneers at public schools, British rule and the ideal of the gentleman; Dr. Veraswami is as contemptuous of his own race, but has a fanatical respect for the English character" (54). One of the recurring themes that emerges from literary analyses of this novel is the fact that despite all of their shortcomings and personal foibles, Flory and Dr. Veraswami are at least likeable. As Meyers points out, "Their friendship, the arguments which always take the same course, are excellent comedy; these two, in fact, are the only characters in the book whom one can genuinely like" (54). In a similar fashion, Stewart concludes that it is easier for readers to come to like -- if not respect -- Dr. Veraswami -- in sharp contrast to his on-again off-again friend in Flory. In this regard, Stewart notes that, "In contrast to Flory, Dr. Veraswami is a decent character. While he has to see the world at least in part through the eyes of others -- because he is a member of the colonized group -- he also keeps himself from hating the Englishmen. This nuanced perspective is not inevitable among the colonized" (44). It was in this way that Dr. Veraswami clearly demonstrated his ambivalence about the British and although some modern readers may not appreciate what Orwell was trying to communicate in this novel and therefore may not "genuinely like" either Flory or Veraswami, there are some salient issues involved that can help illustrate Meyers' point. For instance, in Burmese Days, Orwell has the protagonist, John Flory, regard himself to be among ". . . The last angry men, courageously opposing the evil system of colonialism and considers himself as superior -- intellectually as well as ethically -- to the benighted figures who do not share their visions" (Stewart 2008:38).

Clearly, Orwell is using Dr. Veraswami whom he sets himself apart from the protagonist, Flory, by concentrating on how people should be treated no matter who they are rather than focusing on some abstract concept about the universality of humanity; consequently, Dr. Veraswami emerges in the novel as being an individual who is more worthy than the man to whom he provides a counterpoint (Stewart 38). Although he was part and parcel of the subjugation of the people involved himself, Orwell came to realize the imperialism was morally wrong and would inevitably corrupt those who took part. For instance, regarding his objectives as a writer in his essay, "Why I Write," Orwell observed that, "When I sit down to write a book, I do not say to myself, 'I am going to produce a work of art. ' I write it because there is some lie that I want to expose, some fact to which I want to draw attention, and my initial concern is to get a hearing" (319). According to Stewart, "The obvious lie to be exposed in Burmese Days is, as Flory says in an early conversation with Dr. Veraswami, "that we're here to uplift our poor black brothers instead of to rob them" (37). In this fashion, Orwell also broaches the subject of sacrifice in that he demonstrates that it is a facade for the political and economic exploitation of the colonial system where the labor by the native Burmese does not have any real connection to how much they are paid and in which the British alleged sacrifices are merely a self-justifying "delusion" (60). In this regard, Paxton advises, "Early in the novel, in a conversation with his Indian friend Dr. Veraswami, Flory insists that the Pax Britannica is based on 'the lie that we're here to uplift our poor black brothers instead of to rob them'; but when the 'fantastically loyal' Veraswami protests, Flory lamely admits, 'I'm here to make money, like everyone else. All I object to is the slimy white man's burden humbug. The Pukka Sahib pose'" (quoted in Paxton 1999 at 258).

In essence, Flory, the tortured British protagonist in Burmese Days, was portrayed also as a victim of Empire. The indigenous characters in the novel, foremost among them Flory's friend Dr. Veraswami, the corrupt magistrate U. Po Kyin, and Flory's mistress Ha Hla May, do not represent much hope for positive change. All three, for their own reasons, have bought into the imperial system. Unable to attain status within the system, U Po Kyin and Ha Hla May try to find ways to survive within it at the expense of their personal integrity. Dr. Veraswami, on the other hand, accepts the British "mission to civilize" and defends it, even to a critical Flory. In spite of this, the friendship between Flory, the doubting imperialist, and Dr. Veraswami, the self-educated anglophile, does not amount to a true partnership: 'With Indians there must be no loyalty, no real friendship. Affection, even love -- yes ....But alliance, partisanship, never!' (quoted in Paczulla at 54).

In sum, Dr. Veraswami represents an important but relatively minor character because he represents one of the few examples of decency in the novel. According to Stewart, Dr. Veraswami is compelled to toe the line on the one hand while balancing his loyalties to his native Burma and its people on the other. For instance, Stewart writes that, "Veraswami must accede to prescribed roles -- the former because of gender, the latter because of race -- but Flory can transgress as he wishes. Instead of using this ability to transgress in the service of revolutionary ends, he acts in ways that leave the oppressive hierarchies intact" (52). Indeed, in the spirit of "right makes right," Flory and his European counterparts are able to exploit the downtrodden Burmese nationals as they set fit notwithstanding their spurious commitment to rise them up: "From the most powerful position within the stratified society, the white man can, as he chooses, manipulate the system to suit his own desires" (Stewart 52). In reality, Dr. Veraswami provides the plot with what it needs to move along in the manner Orwell needed to draw things to a grisly conclusion rather than providing Flory with a heartfelt friendship that might otherwise be discerned by the casual reader. For example, Stewart emphasizes that, "His decision to commit suicide says that he feels his life is 'not endurable any longer' but also draws our attention to what little value Veraswami has in Flory's life. That he abandons the man called his friend through suicide is one last indecency committed by Flory and encourages us to question the nature of their friendship. Orwell creates this protagonist to be judged and judged harshly" (Stewart 57).

According to Stewart, "Part of the novel's Eurocentrism is expressed in the sometimes shocking descriptions of Veraswami and the other Burmese characters. One example of this will stand in here for the many: "The doctor looked suddenly serious. He had taken off his spectacles, and his face, with dark liquid eyes, recalled that of a black retriever dog" (quoted at 58). Likewise, as if taking a cue from the silent movie, "Birth of a Nation" wherein white women are portrayed as being at the mercy of African-American males who are intent on ravishing them, Paxton suggests that, "A reference to rape allows Orwell to accomplish this rhetorical sleight of hand in the case of Mrs. Lackersteen. When she receives an anonymous letter that charges Dr. Veraswami with 'inciting the natives to abduct and rape the European women,' Orwell's narrator identifies the chain of association in the colonial imaginary but he identifies the fear of rape as the sick fantasy of stupid and neurotic memsahibs" (262). Moreover, Orwell adds that the letter had "touched Mrs. Lackersteen's weak spot. To her mind the words 'sedition,' 'nationalism,' 'rebellion,' 'Home Rule,' conveyed one thing and one only, and that was a picture of herself being raped by a procession of jet-black coolies with rolling white eyeballs'" (quoted in Paxton at 262).