Burmese Days
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| Author | George Orwell |
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| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Novel |
| Publisher | Harper & Brothers (US) |
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Publication date
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October 1934 |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 300 |
| ISBN | |
Burmese Days is a novel by British writer George Orwell. It was first published in the UK in 1934. It is a tale from the waning days of British colonialism, when Burma was ruled from Delhi as a part of British India – "a portrait of the dark side of the British Raj." At its centre is John Flory, "the lone and lacking individual trapped within a bigger system that is undermining the better side of human nature." Orwell's first novel, it describes "corruption and imperial bigotry" in a society where, "after all, natives were natives—interesting, no doubt, but finally...an inferior people".
Because of concerns that the novel might be potentially libellous, that Katha was described too realistically, and that some of the characters might be based on real people, it was first published "further afield", in the United States. A British edition, with altered names, appeared a year later. When it was published in the 1930s, Orwell's harsh portrayal of colonial society was felt by "some old Burma hands" to have "rather let the side down". In a letter from 1946, Orwell said "I dare say it's unfair in some ways and inaccurate in some details, but much of it is simply reporting what I have seen".
Orwell spent five years from 1922 to 1927 as a police officer in the Indian Imperial Police force in Burma, (now Myanmar). Burma had become part of the British Empire during the 19th century as an adjunct of British India. The British colonised Burma in stages—it was not until 1885 when they captured the royal capital of Mandalay that Burma as a whole could be declared part of the British Empire. Migrant workers from India and China supplemented the native Burmese population. Although Burma was the wealthiest country in Southeast Asia under British rule, as a colony it was seen very much as a backwater. The image which the English people were meant to uphold in these communities was a huge burden and the majority of them carried expectations all the way from Britain with the intention of maintaining their customs and rule. Among its exports, the country produced 75 percent of the world's teak from up-country forests. When Orwell arrived in the Irrawaddy Delta to begin his career as an imperial policeman, in January 1924, the delta was leading Burma's exports of over three million tons of rice—half the world's supply. Orwell served in a number of locations in Burma. Having spent a year of police training in Mandalay and Maymyo, his postings included Myaungmya, Twante, Syriam, Insein—(north of Rangoon, site of the colony's most secure prison, and now present-day Burma's most notorious jail),—Moulmein, and Kathar. Kathar with its luxuriant vegetation, described by Orwell with relish, provided the physical setting for the novel.
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