The Political and the Personal Under British Colonial Rule Theme Analysis

Set in a fictional town in south India circa 1930, Swami and Friends is defined by the pressures and complexities of British colonial rule over India. While the book’s events revolve around common childhood trials and tribulations, the personal experiences of the protagonist and his friends are colored by their political context, even when the characters themselves have little understanding of it. By examining British colonial rule through the lens of an ordinary boy’s relatable childhood, R.K. Narayan demonstrates the pervasiveness and subtlety of this political structure’s power. Swami’s story shows that the impact of colonial rule is present in every corner of Indian life during this era, and that no individual’s personal life can be truly separate from colonialism’s profound, sometimes contradictory effects.

The lighthearted conflicts of the book’s early chapters underscore Narayan’s point that that colonialism is present even in the innocent misadventures of children, although it may seem entertaining, inconsequential, or even impressive in their eyes. Narayan first addresses the influence of colonialism in the book’s opening chapter, when Swami and his classmates attend scripture class with Mr. Ebenezer, their fanatical Christian teacher. Narayan notes that the students sometimes enjoy the class because of the “stirring pictures” they imagine based on Biblical tales. For Swami and his friends, the Christianity imposed on them at the mission school is initially a source of idle entertainment rather than a menace or something to contemplate deeply. Yet Swami soon perceives the way that Ebenezer’s Christian teachings conflict with his own Hindu beliefs, and protests against his teacher. However, the consequences of this conflict are trivial; the class enjoys watching their teacher get scolded by the Mission School Headmaster and Swami is simply happy to escape punishment. Again, even in this direct conflict Swami is primarily occupied by childish concerns like impressing his friends and pleasing his father, and colonialism remains a backdrop that affects Swami without occupying much of his attention.

The budding friendship between Swami, Mani and their new classmate Rajam again illustrates the ways that the young boys take existing power structures for granted. Although Mani and Rajam at first intend to fight with each other, that animosity quickly dissolves into mutual admiration, leaving the boys untroubled by their initial reliance on violent dominance to solve their problems. When Swami finds out that Rajam’s father is the Police Superintendent, he is impressed and excited to be associated with such power, again demonstrating his childish inability to reflect on the value and legitimacy of the powers around him.

As Swami’s story progresses, however, the political context around him increasingly intrudes on his contained understanding of his life. Swami begins to take actions that appear outwardly political, but he still experiences these events in a personal, self-centered way. By blending Swami’s still-childish perspective with large-scale political events, Narayan again fuses the personal with the political and illustrates the impossibility of separating them, particularly within a context of colonialism. Swami, Mani, and Rajam try out the experience of being in power themselves by bullying a young boy named Karuppan and saying that they are “the Government Police out to catch humbugs like you.” The three boys make unreasonable demands and frighten the boy, but seem not to reflect on the effects of their actions. It seems, then, that Swami and his friends develop an unconscious tendency to act out the oppression they have experienced. Shortly thereafter, Swami and Mani inadvertently participate in a public protest against English oppression of Indian peasants, and become immediately emotionally attached to the cause. Swami “resolve[s] to boycott English goods” and burns his own cap “with a feeling that he was saving the country.” At this point, Swami’s emotional reaction to the notion of English oppression becomes clear, but he is not yet able to connect that feeling with his own actions more generally.  When Swami finds himself caught up in a school boycott the next day, he participates actively in the increasingly dangerous event but thinks mostly of the fun he’s having rather than his behavior’s political meaning, as when he realizes happily that “there were many glass panes untouched yet.” It is only when Swami witnesses Rajam’s father “grimly ticking off seconds before giving orders for massacre” that he begins to gain awareness of the political tension present in his own life. Narayan notes that Swami “had unconsciously become defiant” through his new experience of protest. It is this subconscious change that leads Swami to run away from the Mission School, for the first time renouncing a major aspect of colonial oppression in his own life.

Though Swami and his friends gain some degree of political consciousness over the course of the story, their lives continue to be circumscribed by colonial power in ways that are largely invisible to them. Narayan illustrates this reality especially vividly through the boys’ experiences forming a cricket team. By highlighting the prominent and complicated role that a quintessentially English activity plays in the friends’ lives, Narayan demonstrates that individuals living under colonialism often have no choice but to tolerate—and sometimes even embrace—the cultures of their colonizers.

Although Swami, Mani, and Rajam are initially excited about starting a cricket team, they quickly discover that the logistics are more complicated than they expected, and Swami in particular worries about government registration and taxes. Reflecting on these difficulties, Rajam has “a momentary sympathy for Gandhi; no wonder he was dead against the government.” By equating the boys’ seemingly trivial problems with Gandhi’s opposition to the government, Narayan humorously points to the oppressive presence of the government in every Indian’s life, no matter how slight it might seem.

The formation of the cricket team initially serves as a way for Swami and Rajam to repair their friendship after their conflict over what Rajam calls Swami’s “political activities,” but eventually, the cricket team is also responsible for the breakup of Swami and Rajam’s friendship, when Rajam is unable to forgive Swami for missing the match. By using the game to both unite and divide the story’s protagonists, Narayan indicates the extent to which the characters may be at the mercy of English influence, even as they devote themselves to an English sport with seeming freedom. Political forces work their way into the personal goals and relationships of Swami and his friends even during their leisure time, again demonstrating that no private life can be truly independent from politics in the context of a colonized state.