The situational irony in the excerpt is that the feelings of the officer, his role in the society, and what the people think of him are all opposite things. He feels for the Burmese people, wants them to be free and to have their own sovereign country, not to be oppressed by the British. On the other side, he has a role in the society which obligates him to protect the imperialism and put the people under control and to stop them of trying to free themselves, which brings a lot of anger towards him.