A passage to india

The Author
E.M. Forster wrote A Passage to India in 1924, the
last completed novel that he published during his
lifetime.
The novel differs from Forster's other major works in
its overt political content, as opposed to the lighter
tone and more subdued political subtext contained in
works such as Howards End and A Room With A View.
The novel deals with the political occupation of India
by the British, a colonial domination that ended after
the publication of Forster's text and still during his
lifetime.

Background of the Novel
 The colonial occupation of India is significant in terms of
the background of the novel. Britain occupied an
important place in political affairs in India since 1760, but
did not secure control over India for nearly a century. In
August of 1858, during a period of violent revolt against
Britain by the Indians, the British Parliament passed the
Government of India Act, transferring political power
from the East India Company to the crown.

 This established the bureaucratic colonial system in India
headed by a Council of India consisting initially of fifteen
Britons. Although Parliament and Queen Victoria
maintained support for local princes, Victoria added the
title Empress of India to her regality. The typical attitude of
Britons in India was that they were undertaking the "white
man's burden," as put by Rudyard Kipling. This was a
system of aloof, condescending sovereignty in which the
English bureaucracy did not associate with the persons
they ruled, and finds its expression in characters such as
Ronny Heaslop and Mr. McBryde in A Passage to India.

 Indian nationalism began to foment around 1885 with the
first meeting of the Indian National Congress, and
nationalism found expression in the Muslim community as
well around the beginning of the twentieth century.
Reforms in India's political system occurred with the
victory of the Liberal Party in 1906, culminating in the
Indian Councils Act of 1909, but nationalism continued to
rise.
 India took part in the first world war, assisting the British
with the assumption that this help would lead to political
concessions, but even with the promise after the war that
Indians would play an increased role in their own
government, relations between the English and Indians did
not improve.

 It is around this time that Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
became a preeminent force in Indian politics, and it is also
around this time that Forster would wrote
A Passage to India.
 More than twenty years later, after a long struggle,
Parliament passed the Indian Independence Act in 1947,
ordering the separation of India and Pakistan and granting
both nations their sovereignty.

 Aziz is a poor doctor who has lived dutifully under
British command, but has grown more frustrated with
their treatment of him and his fellow Indians. He and his
friends discuss the English and complain that they have
changed in attitude over the years and have become
more intolerant and cold. The British officials at the
civil station in Chandrapore run a club that forbids
Indians from attending and try to avoid any intimate
friendships or relations with the natives. Mrs. Moore
and Adela Quested come over from England to visit
Ronny Heaslop, Mrs. Moore's son and Adela's betrothed.

 One night, Mrs. Moore encounters Dr. Aziz in a Mosque
in the moonlight. They are at first startled by each other,
but instantly become friends. Mrs. Moore and Adela are
more liberal than Ronny and wish to see the "real India"
and befriend Indians. Mr. Fielding, the Principal of the
Government College, invites Adela and Mrs. Moore to his
home for tea. He also invites Dr. Aziz, who he recently
met and liked instantly, and his mystical Hindu colleague
Professor Godbole. Fielding's tea party is very friendly
and comfortable. Aziz feels so at ease, that he invites the
women on an excursion to the caves at Marabar.

 Aziz gets to the train station especially early so nothing will
go wrong with the excursion. Mrs. Moore and Adela arrive
on time, but Fielding and Godbole have not yet arrived.
Aziz is nervous because he does not want to be left alone
with the women, anticipating that trouble will arise. Ronny
sends over a servant to follow the women to make sure they
are not left alone with Dr. Aziz. Fielding and Godbole
arrive too late. They miss the train and Aziz is left to travel
alone with Mrs. Moore and Adela. They put him at ease
and assure him they are in good hands.
 At the caves, the weather is hot. The three go in and out of
the caves, which all look similar. Within the caves is the
haunting sound of an echo. While Mrs. Moore is in the
cave, which is completely dark, she feels something touch
her. But she is haunted by the sound of the echo, which
takes over her thoughts. She decides to rest after her
experience and let Adela and Aziz continue to explore other
caves.

 Adela becomes preoccupied with her engagement to
Ronny and realizes she does not love him. Before she
enters the cave, she asks Aziz about his wife and love.
Adela and Aziz become separated eventually and Aziz
can not find Adela. Aziz hears a car and later assumes
that Miss Derek, Adela's friend, picked up Adela.
Fielding joins Aziz and Mrs. Moore and they board the
train back to Chandrapore. When the train pulls into the
station, Aziz is arrested for charges that are unknown to
him. Fielding publicly vows to defend Aziz and alienates
himself from his countrymen. Aziz is charged with
making improper advances to Adela in the caves.
Fielding believes that Adela was hallucinating.

 As the trial approaches, Mrs. Moore becomes more aloof.
Adela seeks her support, but Mrs. Moore wants nothing to do
with her or anyone else. Adela is haunted with the echoes from
the caves, and when she realizes Aziz's innocence, the echoes
go away. She tells Ronny about her doubts of Aziz's guilt and
Mrs. Moore backs them up, but Ronny encourages her to go on
with the trial and continue to press charges. Mrs. Moore, with
the support and encouragement of her son, leaves for Britain
before the trial. She dies en route, unable to endure the heat and
travel conditions. At the trial, Adela continues to hear echoes.
The courtroom becomes charged with emotion. Indians in the
courthouse begin to call for Mrs. Moore to clear the name of
Aziz. When Adela is called to the witness box, Mr. McBryde
presses her until finally she admits that she is not sure if Aziz is
really guilty. The judge drops the charges and all of the Indians
in Chandrapore celebrate Aziz's victory. Adela walks the streets
in a daze and is intercepted by Fielding. He invites her to his
office for her safety.

 Aziz becomes jealous while Adela and Fielding spend time
together. Fielding pities her since her engagement has been
broken and since she put her life on the line to tell the truth.
He asks Aziz not to collect money from Adela for damages.
Rumors begin to spread that he and Adela are having an
affair. Fielding denies the rumor, but in the back of his
mind, Aziz believes the rumor to be true and thinks
Fielding will marry Adela for her money. After the trial,
Aziz wants nothing to do with the British and begins to
write poetry about the motherland and the nation. He
decides to move out of the Raj to a free Indian state.
Fielding and Adela return to England.

 Two years have passed and Aziz and Godbole now live in
Mau, an independent Hindu state. Godbole is the Minister of
Education and Aziz has a clinic in town. The town is
celebrating the arrival of a new God and is filled with
singing and dancing in the streets. Godbole receives a note
that Fielding and his new wife will be paying a visit. He tells
Aziz who refuses to see them. Aziz has ignored all of
Fielding's letters and postcards over the years and assumed
that he has married Adela in London. Aziz runs into Fielding
and his new brother-in-law (Ralph) by accident, when he
goes out to attend to Ralph's bee sting.

 Aziz treats Fielding coldly. Fielding asks why Aziz never
returned his letters. Finally, Aziz realizes that Fielding did not
marry Adela, but Mrs. Moore's daughter, Stella. Adela
introduced them in London. Aziz continues to behave coldly
and says he wants nothing to do with the British. Later on,
Aziz checks up on Ralph's bee sting and continues to be cold,
but is finally overcome by a spiritual epiphany brought on by
the celebrations in town. He asks Ralph if he knows when a
stranger becomes a friend and he answers yes. This was what
his mother said to Aziz in the Mosque when they met. Finally,
Aziz and Fielding become friends again. Aziz gives Fielding
a letter to deliver to Adela forgiving her for her charges
against him. He has left the past behind him. As Fielding and
Aziz say their final good-byes, their horses pull them away
from each other and they know they will never see each other
again.

Doctor Aziz:
 A Muslim doctor in Chandrapore.
 Intelligent, outgoing and sensitive, but also
suspicious and irrational at times.
 Hospitality and kindness to Adela and Mrs Moore.
 Shares a friendship with Fielding till the end of the
trial.
 Becomes more uptight with people after the trial;
ceases to bend down to the whims of the whites.
Reflects the fears and disillusionment of educated Indians
under the British Raj.

Mrs Moore:
 Reflective, sympathetic, sensitive and pious.
 Likes Dr Aziz; doesn't agree with Anglo-Indian
treatment of Indians.
 After the incident in Marabar, starts seeing everything
negatively; escapes from Aziz’s trial though she knew
she could’ve proved his innocence.
 Dies on her voyage back to England.
The other face of the colonizer. Doesn’t like the idea of
colonialism, and is kind to all people regardless of race or
religion.

Adela Quested:
 Serious, curious and ambiguous.
 Wishes more interaction with Indians, though her fiancée
disproves of it.
 Confused by the setting of the caves, falsely accuses
Aziz of assaulting her.
 Admitting the mistake in court leads to her being
abandoned by the Anglo-Indian community.
Though respectful to Indians, she can’t have a good
relationship with them. The Marabar incident seemingly
changes her rational mind forever.

Cyril Fielding:
 Headmaster at the local college and friend of Aziz
 Pleasant in character and revolutionary in thought
 Free from prejudice and generalisation towards Indians
 Maintains a healthy relation with all Indians around him
 Marries Stella, Mrs Moore’s daughter, in the end.
Fielding prefers individual and personal relationships to institutional
ones that are patronising. Containing both positive and negative
characters, Fielding represents the stance of Forster in the context of
the novel.

Professor Godbole
 He is a Hindu philosopher.
 He is most charming and mysterious character of the novel.
 Godbole is deeply thoughtful and wise ; he is aware of the universal mystery.
 He believes in love amongst and in respect for nature and life as well.

Ronny Heaslop:
 Mrs Moore’s first son; district magistrate; engaged to Adela.
 Typical British colonizer: racist, prejudiced and unmindful
of Indians.
 Regards all religions to be vain and silly, except Christianity,
which justifies the English monarchy.
 Considers his institutional duty to be above respecting
Indians.
 Breaks off with Adela after she doubts her love for him after
the trial.
The typical white colonizer with the “white burden”. Has a
deep sense of civilisation, but is insensitive to the local people.

 The Marabar Hills are described as the fists and fingers of
the south. Despite their human characteristics, the hills are
imposing. Earth here is more impressive than any of the
people in Chandrapore.
 The women are fascinated by the moonlight, which has a
mystical quality to it. However, a British stranger reminds
them that in British India, though they might be halfway
around the world from home, they stick to the same moon.
Therefore, there is little spirit or imagination in the India of
the English. Mrs. Moore and Adela hope for something
more.

 Looking into the sky, Mrs. Moore sees a moon that is very
different from the moon in England. This moonlight filled
her with a sense of unity with nature and the heavens the
way it never had at home.
 The heat of April, an aspect of the earth in India, makes
things quite unbearable and influences the behavior of
those who live there.
 McBryde tries to argue that the hot climate and geographic
conditions of India drive the Indians to behave the way
they do. He contends that nature has control over man in
India and if the British were to endure this climate, they
would behave the same way.

 When Mrs. Moore first came to India, the mystical forces
of the earth overtook her. However, after the engagement of
Ronny and Adela, she becomes burdened with the duties of
reality and this disrupts her union with spirit and earth.
 The echoes of the cave haunt Adela and make her question
her charges against Aziz. The sound of the caves haunts her
until she reveals the truth about Aziz and clears her
conscience.
 The earth prevents Aziz and Fielding from riding back to
each other. It prevents the continuation of their friendship,
at least until the British leave India.

 Though they have broken off the engagement, the
bumpy ride in Nawab Bahadur's car awakens Adela and
Ronny's feelings of love, or at least lust.
 Aziz and Fielding discuss marriage. Aziz admits that he
fell in love with his wife after they were married.
Sharing the photo of his wife with him is an act of
brotherly love. Fielding also admits that he has never
married or never plans to. He says he is too old to fall in
love.
 Adela begins to doubt her love for Ronny. She realizes
she is not in love with him and questions if she is
capable of loving another. She thinks she is too
intellectual to be in love.

 Fielding can not understand why Aziz loved Mrs. Moore
so much, since she had not been there for Aziz,
especially after the cave incident. He tells Fielding that
Mrs. Moore was oriental in her emotions--she never
measured love. Fielding is very western and Aziz feels
he measures his emotions too much.
 Ronny terminates the engagement with Adela. The two
had never been in love and were probably incapable of
loving each other.
 Both Adela and Fielding have given up on love and
think they will never love anyone.

 Ralph tells Aziz that his mother loved him very much.
Though Aziz is very short with Ralph, Ralph overlooks
the behavior and assures him that he is a friend, though
he is a stranger. This oriental attitude is like his mother's.
Ralph proves he is capable of loving on instinct the way
his mother had.

 The British National Anthem inspires feelings of power
rather than patriotism. England's role in India is one of
power and control.
 While discussing Akbar, a figure who had a unifying force,
Aziz tells Mrs. Moore and Adela that India cannot be
united. As a Muslim, he feels divided from the other half
of India.

 Adela begins to feel guilty about the notion of the British
as a civilizing force. She contemplates who gave them the
right to control a country. At the same time, McBryde uses
a "scientific" approach to prove the racial and national
superiority of the British over the Indians.
 Mahmoud Ali becomes vocal about the unfair role of the
British in India. He stands up for Indian nationalism and
storms out of the court.

 The otherwise pro-British Nawab Bahadur, the most
diplomatic and respected of Indians, becomes so inspired
by the cruel treatment of his son and the treatment of Aziz
by the British, that he renounces his name and title for his
Islamic name.
 The trial awoke the nationalist spirit in Aziz. He now
began to think of the motherland in his poetry.
 Aziz expresses his wish not to associate with any British
people. He even pushes away the friendship of Fielding.
 Aziz and Fielding part ways, knowing they can never be
friends as long as the British continue to control India.

 English people are civil, or even friendly, towards
natives when they first arrive in India. However, the
longer they stay in India, the greater the gulf grows
between them and the Indians. Though the English and
Indians are both physically in the East, there is a clear
separation between Eastern and Western culture in
colonized India.
 Adela confronts Ronny about his treatment of Indians.
Still fresh in India, she feels the bridge between East
and West can be crossed with pleasant and equal
behavior. Ronny advises her that her naïve perspective
will change the longer she stays in the country.

 Many Indians are skeptical about the sincerity of
Turton's invitation to his Bridge Party. Nawab
Bahadur, a person who is respected by British and
Indians, convinces his countrymen to attend the party.
 Adela and Mrs. Moore are sad that there is no
interaction between the British hosts and the Indian
guests. The Bridge Party does not create a bridge
between the people.

 Fielding and Aziz forge an instant friendship despite
their racial differences.
 Aziz tells Nawab Bahadur's grandson that believing in
superstition and evil spirits is a defect of the East. The
West has advanced, he believes, because they believe
in reason and logic.
 Fielding tries to tell Aziz that he should not think
about the picnic in terms of East and West, but simply
in terms of friendship.

 Turton, who believes his years of experience in India
have made him wise and knowledgeable, says that
Indians and English are incapable of interacting on an
intimate basis. That is why he feels there should exist
a great distance between them.
 Aziz tries to explain to Fielding that Mrs. Moore,
though an old British woman, was an Oriental at heart.
She had an Eastern way of relating to people. Aziz
considers measuring emotion, as Fielding does, to be
a Western trait.
 Aziz and Fielding part ways, knowing they will never
see each other again. The notion that Indians and
British can never be intimate friends while the British
control India seems to hold true.

 At the Mosque, Aziz feels renewed. He feels most at home
there. His body and spirit are unified by his religion in the
Mosque. He is more loyal to Islam than to his country.
 Two missionaries discuss God and how he does not exclude
any creature from his house. This conversation is ironic
against the backdrop of the colonized India.
 Mrs. Moore is a religious woman. She talks to Ronny about
the bad and unchristian treatment of the British towards the
Indians. She says that God loves everyone and since India is
part of the earth, God loves the Indians.

 Religious thought is divided in India. Aziz blames an
Indian couple's bad manners on the fact that they are
Hindu.
 To put Aziz at ease when Fielding and Godbole do not
arrive, she tells him that they will all be Muslims together-
-signifying their equality.
 Aziz tells Mrs. Moore and Adela that he can not accept the
Hindu notion of universality. He believes it is best if every
one adheres to his own religion.

 In the caves, the 'boom' sound erases all religious thoughts
from Mrs. Moore's mind. The echo becomes more powerful
than her religion.
 In the aftermath of the incident at the caves, Mrs. Moore
loses her interest in religion and all other aspects of life.

 In her despair, Adela strays from her usually intellectual
ways and begins praying again.
 In her absence, the Indians at the trial begin to chant Mrs.
Moore's name. By mispronouncing her name as Esmiss
Esmoor, they have called her the name of a Hindu goddess.
 Mrs. Moore appears in Godbole's head during a spiritual
fervor. The visit by Mrs. Moore completes him and brings
him closer to God. God is love.

 Mrs. Moore impresses Aziz by removing her shoes before
she enters the Mosque. This is a sign of respect that he
does not expect from British women in his country.
 Fielding contends that English women can never be
friends with Indian men. Disaster happens whenever the
two meet.
 Aziz shows Fielding a picture of his wife: an act that is
forbidden unless it is between brothers due to the tradition
of purdah, the separation and veiling of women. Fielding
asks if people in the world were to treat each other as
equally as brothers, if there would be no more need for
purdah.

 Aziz's friends now warn him that it is not advisable for
him to mix with British women. They predict something
bad will happen due to his interaction with these ladies.
 At the club, the men talk of protecting the women and
children. This incites in them a blinding national pride.
 Aziz begins to write poetry about Oriental womanhood.
He calls for the end of purdah, which he believes is an
essential step to forming Indian statehood.

A passage to india

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