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A Passage to India

By E.M. Forster

Submitted By : Iqra Aqeel

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Significance of the Title

The title of A Passage to India is a reference to a poem by Walt Whitman, “A Passage to

India”. In the poem, Whitman takes the reader on a journey through time and space. India

presents itself as legendary land that inspired Christopher Columbus to find a westward from

Europe to India, a route that ended with the discovery of the Americas. While India celebrated as

an ancient land, rich in history, America celebrated as a force for innovation. Whitman sees both

as caught in an inexorable push toward globalization, where all countries attracted to the same

drive toward progress.

Forster’s novel is more than a historical novel about India; it is a prophetic work in which Forster

is concerned not only with the path to greater understanding of India but also with man’s quest

for truth and understanding about the universe he lives in.

The three levels of Meanings: In the little word, ‘passage’ has three levels of meaning explored

through three successive levels of the story – political and racial tension, symbolic landscape and

religious festivals. At a purely narrative level the novel tries to build a passage between two

countries, which are divided not only geographically but also racially and politically. Unity can

be achieved if people of both the races practice the principles of tolerance, understanding and

kindness. At this level the theme of the novel is friendship and love.

At a deeper level, the novel builds a passage between the achievements of the west with the

wisdom of India, between the physical and the spiritual. The ideals of the West – normality,

rationality, personality, exclusion – and the ideals of India – impersonality, inclusiveness and

love – are juxtaposed. India is the home of rich spiritual heritage. India is a spirit; she is a

mystery. The foreigner feel baffled and lost when they encounter this real India who manifests

herself in the form of a shame, a mysterious wild animal, and the cave. Even the best

representative of the highly cherished ideals of Western Culture, Fielding, feels that India is a

muddle. In the face of this general opinion of the Westerners, Forster stresses that India is a spirit

and to understand her one should regard her spirituality.

M. Magalaner says that the word ‘passage’ is the fictional attempt to connect to find the key, the

link, between one way of life and another. In the attempt to blend human reality with

transcendent reality Forster takes a leap from story telling to mystical philosophy, to

contemplation on the ultimate truth of life and universe. It is a passage to the mystery and the

muddle India is, and the mystery and the muddle the whole life, the whole universe is.

Passage to India!

Lo, soul! seest thou not God’s purpose from the first?

The earth to be spann’d, connected by net-work,

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The people to become brothers and sisters,

The races, neighbors, to marry and be given in marriage,

The oceans to be cross’d, the distant brought near,

The lands to be welded together. (lines 31-35)

Character List

Dr. Aziz A Moslem doctor living in Chandrapore at the beginning of the novel, he is a widower with three

children who meets Mrs. Moore, an elderly English widow who has three children herself and becomes friends with her. Although he is generous and loving toward his English friends,

including Mrs. Moore and Cyril Fielding, after Adela Quested accuses him of assault he becomes bitter, vindictive and notoriously anti-British. A primary concern of A Passage to India is the shift in Dr. Aziz's views of the British from accommodating and even a bit submissive to an

aggressively anti-colonial stance.

Cyril Fielding

The schoolmaster of Government College, Fielding stands alone among the British officials in India, for he is one of the few to treat the Indians with a sense of decency and respect. Fielding is an individualist who has no great allegiance to any particular group, but rather to his core set of

liberal values and sense of justice. This quality allows Fielding to break with the English who support Adela Quested's charges against Aziz and side with the Indians in support of him. However, the events surrounding Aziz's trial cause Fielding to become disenchanted with India,

despite his affection for the nation, and motivate him to leave India and return to resume a different post.

Adela Quested Adela Quested arrives in India with the intention of marrying Ronny Heaslop, but changes her mind several times and eventually realizes that she does not love him and cannot marry him. She

is a woman of conflicting character traits: although an intellectual, she is short-sighted. Although she foolishly accuses Dr. Aziz of assaulting her in the Marabar Caves, she finds the courage to

withdraw the charge. She also suffers from hallucinations that are symptomatic of her somewhat unstable personality. However, Forster finally reveals her to be a woman of character and decency who accepts the difficulties she suffers.

Mrs. Moore An elderly woman with three children, Mrs. Moore visits India with Adela Quested to see her

son, Ronny Heaslop. Mrs. Moore is the paragon of Christian decency and kindness, but she suffers from anxiety concerning her own mortality. During the expedition to the Marabar Caves her confidence in the order of the universe is shaken by an echo that she hears in one of the

caves. Afterwards, Mrs. Moore becomes sullen and depressed. When Ronny suspects that she will aid Aziz in his defense, he arranges for Mrs. Moore to leave India. On the journey home, she

dies from heat exhaustion.

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Professor Narayan Godbole A Deccani Brahmin who is a professor at the college in Chandrapore, Godbole represents Hindu

philosophies in A Passage to India. He is a man of calm character and utter repose, showing no worry for the events around him, no matter how significant. He leaves Chandrapore to start a

high school in Central India after the trial of Aziz, who later joins him there.

Ronny Heaslop The son of Mrs. Moore from her first marriage, Ronny typifies the "sun-dried bureaucrat" and

Anglo-Indian. He is condescending and cruel toward the Indians, believing that he is not in India to be kind, but rather to rule over the nation. He becomes a martyr during the trial because of the

ill treatment of Adela, but shows himself to be manipulative and callous when he pushes to have his mother leave India when he fears she may hurt the prosecution's case.

Mahmoud Ali

This friend of Aziz serves as one of the lawyers for his defense, and takes a defiant anti-British stance. His behavior during the trial is dangerously aggressive, however, and he threatens to

provoke a riot after Aziz's acquittal. Later he refuses to clear up the misunderstanding concerning Fielding's marriage to Stella Moore.

Antony

One of Adela's servants, he was to accompany Adela and Mrs. Moore to the Marabar Caves, but since he was a spy for Ronny Heaslop, Mohammed Latif bribes him not to go. Later he follows

Adela as she leaves India and attempts to blackmail her.

Armitrao Aziz hires this Hindu attorney as his defense lawyer. Since Armitrao is known for his anti-British

attitudes, this move highlights the racial and political overtones of Aziz's trial.

Nawab Bahadur

A distinguished local resident in Chandrapore, he is well-respected and admired among the Indians. However, Miss Derek snubs him when his car crashes into a tree while he takes Adela and Ronny on a tour of Chandrapore.

Mrs. Bhattacharya An Indian woman whom Mrs. Moore meets during the Bridge Party, Mrs. Bhattacharya

postpones a trip to Calcutta to have tea with Mrs. Moore, but abruptly cancels at the last minute.

Major Callendar Major Callendar is the civil surgeon in Chandrapore and Aziz's boss. He also takes part in the

trial against Aziz, attempting to stop Adela's confession on medical grounds.

Mrs. Callendar

The wife of Major Callendar, she typifies the Anglo-Indian mindset, openly dismissing the Indians as uncultured inferiors.

Ram Chand

He is one of Aziz's friends with whom he discusses the consequences of attending the Bridge Party.

Mr. Das

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The brother of Mrs. Bhattacharya and Ronny's assistant, he is the judge who presides over the trial of Aziz. After the trial, he approaches Aziz to ask him to write for his journal, which is

primarily for Hindus.

Miss Derek

A younger Englishwoman, she assists Ronny and Adela after the Nawab Bahadur's car crashes, but snubs the Nawab Bahadur. Later she brings Fielding to the Marabar Caves after he misses the train.

Sir Gilbert The Lieutenant-Governor of the province, he visits Chandrapore after the trial to deal with the

problems of racial discord precipitated by the charges against Aziz.

Mr. Graysford He is one of the local missionaries in Chandrapore.

Hamidullah This friend of Aziz, educated at Cambridge, tells Aziz that one can only be friends with an

English person outside of India.

Hamidullah Begum The wife of Hamidullah, she is a distant aunt of Aziz.

Mr. Haq He is the police inspector who arrests Aziz after

Mr. Harris He is the Eurasian chauffeur for the Nawab Bahadur who crashes the car into a tree and is snubbed by Miss Derek.

Panna Lal A friend of Aziz who was to testify for the prosecution at his trial, he makes a public apology to

Aziz and secures the release of Nureddin after rumors circulate that he was being tortured by the English officials.

Mohammed Latif

A friend of Aziz, he bribes Antony not to attend the expedition to Chandrapore.

Mrs. Lesley

This friend of Mrs. Callendar takes Aziz's tonga when he arrives at the Callendar's house upon the Major's request.

Colonel Maggs

The Political Agent in Mau, he is the new adversary of Aziz who keeps him under suspicion because of the events in Chandrapore.

Lady Mellanby The wife of the Lieutenant-Governor, she aids Mrs. Moore in her attempt to leave India by offering her own cabin on a ship traveling to England.

Mr. McBryde

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The District Superintendent of Police in Chandrapore, he is the most reflective and educated of the Chandrapore officials, but like the rest of them he has stern prejudices against Indians. He

conducts the prosecution of Aziz.

Syed Mohammed

He is the assistant engineer in Chandrapore and a confidant of Aziz.

Ralph Moore The youngest son of Mrs. Moore, he accompanies his sister and Fielding on their travels around

India. Aziz behaves rudely to him, but soon relents and takes Ralph on the nearby river for a tour of Mau.

Stella Moore The daughter of Mrs. Moore, she marries Fielding after he leaves India, a circumstance that causes Aziz to believe that he has married Adela Quested instead.

Nureddin This Indian is rumored to have been held and tortured by the police during the trial of Aziz, but

is released unharmed.

Rafi The nephew of Syed Mohammed, he proposes that something suspicious occurred during

Fielding's party because both Aziz and Godbole fell ill afterward.

Mr. Sorley

He is one of the local missionaries in Chandrapore.

Mr. Turton He is the local Collector who proposes a Bridge Party for the Indians, and other than Fielding is

the only British official who treats the Indian guests well during that event.

Symbols

The Marabar Caves

The Marabar Caves represent all that is alien about nature. The caves are older than anything else

on the earth and embody nothingness and emptiness—a literal void in the earth. They defy both

English and Indians to act as guides to them, and their strange beauty and menace unsettles

visitors. The caves’ alien quality also has the power to make visitors such as Mrs. Moore and

Adela confronts parts of themselves or the universe that they have not previously recognized.

The all-reducing echo of the caves causes Mrs. Moore to see the darker side of her spirituality—

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a waning commitment to the world of relationships and a growing ambivalence about God.

Adela confronts the shame and embarrassment of her realization that she and Ronny are not

actually attracted to each other, and that she might be attracted to no one. In this sense, the caves

both destroy meaning, in reducing all utterances to the same sound, and expose or narrate the

unspeakable, the aspects of the universe that the caves’ visitors have not yet considered.

The Green Bird

Just after Adela and Ronny agree for the first time, in Chapter VII, to break off their engagement,

they notice a green bird sitting in the tree above them. Neither of them can positively identify the

bird. For Adela, the bird symbolizes the unidentifiable quality of all of India: just when she

thinks she can understand any aspect of India, that aspect changes or disappears. In this sense,

the green bird symbolizes the muddle of India. In another capacity, the bird points to a different

tension between the English and Indians. The English are obsessed with knowledge, literalness,

and naming, and they use these tools as a means of gaining and maintaining power. The Indians,

in contrast, are more attentive to nuance, undertone, and the emotions behind words. While the

English insist on labeling things, the Indians recognize that labels can blind one to important

details and differences. The unidentifiable green bird suggests the incompatibility of the English

obsession with classification and order with the shifting quality of India itself—the land is, in

fact, a “hundred Indias” that defy labeling and understanding.

The Wasp

The wasp appears several times in A Passage to India, usually in conjunction with the Hindu

vision of the oneness of all living things. The wasp is usually depicted as the lowest creature the

Hindus incorporate into their vision of universal unity. Mrs. Moore is closely associated with the

wasp, as she finds one in her room and is gently appreciative of it. Her peaceful regard for the

wasp signifies her own openness to the Hindu idea of collectivity, and to the mysticism and

indefinable quality of India in general. However, as the wasp is the lowest creature that the

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Hindus visualize, it also represents the limits of the Hindu vision. The vision is not a panacea,

but merely a possibility for unity and understanding in India.

Symbols of Mosque, Cave and Temple

A passage to India is divided into three sections –Mosque, caves and temple. Each section

is invested with a symbolic meaning. As a matter of fact, mosque, caves and temple are the

three major symbols in the novel. Firstly the mosque is the symbol of peace. Mosque

section opens out the possibilities of friendship and affection between Indian and English

which is one of the principal themes of the novel. It symbolizes the values of Islam such as

the equity of all men and universal brotherhood. Marabar caves are the center of gravity of

the story of the novel a passage to India. The marabar cave was another name of barab ar

caves situated near gaya in northeast India. Dr. Aziz invites Mrs. Moore and Adela quested

to a picnic in famous marabar caves. The temple is the last section of the novel. This section

comes as a restorative of harmony. The temple symbolizes the meeting together of

different people represent synthesis and affirmation

"Mosque" takes place during the cool weather, "Cave" during the hot weather, and "Temple"

during the rainy season.

These part divisions set the tone for the events described in each part. In "Mosque," the first part

of the novel, Aziz's reference to the architecture of the mosque as that of "call and response"

harmonizes with the general tenor of this part of the novel, where people are meeting each other

at various social functions. Like the cool weather, people are generally calm and friendly.

In contrast, the "Cave" section of the novel contains the climax of the novel. Taking place during

the hot weather, emotions are inflamed, and nobody seems to be able to think coolly and

rationally. Just as Mrs. Moore's hold on life was threatened by her experience of

meaninglessness within the cave, the entire community of Chandrapore is turned upside down as

riots and unrest surround the trial.

Finally, the "Temple" section attempts to wash away the chaos of the "Cave" section with its

pouring rains. In keeping with the Hindu motif of the temple, the chapter celebrates the Hindu

principle of the oneness of all things with Godbole at the Gokul Ashtami festival, and provides

us with a reconciliation, though a tenuous one, between Fielding and Aziz.

Mosque stands for man’s emotional nature while cave represent intellect and temple is the

symbol of love and violence.

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The Islamic mosque and the Hindu temple present positive images of the two dominant religions

of India. The Caves draw out some of the significance of Indian spirituality-Hindu rather than

Islamic-that are problematic for Westerners.

In chapter 2, the mosque at Chandrapore is viewed through the sympathetic eyes of a devout

Moslem. The mosque stimulates Aziz's loftiest thoughts and allows his imagination to soar. It is

also the place where Aziz meets Mrs. Moore, and they strike up a friendship. The mosque

therefore suggests the possibility of understanding between people of different religions.

However, as the later chapters show, there are many powerful forces that interfere with this

worthy goal.

The Marabar Caves represent the mysterious depths of Indian spirituality, which cannot be

grasped by Westerners. The Caves signify a cultural divide, a kind of stumbling block that

negates all efforts to circumvent it. As such, it is in Part 2 of the book ("Caves") that the two

communities, English and Indian, are driven furthest apart.

Part 3 ("Temple") presents the popular Hindu festival, Gokul Ashtami, celebrating the birth of

Lord Krishna. The descriptions of the temple, with its profusion of images of the gods, is a

marked contrast to the mosque depicted earlier, which is devoid of images and possesses only the

inscriptions of the ninety-nine names of God. But just as the mosque was depicted as a place

where cross-cultural friendship might be established, so too is the Hindu temple, its chaotic

appearance notwithstanding. The festival that proceeds from the temple produces a wave of good

feeling that embraces even Aziz, the Moslem. It is also while the festival is going on that Aziz

and Fielding are reconciled.

Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory

You might have noticed that the novel is not only divided up into chapters, but it is also divided

into three parts entitled "Mosque," "Cave," and "Temple." The parts are also organized by the

three seasons in India: "Mosque" takes place during the cool weather, "Cave" during the hot

weather, and "Temple" during the rainy season.

These part divisions set the tone for the events described in each part. In "Mosque," the first part

of the novel, Aziz's reference to the architecture of the mosque as that of "call and response"

harmonizes with the general tenor of this part of the novel, where people are meeting each other

at various social functions. Like the cool weather, people are generally calm and friendly.

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In contrast, the "Cave" section of the novel contains the climax of the novel. Taking place during

the hot weather, emotions are inflamed, and nobody seems to be able to think coolly and

rationally. Just as Mrs. Moore's hold on life was threatened by her experience of

meaninglessness within the cave, the entire community of Chandrapore is turned upside down as

riots and unrest surround the trial.

Finally, the "Temple" section attempts to wash away the chaos of the "Cave" section with its

pouring rains. In keeping with the Hindu motif of the temple, the chapter celebrates the Hindu

principle of the oneness of all things with Godbole at the Gokul Ashtami festival, and provides

us with a reconciliation, though a tenuous one, between Fielding and Aziz.

Theme of separation in passage to India

There are several ways to read the theme of separation in Forster's work. The most evident

theme of separation is that of cultural distance between the Indians and the British. Due to

colonization and the notion that Indian was occupied by the British, there is a natural separation

between both cultures. Forster spends a great deal of time and text explaining that there is a

fundamental difference or chasm between both cultures.

Another level of separation is the spiritual distance that exists between characters in the novel.

One of the most complex elements in the novel is the idea of being spiritually separated from a

temporal view of the universe. Certainly, Godbole, representing the Hindu faith, would speak to

this. There is an idea that Indian spirituality and its notions represent a separation from this

particular realm of existence. Forster does not really depict this in a stereotypical way as much

as showing its impact on his characters. The cave represents this. When Adela and Aziz enter

the cave recall how he describes the moment: "A match is struck and the sound creates two

flames that for a moment touch and then are separated forever." This description connotes the

idea that in the cave, where darkness and imperceptibility reign, there is a separation from the

world and the temporal nature of it. Mrs. Moore also embodies the idea of separation, as towards

the end of the work her life and eventual death indicate a distance between what is in our

temporal space and what lies outside of it.

The final theme of separation is the one that exists between the ones we love. Part of what

makes Forster's work so interesting and powerful is the idea that human beings possess a level of

distance even in situations where they don't detect it. For example, Ronny and Adela do have

feelings for one another. Yet, there is a separation between them. They share the same culture,

and are immersed in the same situation as Anglos living in India, yet there is some gap, some

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separation between them. Aziz and Fielding, as friends, also experience a separation of sorts.

Part of this is cultural, part is misunderstanding, and there is a part that seems intrinsic to their

relationship. Even at the end, when the figments and fragments of their challenges have been set

aside, one detects a certain level of separation that will always be a part of their dialectic Finally,

Aziz and Godbole, both Indians, both a part of the same cultural fabric, have a level of separation

between them. It is not that there is animosity between one another, but there is a separation

where both cannot fully embrace the ideas of the other.

What really happens to Adela in the cave? What happens to Adela in the Marabar Cave is the pivotal moment in the novel, and yet the

incident is never, on the literal level, satisfactorily explained. It is clear that if she was assaulted,

as she and all the English believe, the culprit was not Aziz, who does not even find Adela

attractive and whose only desire was to entertain his visitors as well as he could. Fielding

considers that Adela may have suffered from a hallucination, a theory that may be quite close to

the mark. Perhaps in the case of Adela, the Marabar cave she entered might symbolize the depths

of the unconscious mind. She admits to hearing the same mysterious echo that Mrs. Moore

heard, and which had such a catastrophic effect on the old lady's peace of mind. For these two

Westerners, the caves break down their conscious, carefully constructed personalities and lay

bare what is under the surface. Adela is a somewhat reserved, even repressed character. She is

intellectual and curious, but not at home with her emotions, and her relationship with Ronny,

who at this point is her fiancee, is stilted and awkward. Before Adela enters the cave, she has

realized with a jolt that she does not love Ronny; she has also just asked Aziz whether he has

more than one wife. Perhaps as she steps into the cave, some of her unconscious fears about love

and marriage and sex are let loose, leading her to imagine that she has been assaulted.

After the incident, from time to time she doubts whether her accusation against Aziz is true, but

she represses these doubts. But just before the trial, the echo she has been hearing in her mind

ever since the incident finally goes away. Her mind is returning to normal. Then at the trial,

McBryde's logical, sequential questioning brings her back to the rational world of facts and

evidence. It also brings back a sense of justice and fairness that had been obscured by her mental

confusion. This enables her to see more clearly again, and to retract her accusation. But the

mystery is never really solved. After the trial, Adela's vague statement to Fielding about the

matter, "Let us call it the guide" is unsatisfactory, as they both know. The Marabar caves, and

their effects on people, are part of the mystery of India, which the Western mind cannot grasp.

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Portrayal of Anglo Indian

Much of the focus of the novel is on the educated Muslim class, as represented by Aziz and his closest social circle. However, overall the novel provides quite a comprehensive picture of

Indian society. The other major religion of India, Hinduism, is also well-represented with several characters, most notably the enigmatic Professor Godbole. The first part of the novel is titled 'Mosque', indicating the focus on Aziz and his circle; the final section is called ‘Temple’ where

the focus shifts to Godbole presiding over a riotous Hindu festival.

It is true that the novel really only shows us male Indian characters, but although there is no

major female Indian character, we do get a glimpse of life for Indian women, certainly among the upper classes, for instance with the ladies at the Bridge Party, like the refined Mrs Battacharya.

The novel also depicts the conflicts and tensions between different segments of Indian society, most notably between Hindu and Muslim. For instance, Aziz reflects ‘I wish that (Hindus) did

not remind me of cow-dung’ while Mr Das thinks that ‘Some Muslims are very violent’(chapter 30) – and this when the two men are making an outward show of being friendly. The differences between higher and lower-class Indians are also explored, for example in the character of the

low-born Dr Panna Lal.

It is true, though, that the ordinary working-class Indians, the peasant masses, do not really

figure in the novel, with one or two exceptions like the punkah-wallah at the trial, who is described in some detail. Similarly, there is no representation of minority Indian religions, like Sikhism.

In general, however, the novel does give us quite a varied picture of Indian life overall, and examines the Indian reaction of resentment to their imperialist rulers with a mixture of sensitivity

and irony.

The “Oriental Mind”: E. M. Forster’s Fatuous

Caricatures of Indians in A Passage to India

Somehow, E. M. Forster, who detested imperialism, falls into this trap. The Indian characters

in A Passage to India are all exotic. They are constitutionally incapable of acting like mature,

honest and rational creatures. Dr. Aziz, the most sympathetic and well-developed of Forster’s

Indians, is unable to appreciate the value of honesty. On the day of the incident in the Marabar

caves he tells “a great many lies.” (175) He does not lie with malicious intent, he simply comes

from a culture which puts no premium on honesty. He is, therefore, someone who has “no sense

of evidence.”

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Yet there is no question that Forster personally preferred the company of Indians to Anglo-

Indians. In fact, he could hardly contain his contempt for the latter. When accused of being

unfair to the Anglo-Indians Forster responded, “how can I ever like them when I happen to like

the Indians and they don’t” (Das 14). With the exception of Fielding, none of the British in the

novel could be described as sympathetic characters, and Fielding utterly rejects the Anglo-Indian

creed. Many of the Anglo-Indians in A Passage to India are well-rounded, but the colonists

represent the most wretched traits of the English temperament. As Benita Parry observes, “by

temperament and choice the Anglo-Indians are outsiders, hostile to India whether it be mosques,

cave or temple, participating in none, understanding none, resenting all” (Parry, Delusions, 279).

In his efforts to portray the Indians as morally superior to their colonists, Forster unwittingly

practices Orientalism by creating characters whose thinking and motivation are alien from the

Anglo-Indians.

As Forster, the renowned humanist, attempts to make his Indians more sympathetic than their

evil colonizers, he diminishes them into hideous caricatures. There are instances when it would

be difficult to discern his depictions of Indians from those of an overtly racist apologist for

Imperialism such as Kipling. Forster’s Indians are not merely prone to mysticism, but

incapable of rational thought. Even Aziz, a man of science educated in the Western

tradition, is unable to judge his friend Fielding rationally. This is because “(S)uspicion in

the Oriental is a sort of malignant tumor, a mental malady, that makes him self-conscious

and unfriendly suddenly; he trusts and mistrusts at the same time in a way that the

Westerner cannot comprehend” (311). Why must suspicion, or, for that matter, any other

normal human emotion, manifest itself differently in the person of an Indian than it would in an

Englishman? The passage suggests that this difference in processing emotions is somehow

racially based.

We would expect a westernized Indian like Aziz to be torn between two cultures. But he is not

nearly so complex; he is western only in manner.

Dr. Aziz, whose behavior hovers between immaturity foolishness, is someone an intelligent

reader might imagine to exist. Godbole, on the other hand, is a crepuscular creation who

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personifies a contempt for Hinduism which Forster made no effort to conceal. Forster’s letters

regarding the Gokul Ashtami Festival are “extremely condescending” (Crews 153).

I cannot see the point in this, or rather in what it differs from ordinary mundane intoxication. I

suppose that if you believe your drunkenness proceeds from God it becomes more enjoyable….I

don’t think I can describe it better than this, and it is difficult to make vivid what seems so

fatuous. (Hill, 160-61).

If Forster means to present India as a “metaphysical protagonist,” as JanMohamed argues, then

Dr. Aziz and Dr. Godbole obviously represent the relative regard Forster had for their respective

faiths. In contrast to his disdainful reaction to Hinduism, Forster was “aesthetically gratified by a

religion that is not grossly anthropomorphic” (Crews 152). Indeed, his frustration with the

confusion and inconsistency of Hinduism heightened his appreciation for the moral absolutism of

a monotheistic religion.

While in India E. M. Forster continued to struggle to make meaning out of his life. This endeavor

was complicated by a condition which is the antithesis of invincible ignorance. An inveterate

secularist, Forster nonetheless yearned for some type of spiritual union. He was able to find

some comfort in his personal relationships with individual Indians, but his personal

Passage to India was frustrated by the unfortunate reality that England and India (and

therefore, Englishmen and Indians) are not polar opposites.

Hinduism and portrayal of Muslim and India

Muslims and Hindus have always been—and continue to be—antagonists in India. In A Passage

to India, the relationship between Dr. Aziz, a Muslim, and Dr. Panna Lal, a Hindu underscores

the tension between Muslims and Hindus. Aziz and Lal despise each other, and Lal agrees to

testify against Aziz at the trial. Throughout the novel, Aziz—though deeply insulted by British

prejudice against Indians—frequently deprecates Hindus with unfounded generalizations in the

same way that the British find fault with the native populace. Of the Bhattacharya family, he

says, "Slack Hindus—they have no idea of society; I know them very well because of a doctor

[Panna Lal] at the hospital.