E.M. Forster's "A Passage to India" by Ahmed Elghezlani

E.M. Forster’s A Passage to India is considered one of the best modernist novels written throughout his literary career. Categorised as the Literature of The Journey, or literature of the empire, this masterpiece has tremendously functioned as a mirror reflecting the Indian life during the British colonization; besides, Forster represents that racial cross-cultural conflict among the Indians and the Anglo-Indians, which notably and dynamically contributes in developing the plot. A Passage to India was written during the pitch of the British Imperialism, but this does not mean that it cannot be read under a postcolonial eye, because it does include the issues and themes that postcolonial theory deals with. This essay thereby is aimed to be an in-depth analysis to Forster’s A Passage to India to uncover some of the essential aspects dealt with in the novel, mainly the negative and racial stereotypes, cultural beliefs, religion and the possibility of having equality and tolerance between the Indians and Anglo-Indians 

Applying the postcolonial theory, A Passage to India can be approached from several perspectives. First, the notion of the Other is highlighted in several events in the novel; most of the Anglo-Indians treat Chandrapour’s residents in an extreme racist way. The character who is notorious of being racist is Mrs Turton who sees the Indians as “savage” and “uncivilised”, and she, like the majority of the Anglo-Indians, does not encounter or speak to the natives; besides Mrs. Turton, there is Mrs. Callender who is also a racist; one of her most racist statement is: “the kindest thing one can do to a native is to let him die” in response to Adela Quested who was asking about meeting the Indians. Mrs. Turon and Mrs. Callender are but products of the British system, for since there arrival to India, they have been hearing negative stereotypes about the natives by the the British government members in Chandrapour. They did not have a chance to know the real Indians; however, Adela Quested, who came with Mrs. Moore to discover the “real India”, is trying to meet and encounter the native Indians, a desire that will later on lead to a racial and political issue in Chandrapour. Otherising the Indians therefore came as a result of the stereotypes created by mainly the British system. Having the idea that an Indian is not like a British one has been injected in the Anglo-Indians’ brains once they reach India; thus, this issue of stereotypes about the Indians stand as an obstacle between bridging the two races.

Another important postcolonial concept in the novel is “resistance”. Dr Aziz can be considered as a symbol to the aforesaid concept, for he does not like seeing schools and towns named after the Queen Victoria and other British members; it annoys him each time he gets treated badly by the Anglo-Indians. Psychologically speaking, though he does not transform his anger into action, his inner self has been burning all the time, and the only way he can express his attitude is through writing poetry. Despite of Dr Aziz’s awe towards the colonisers, he indirectly starts imitating them—an act technically named by Homi Bhabha as “mimicry”. He mimics the Anglo-Indians in there way of dressing, not out of admiration but to avoid being treated badly by Chandrapour’s police. “I am an Indian at last”, this was Dr Aziz’s thought after having left Chandrapour to Mau. Therein he finally feels “free” from the Anglo-Indians, his resistance partially reaches a result at last

Despite being British, E.M. Forster does not defend the coloniser, neither does he attacks the colonised. The main purpose of his novel is to discuss the possibility of having some kind of equality and tolerance between the Indians and Anglo-Indians; in other words, the essential question that Forster wants it answered is; is friendship possible among the two races’ individuals? The answer, after reading the novel, is: friendship is not possible between Indians and Anglo-Indians, because the latter have been “brainwashed” by the British system to believe that they are far better than Indians, and encountering with them will only lead to “a disaster”. The only two situations of “friendship” between the two races are those of  Mrs Moore and Mr Fielding with Dr Aziz. Mrs Moore likes Aziz the moment she meets him in the mosque, and so does he; however, their friendship will not last long after the the Marrabar Caves issue, for Mrs Moore is sent back to England and died on the way, indicating that friendship between the Indians and Anglo-Indians will never be possible, unless an Indian goes to England. In fact, even the Indians between themselves are not able to understand each other and live in harmony, for Chandrapour, and India in general, has a variety of religions and beliefs; Islam, Hinduism and much more; this diversity of religions and cultures has made India a mysterious place to the Anglo-Indians; or what Forster named it as “muddle”; that is, India is not understandable neither by its people nor the colonisers.

Final word, A Passage to India truly is a literary text par excellence in which E.M. Forster has skilfully tackled the main issues that faced the Indians at the time of colonisation. This novel is a “representation” not only of Chandrapour, but of every village at that time. Forster has uncovered the other face of the British system that claimed civilising India, yet it corrupted both Indians and Anglo-Indians, leaving no way to bridge the two cultures and have some kind of harmony; indeed, the British system has negatively affected the Indians’ identity and culture by creating false stereotypes, preventing as a consequence any kind of closeness between the west and east leading to what would later on be named as “Orientalism”.