complete notes regarding this novel

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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 barabar
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.