A Passage to India by E.M. Forster (Penguin)

I often enjoy revisiting modern classics as well as reading classics I’ve never got around to reading. E.M. Forster’s novel A Passage to India falls into the latter category for me. I already knew that some of the content would irritate me as the story is set in British India and the Brits were not kind to the native people. 

The book was originally published in 1924 and was adapted into a movie in 1984. I had neither read the book nor watched the film, so the story was very fresh to me. It is set around the 1920s and is based on the experiences of the author. The title is taken from a Walt Whtman poem A Passage to India which can be found in his book of poetry titled Leaves of Grass.

The story revolves around four main characters - Dr. Aziz, his friend, Mr. Cyril Fielding, an elderly woman named Mrs. Moore and a young and soon to be engaged British woman named Miss Adela Quest. 

Dr. Aziz is a young muslim physician who works at the British Hospital in the fictional city of Chandrapore. His boss and head doctor at the hospital is Maj. Callendar, a bigoted Brit that is unlikable from the very beginning of the story. 

Dr. Aziz first meets Mrs. Moore at a local mosque. He yells at her, telling her she does not belong here, but after exchanging a few words and clearing up their misunderstanding, it becomes the start of a new friendship. 

Ms. Adela Quested is a British school mistress who came to Chandrapore to meet and talk with Ronnie Heaslop, the British Magistrate in Chandrapore to see if she really wants to marry him or not. She was accompanied by Mrs. Moore, Ronnie Heaslop’s mother. The two women say they would like to meet some real Indians so Mr. Turton, the city tax collector, arranges a party and invites several Indians as well. 

However, the party doesn’t turn out to be a bit awkward because of the Indian lack of self-assurance and fear of offending the host and other British citizens but is also due to the Brit’s bigotry. It is here that Dr. Aziz meets Mr. Fielding, a middle-aged British man who is the principal of a small government-run college for Indians. 

At the party hosted by Mr. Fielding, Mrs. Moore and Ms. Quested say they would like to see more of the “real” India and Dr. Aziz says he would arrange an outing to the nearby Marabar Caves, another ficitional area that was modeled after Barabar Caves in Bihar. Mr. Fielding and his Hindu friend Nawab Bahadur. 

However, Mr. Fielding and Mr. Bahadur missed the train to the caves leaving Dr. Aziz in charge with no British officials present to watch over the women. At the caves Mrs. Moore decides to take a rest while Dr. Aziz and Ms. Quest continues through some of the other caves. The two become separated and the next Dr. Aziz sees is Ms. Quested climbing down the mountain to meet Miss Derek who frequently makes use of a car owned by a Hindu Royal Family she works for. 

When Dr. Aziz returns, he is immediately arrested and charged with sexually assaulting Ms. Quested in one of the caves. The British police, the Magistrate, all believe that Dr. Aziz is guilty because no Englishwoman would lie or make up a story.

Dr. Aziz’s trial then becomes the focus point of the story. The Brits have already condemned him and for them, the trial is but a farce to prove that the government is also fair to the natives. The verdict all lies with Ms. Quested’s testimony. As to the outcome, I would not spoil it for any other readers who may be interested in revisiting this novel.

I think many reader would find this story reminiscent of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, which also focuses on the trial of a black man accused of raping a white woman. The attitudes of white Americans are similar to those of Forster’s British colonizers. The underlying theme being the fragile balance of race relations. One word from a white person is all that’s needed to condemn someone who is not of the same race.

Although the British Empire isn’t as strong as it was and the U.S. did abolish slavery, it hasn’t stopped prejudice against people who are perceived to be different. As cynical as it sounds, until a time when people are really treated equally, prejudice and injustice will continue. ~Ernie Hoyt