I came across the novel A Passage to India by Edward Morgan Forster on my Kindle and downloaded it out of curiosity. The novel was published in 1924 and is based on Forster's experiences in India. The "About" section of the book notes that the title was borrowed from Walt Whitman's 1870 poem "Leaves of Grass". As per usual I'll avoid any blatant spoilers in case someone does want to go ahead and read the novel for him or herself.
This has to be the first book I've read by an Englishman that criticises the British experience in India and the behaviour of the British during the period of colonisation itself. No doubt this novel comes very near the end of colonisation and just some years before Independence is acquired by India, and Pakistan is formed. I was somewhat skeptical about the novel prior to reading it because I doubted the ability of an Englishman to genuinely capture India, and especially Indians, from his limited standpoint of "whiteness", wealth and authority.
Forster makes a clear attempt to get a variety of characters in his short novel to illustrate that not everyone is the same. However he definitely underlines some general trends, such as the fact that the majority of the Britons were condescending towards "Natives", the Indians. I, personally, was not too impressed with Aziz, a Muslim protagonist, being depicted as someone who, despite his certainty concerning the Unity of God, was doubtful of many parts of his faith, like many Christians of the time. I feel that this is a projection of the modern mindset onto an Oriental to try to bring him closer to the Western man but in an unflattering way and in a way that could have been avoided. Perhaps the fault lies in that the Western author could not conceive the Islamic worldview and thus had to create a protagonist with whom he could somewhat identify with. Nevertheless, Aziz is a fairly likeable character otherwise and the descriptions of hospitality are particularly endearing. Forster nicely illustrates the importance of hospitality in the Oriental mindset and it appears to favour the Indian over the Westerner.
The plot twist and the key event that triggers tension and suspense in the novel comes at about half-way through. It is at this point that you finally feel something interesting is taking place and the story has finally begun, now that an exciting element has been introduced. This episode added momentum to my reading at least but how it was concluded wasn't wholly satisfactory. In some ways it ended rather abruptly and I felt that it was resolved in a rather "cop out" fashion, since elaborating the matter would have been a complex literary task which would be hard to render justice to the case. It also underlines the only realistic solution that would have been possible in a situation of intense bias and prejudice.
A criticism of Forster's description of India is that while he does make a point to highlight the discrimination towards Indians and their inferior status imposed by the Britons, there is next to no mention of violence. The only violence mentioned is that between Hindus and Muslims who manage to scuffle over some minor point of conflict and where the Britons manage to calm the situations. Now one reason for this may be due to the fact that this novel comes at a time where most violence had probably already been inflicted and what remained was the residues of that fear and authority in the mind of the Oriental; he no longer needed violence to subdue him. However, the alternative is that this was simply ignored and not addressed in the novel either for stylistic purposes or not to incriminate Britons more than what would have been socially acceptable to reveal in his context. History clearly shows us that this period and later became significant in terms of rebellion against the English and Indians may have participated in violent protest of the colonisation but that is not to ignore that this came as a reaction to the violence to which they had been subjected for many years.
Forster captures the willingness on the part of Britons and Indians alike to humanise the other but also the reasons it isn't easy or fully possible because of the centuries of betrayal and manipulation between the cultures. He somewhat criticises the White superiority but never really presents a solution to ending the conflict. What I give the author most credit for is his acceptance of the fact that he understands that he doesn't understand Orientals (Indians) but he does not quite penalise them in the same way some do. Rather, he recognises the oddities in both cultures and attempts in his own way to give them each some due respect.
Before concluding I ought to dedicate a few lines to "the Woman Question". Forster presents us with a few female characters that vary from the good, the bad and the ugly so to speak. We have brave, honest women who are caring and considerate and we have women who are consistently condescending and are ultimately simple snobs. He makes reference to the feminists of Britain and how Britain was experiencing a changed attitude towards women that had not yet come to India. What I particularly liked was his daring remark in the voice of an Indian protagonist that Indian women aren't as oppressed as they are made out to be by the Westerners. This made me chuckle as well as appreciate Forster's attempts to look beyond what certain people insist to be the only, generalised truth of India.
Overall, I felt that this novel was not necessarily a literary masterpiece but it brings up important historical and political issues. Forster admits to his limitations because his race bars him from some physical spaces and experiences in India as well as the limitations in outlook and understanding. It highlights the need to keep dialogue open and for people of privilege to use and sacrifice some comforts for truth and justice. It is a novel I'm glad I read, and may read again. The psychological impact of being colonised is a consistent theme and it is something Indians (and other colonised nations) are still suffering from to this day.
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