A Passage to India: Difference between revisions

A Passage to India
	First edition (UK)
Author	E. M. Forster
Language	English
Genre	novel
Set in	British India, c. 1910s
Publisher	Edward Arnold, (UK); Harcourt Brace (US)
Publication date	4 June 1924
Publication place	United Kingdom
Media type	Print (hardback & paperback)
OCLC	59352597
Dewey Decimal	823.912
LC Class	PR6011.O58 P3
Text	A Passage to India at Wikisource

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A Passage to India is a 1924 novel by English author E. M. Forster set against the backdrop of the British Raj and the Indian independence movement in the 1920s. It was selected as one of the 100 great works of 20th-century English literature by the Modern Library^[2] and won the 1924 James Tait Black Memorial Prize for fiction.^[3] Time magazine included the novel in its "All Time 100 Novels" list.^[4] The novel is based on Forster's experiences in India, deriving the title from Walt Whitman's 1870 poem "Passage to India" in Leaves of Grass.^[5]^[6]

The story revolves around four characters: Dr. Aziz, his British friend Mr. Cyril Fielding, Mrs. Moore, and Miss Adela Quested. During a trip to the fictitious Marabar Caves (modelled on the Barabar Caves of Bihar),^[7] Adela thinks she finds herself alone with Dr. Aziz in one of the caves (when in fact he is in an entirely different cave; whether the attacker is real or a reaction to the cave is ambiguous), and subsequently panics and flees; it is assumed that Dr. Aziz has attempted to assault her. Aziz's trial, and its run-up and aftermath, bring to a boil the common racial tensions and prejudices between Indians and the British during the colonial era.

Background

A Passage to India is a reflection of Forster's visit to India in 1912–13 and his duration as private secretary to Tukojirao III, the Maharajah of Dewas Senior in 1921–22.^[8] He dedicated the book to his friend Ross Masood.^[9]

Plot summary

British schoolmistress Adela Quested and her elderly friend Mrs. Moore visit the fictional Indian city of Chandrapore. Adela is to decide if she wants to marry Mrs. Moore's son, Ronny Heaslop, the city magistrate.

Meanwhile, Dr. Aziz, a young Indian Muslim physician, is called from dining with friends by Major Callendar, Aziz's superior at the hospital, but is delayed. Disconsolate at finding him gone, Aziz walks back and enters his favourite mosque on impulse. Seeing Mrs Moore there, he yells at her not to profane this sacred place, but the two then chat and part as friends. When Mrs. Moore relates her experience later, Ronny becomes indignant at the native's presumption.

Because the newcomers had expressed a desire to meet Indians, Mr. Turton, the city tax collector, invites several to his house, but the party turns out awkwardly, due to the Indians' timidity and the Britons' bigotry. Also there is Cyril Fielding, principal of Chandrapore's government-run college for Indians, who invites Adela and Mrs. Moore to a tea party with him and a Hindu-Brahmin professor named Narayan Godbole. At Adela's request, he extends his invitation to Dr. Aziz.

At the party, Fielding and Aziz become friends and Aziz promises to take Mrs. Moore and Adela to see the distant Marabar Caves. Ronny arrives and, finding Adela "unaccompanied" with Dr. Aziz and Professor Godbole, rudely breaks up the party.

Aziz mistakenly believes that the women are offended that he has not followed through on his promise and arranges an outing to the caves at great expense to himself. Fielding and Godbole are supposed to accompany the expedition, but they miss the train. In the first cave they visit, Mrs. Moore is overcome with claustrophobia and disturbed by the echo. When she declines to continue, Adela and Aziz climb the hill to the upper caves, accompanied by a guide.

Asked by Adela whether he has more than one wife, Aziz is disconcerted by her bluntness and ducks into a cave to compose himself. When he comes out, he is told by the guide that Adela has gone into a cave by herself. After quarreling with the guide, Aziz discovers Adela's field glasses broken on the ground and puts them in his pocket. He then looks down the hill and sees Adela speaking to Miss Derek, who has arrived with Fielding in a car. Aziz runs down and greets Fielding, but Miss Derek and Adela drive off, leaving Fielding, Mrs. Moore and Aziz to return to Chandrapore by train.

Aziz is arrested on arrival and charged with sexually assaulting Adela. The run-up to his trial increases racial tensions. Adela alleges that Aziz followed her into the cave and that she fended him off by swinging her field glasses at him. The only evidence is the field glasses in the possession of Aziz. When Fielding proclaims his belief in Aziz's innocence, he is ostracised and condemned as a blood-traitor.

While awaiting the trial, Mrs Moore becomes concerned at her failing health; taking a ship to England, she dies on the way. Then during the trial, Adela admits that she had been similarly disoriented by the cave's echo. She was no longer sure who or what had attacked her and, despite great demand to persist in her accusation, withdraws the charge. When the case is dismissed, Heaslop breaks off his engagement to Adela and she stays at Fielding's house until a return to England is arranged.

Although he is vindicated, Aziz is angry that Fielding befriended Adela after she nearly ruined his life. Believing it to be the gentlemanly thing to do, Fielding convinces Aziz not to seek monetary redress, but the men's friendship suffers and Fielding departs for England. Believing that he is leaving to marry Adela for her money, and bitter at his friend's perceived betrayal, Aziz vows never again to befriend a white person.

Two years later, Aziz has moved to the Hindu-ruled state of Mau and is now the Raja's chief physician by the time Fielding returns, married to Stella, Mrs. Moore's daughter from a second marriage. Though the two meet and Aziz still feels drawn to Fielding, he realises that they cannot be truly friends until India becomes independent from British rule.

Character list

Dr. Aziz: A young Muslim Indian physician who works at the British hospital in Chandrapore.
Cyril Fielding: The 45-year-old, unmarried British headmaster of the small government-run college for Indians.
Adela Quested: A young British schoolmistress who is visiting India with the vague intention of marrying Ronny Heaslop.
Mrs. Moore: The mother of Ronny Heaslop.
Ronny Heaslop: The British city magistrate of Chandrapore.
Professor Narayan Godbole: A professor at Mr. Fielding's school. (pronounced god-boh-lay)^[10]
Mr. Turton: The British city collector of Chandrapore.
Mrs. Turton: Mr. Turton's openly racist wife.
Maj. Callendar: The British head doctor and Aziz's superior at the hospital.
Mr. McBryde: The British superintendent of police in Chandrapore.
Miss Derek: An Englishwoman employed by a Hindu royal family who frequently borrows their car.
Nawab Bahadur: The chief Indian citizen in Chandrapore.
Hamidullah: Aziz's uncle.
Amritrao: A prominent Indian lawyer called in to defend Aziz.
Mahmoud Ali: A Muslim Indian barrister who openly hates the British.
Dr. Panna Lal: A low-born Hindu doctor and Aziz's rival at the hospital.
Ralph Moore: The second son of Mrs. Moore.
Stella Moore (later Fielding): Mrs. Moore's daughter.

Literary criticism

The nature of critiques of A Passage to India is largely based upon the era of writing and the nature of the critical work. While many earlier critiques found that Forster's book showed an inappropriate friendship between colonizers and the colonized, new critiques on the work draw attention to the depictions of sexism, racism and imperialism in the novel.

Reviews of A Passage to India when it was first published challenged specific details and attitudes included in the book that Forster drew from his own time in India.^[11] Early critics also expressed concern at the interracial camaraderie between Aziz and Fielding in the book.^[12] Others saw the book as a vilification of humanist perspectives on the importance of interpersonal relationships, and effects of colonialism on Indian society.^[13] More recent critiques by postcolonial theorists and literary critics have reinvestigated the text as a work of Orientalist fiction contributing to a discourse on colonial relationships by a European. Today it is one of the seminal texts in the postcolonial Orientalist discourse, among other books like Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad, and Kim, by Rudyard Kipling.^[11]

A Passage to India emerged at a time where portrayals of India as a savage, disorganized land in need of domination were more popular in mainstream European literature than romanticized depictions. Forster's novel departed from typical narratives about colonizer-colonized relationships and emphasized a more "unknowable" Orient, rather than characterizing it with exoticism, ancient wisdom and mystery. Postcolonial theorists like Maryam Wasif Khan have termed this novel a Modern Orientalist text, meaning that it portrays the Orient in an optimistic, positive light while simultaneously challenging and critiquing European culture and society.^[14] However, Benita Parry suggests that it also mystifies India by creating an "obfuscated realm where the secular is scanted, and in which India's long traditions of mathematics, science and technology, history, linguistics and jurisprudence have no place."^[13]

One of the most notable critiques comes from literary professor Edward Said, who referenced A Passage to India in both Culture and Imperialism and Orientalism. In his discussion about allusions to the British Empire in early 20th-century novels, Said suggests that though the work subverted typical views on colonialism and colonial rule in India, it also fell short of outright condemning either nationalist movements in India or colonialism itself. Of Forster's attitude toward colonizer-colonized relationships, Said says Forster:

. . . found a way to use the mechanism of the novel to elaborate on the already existing structure of attitude and reference without changing it. This structure permitted one to feel affection for and even intimacy with some Indians and India generally, but made one see Indian politics as the charge of the British, and culturally refused a privilege to India nationalism.^[15]

Stereotyping and Orientalist thought is also explored in postcolonial critiques. Said suggests that Forster deals with the question of British-Indian relationships by separating Muslims and Hindus in the narrative. He says Forster connects Islam to Western values and attitudes while suggesting that Hinduism is chaotic and orderless, and subsequently uses Hindu characters as the background to the main narrative.^[15] Said also identifies the failed attempt at friendship between Aziz and Fielding as a reinforcement of the perceived cultural distance between the Orient and the West. The inability of the two men to begin a meaningful friendship is indicative of what Said suggests is the irreconcilable otherness of the Orient, something that has originated from the West and also limits Western readers in how they understand the Orient.^[16]

Other scholars have examined the book with a critical postcolonial and feminist lens. Maryam Wasif Khan's reading of the book suggests A Passage to India is also a commentary on gender, and a British woman's place within the empire. Khan argued that the female characters coming to "the Orient" to break free of their social roles in Britain represent the discord between Englishwomen and their social roles at home, and tells the narrative of "pioneering Englishwomen whose emergent feminism found form and voice in the colony".^[17]

Sara Suleri has also critiqued the book's orientalist depiction of India and its use of racialized bodies, especially in the case of Aziz, as sexual objects rather than individuals.^[18]

Awards

1924 James Tait Black Memorial Prize for fiction.
1925 Femina Vie Heureuse

Adaptations

In 1948, an adaptation by George Lefferts aired on NBC University Theatre, featuring Alma Lawton, Ben Wright, and Joseph Schildkraut as Dr. Aziz.^[19]
A Passage to India (play), A play written by Santha Rama Rau based on the novel that ran on the West End in 1960, and on Broadway in 1962.^[20] A 1965 BBC television version of the play was broadcast in their Play of the Month series.^[21]
The Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray intended to direct a theatrical adaptation of the novel, but the project was never realised.^[22]
The 1984 film version directed by David Lean, and starring Judy Davis, Victor Banerjee, James Fox, Peggy Ashcroft and Alec Guinness, won two Oscars and numerous other awards.^[23]
Martin Sherman wrote an additional version for the stage, that premiered at the Shared Experience in Richmond in 2002.^[24] It has toured the UK and played at the Brooklyn Academy of Music Harvey Theater in November 2004.^[25]

Manuscript

In 1960, the manuscript of A Passage to India was donated to Rupert Hart-Davis by Forster and sold to raise money for the London Library, fetching the then record sum of £6,500 for a modern English manuscript.^[26]

References

^ "The 100 best novels: No 47 – A Passage to India by EM Forster (1924)". The Guardian. 18 August 2014. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
^ Lewis, Paul (20 July 1998). "'Ulysses' at Top As Panel Picks 100 Best Novels". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 8 January 2015. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
^ "Fiction winners Award winners". The University of Edinburgh. 22 August 2014. Archived from the original on 31 October 2013. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
^ "All Time 100 Novels". Time. 16 October 2005. Archived from the original on 13 March 2010. Retrieved 23 April 2010.
^ Sarker, Sunil Kumar (1 January 2007). A Companion to E.M. Forster. Atlantic Publishers & Dist. p. 702. ISBN 978-81-269-0750-2. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
^ Kummings, Donald D. (19 October 2009). A Companion to Walt Whitman. John Wiley & Sons. p. 21. ISBN 978-1-4051-9551-5. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
^ Sarker, Sunil Kumar (1 January 2007). A Companion to E.M. Forster. Atlantic Publishers & Dist. p. 708. ISBN 978-81-269-0750-2. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
^ Bloom, Harold (2004). Novelists and Novels. p. 251.
^ "The Sunday Tribune - Books". www.tribuneindia.com. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
^ Meyers, Jeffrey (14 February 2022). Fiction & the Colonial Experience. Routledge. ISBN 9781000528350 – via Google Books.
^ ^a ^b "The mystery and muddle of A Passage to India". The British Library. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
^ Parry, Benita (1998). Delusions and discoveries : India in the British imagination, 1880-1930. London: Verso. p. 280. ISBN 1859841287. OCLC 40922011.
^ ^a ^b Parry, Benita (2004). Postcolonial Studies: A Materialist Critique. New York: Routledge. pp. 163. ISBN 0-203-42053-5.
^ Khan, Maryam Wasif (22 June 2016). "Enlightenment Orientalism to Modernist Orientalism: The Archive of Forster's A Passage to India". MFS Modern Fiction Studies. 62 (2): 217–235. doi:10.1353/mfs.2016.0027. ISSN 1080-658X. S2CID 163305870.
^ ^a ^b Said, Edward W. (1994). Culture and Imperialism (1st Vintage books ed.). New York: Vintage Books. ISBN 0679750541. OCLC 29600508.
^ Said, Edward W. (1979) [1978]. Orientalism (1st ed.). New York: Vintage Books. ISBN 039474067X. OCLC 4831769.
^ Khan, Maryam Wasif (22 June 2016). "Enlightenment Orientalism to Modernist Orientalism: The Archive of Forster's A Passage to India". MFS Modern Fiction Studies. 62 (2): 230–233. doi:10.1353/mfs.2016.0027. ISSN 1080-658X. S2CID 163305870.
^ Suleri Goodyear, Sara (1992). The rhetoric of English India. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. pp. 132–135. ISBN 9780226779836. OCLC 23584165.
^ Palmer, Zuma (27 November 1948). "Sunday Programs". Los Angeles Evening Citizen News. p. 20.
^ "A Passage to India". Internet Broadway Database. Archived from the original on 20 October 2012. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
^ Angelini, Sergio (2003–2014). "Passage to India, A (1965)". BFI Screenonline. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
^ Wallia, C. J. "IndiaStar book review: Satyajit Ray by Surabhi Banerjee". IndiaStar. Archived from the original on 19 February 1997. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
^ "A Passage to India". IMDb. Archived from the original on 14 January 2013. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
^ "Shared Experience Take Forster Passage to India". What'sOnStage. 30 August 2002. Archived from the original on 8 January 2015. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
^ Isherwood, Charles (4 November 2004). "A Minimal Meeting of Forster's Twain". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 22 June 2013. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
^ Hart-Davis, Rupert: Halfway to Heaven p55, Sutton Publishing Ltd, Stroud, 1998. ISBN 0-7509-1837-3

S. M. Chanda: A Passage to India: a close look in studies in literature (Atlantic Publishers, New Delhi 2003)

External links

A Passage to India at Standard Ebooks
A Passage to India at the British Library
A Passage To India at Project Gutenberg
A Passage To India public domain audiobook at LibriVox
Detailed analyses, chapter summaries, a quiz and essay questions, by SparkNotes
Original 1924 review reprinted by The Guardian
Whitman, Walt (1871). "Passage to India". Leaves of Grass (poem)., from which the title of Forster's novel was derived

[1] "The 100 best novels: No 47 – A Passage to India by EM Forster (1924)". The Guardian. 18 August 2014. Retrieved 16 January 2015.

[2] Lewis, Paul (20 July 1998). "'Ulysses' at Top As Panel Picks 100 Best Novels". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 8 January 2015. Retrieved 8 January 2015.

[3] "Fiction winners Award winners". The University of Edinburgh. 22 August 2014. Archived from the original on 31 October 2013. Retrieved 8 January 2015.

[4] "All Time 100 Novels". Time. 16 October 2005. Archived from the original on 13 March 2010. Retrieved 23 April 2010.

[5] Sarker, Sunil Kumar (1 January 2007). A Companion to E.M. Forster. Atlantic Publishers & Dist. p. 702. ISBN 978-81-269-0750-2. Retrieved 8 January 2015.

[6] Kummings, Donald D. (19 October 2009). A Companion to Walt Whitman. John Wiley & Sons. p. 21. ISBN 978-1-4051-9551-5. Retrieved 8 January 2015.

[7] Sarker, Sunil Kumar (1 January 2007). A Companion to E.M. Forster. Atlantic Publishers & Dist. p. 708. ISBN 978-81-269-0750-2. Retrieved 8 January 2015.

[bloom1-8] Bloom, Harold (2004). Novelists and Novels. p. 251.

[9] "The Sunday Tribune - Books". www.tribuneindia.com. Retrieved 9 September 2022.

[10] Meyers, Jeffrey (14 February 2022). Fiction & the Colonial Experience. Routledge. ISBN 9781000528350 – via Google Books.

[:0-11] "The mystery and muddle of A Passage to India". The British Library. Retrieved 22 November 2017.

[12] Parry, Benita (1998). Delusions and discoveries : India in the British imagination, 1880-1930. London: Verso. p. 280. ISBN 1859841287. OCLC 40922011.

[:2-13] Parry, Benita (2004). Postcolonial Studies: A Materialist Critique. New York: Routledge. pp. 163. ISBN 0-203-42053-5.

[14] Khan, Maryam Wasif (22 June 2016). "Enlightenment Orientalism to Modernist Orientalism: The Archive of Forster's A Passage to India". MFS Modern Fiction Studies. 62 (2): 217–235. doi:10.1353/mfs.2016.0027. ISSN 1080-658X. S2CID 163305870.

[:1-15] Said, Edward W. (1994). Culture and Imperialism (1st Vintage books ed.). New York: Vintage Books. ISBN 0679750541. OCLC 29600508.

[16] Said, Edward W. (1979) [1978]. Orientalism (1st ed.). New York: Vintage Books. ISBN 039474067X. OCLC 4831769.

[17] Khan, Maryam Wasif (22 June 2016). "Enlightenment Orientalism to Modernist Orientalism: The Archive of Forster's A Passage to India". MFS Modern Fiction Studies. 62 (2): 230–233. doi:10.1353/mfs.2016.0027. ISSN 1080-658X. S2CID 163305870.

[18] Suleri Goodyear, Sara (1992). The rhetoric of English India. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. pp. 132–135. ISBN 9780226779836. OCLC 23584165.

[19] Palmer, Zuma (27 November 1948). "Sunday Programs". Los Angeles Evening Citizen News. p. 20.

[20] "A Passage to India". Internet Broadway Database. Archived from the original on 20 October 2012. Retrieved 8 January 2015.

[21] Angelini, Sergio (2003–2014). "Passage to India, A (1965)". BFI Screenonline. Retrieved 18 July 2017.

[22] Wallia, C. J. "IndiaStar book review: Satyajit Ray by Surabhi Banerjee". IndiaStar. Archived from the original on 19 February 1997. Retrieved 8 January 2015.

[23] "A Passage to India". IMDb. Archived from the original on 14 January 2013. Retrieved 8 January 2015.

[24] "Shared Experience Take Forster Passage to India". What'sOnStage. 30 August 2002. Archived from the original on 8 January 2015. Retrieved 8 January 2015.

[25] Isherwood, Charles (4 November 2004). "A Minimal Meeting of Forster's Twain". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 22 June 2013. Retrieved 8 January 2015.

[26] Hart-Davis, Rupert: Halfway to Heaven p55, Sutton Publishing Ltd, Stroud, 1998. ISBN 0-7509-1837-3

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{short description|1924 novel by E. M. Forster}}
-{{For|the 1984 film based on this novel|A Passage to India (film)}}
+{{about||the 1984 film based on this novel|A Passage to India (film)|the 1960 play based on this novel|A Passage to India (play)}}
-{{EngvarB|date=September 2013}}
+{{Use British English|date=September 2013}}
-{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2013}}
+{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2022}}
 {{Infobox book |
@@ Line 15: / Line 15: @@
 | country       = United Kingdom
 | language      = English
+| orig_lang_code    = en
 | series        =
 | subject       = <!--not relevant for fiction-->
-| genre         =
+| set_in            = [[British India]], {{circa|1910s}}
+| genre         = [[novel]]
 | publisher     = [[Edward Arnold (publisher)|Edward Arnold]], (UK)<br>[[Harcourt Brace]] (US)
+| release_date  = 4 June 1924<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/aug/18/100-best-novels-a-passage-to-india-em-forster-robert-mccrum |title=The 100 best novels: No 47 – A Passage to India by EM Forster (1924) |date=August 18, 2014 |website=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=January 16, 2015 }}</ref>
-| release_date  = 4 June 1924
 | english_release_date =
 | media_type    = Print (hardback & paperback)
@@ Line 26: / Line 28: @@
 | oclc          = 59352597
 | preceded_by   =
+|wikisource=A Passage to India
+|dewey=	823.912
+|congress=PR6011.O58 P3
 | followed_by   =
 }}
-'''''A Passage to India''''' is a 1924 novel by English author [[E. M. Forster]] set against the backdrop of the [[British Raj]] and the [[Indian independence movement]] in the 1920s. It was selected as one of the 100 great works of 20th century English literature by the ''[[Modern Library]]''<ref>{{cite news |last=Lewis |first=Paul |date=1998-07-20 |title='Ulysses' at Top As Panel Picks 100 Best Novels |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/07/20/books/ulysses-at-top-as-panel-picks-100-best-novels.html?pagewanted=all |url-status=live |work=The New York Times |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150108043817/http://www.nytimes.com/1998/07/20/books/ulysses-at-top-as-panel-picks-100-best-novels.html?pagewanted=2&pagewanted=all |archive-date=2015-01-08 |access-date=2015-01-08}}</ref> and won the 1924 [[James Tait Black Memorial Prize]] for fiction.<ref>{{cite web|title=Fiction winners Award winners |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=2014-08-22 |website=The University of Edinburgh |url=http://www.ed.ac.uk/news/events/tait-black/winners/fiction |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131031022529/http://www.ed.ac.uk/news/events/tait-black/winners/fiction |archive-date=31 October 2013 |access-date=2015-01-08 |df=dmy }}</ref> [[Time (magazine)|''Time'' magazine]] included the novel in its "All Time 100 Novels" list.<ref>{{cite news |title=All Time 100 Novels |date=2005-10-16 |url=http://entertainment.time.com/2005/10/16/all-time-100-novels/slide/all/ |url-status=live |work=Time |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100313052053/http://www.time.com/time/2005/100books/the_complete_list.html |archive-date=13 March 2010 |access-date=2010-04-23}}</ref> The novel is based on Forster's experiences in India, deriving the title from [[Walt Whitman]]'s 1870 poem "[[Passage to India (Whitman)|Passage to India]]" in ''[[Leaves of Grass]]''.<ref>{{cite book|last=Sarker|first=Sunil Kumar|title=A Companion to E.M. Forster|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YsRurf1zL8cC&pg=pg702|access-date=2015-01-08|date=2007-01-01|publisher=Atlantic Publishers & Dist|isbn=978-81-269-0750-2|page=702}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Kummings|first=Donald D.|title=A Companion to Walt Whitman|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2uTCiN347lMC&pg=21|access-date=2015-01-08|date=2009-10-19|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-1-4051-9551-5|page=21}}</ref>
+'''''A Passage to India''''' is a 1924 novel by English author [[E. M. Forster]] set against the backdrop of the [[British Raj]] and the [[Indian independence movement]] in the 1920s. It was selected as one of the 100 great works of 20th-century English literature by the ''[[Modern Library]]''<ref>{{cite news |last=Lewis |first=Paul |date=1998-07-20 |title='Ulysses' at Top As Panel Picks 100 Best Novels |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/07/20/books/ulysses-at-top-as-panel-picks-100-best-novels.html?pagewanted=all |url-status=live |work=The New York Times |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150108043817/http://www.nytimes.com/1998/07/20/books/ulysses-at-top-as-panel-picks-100-best-novels.html?pagewanted=2&pagewanted=all |archive-date=2015-01-08 |access-date=2015-01-08}}</ref> and won the 1924 [[James Tait Black Memorial Prize]] for fiction.<ref>{{cite web|title=Fiction winners Award winners |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=2014-08-22 |website=The University of Edinburgh |url=http://www.ed.ac.uk/news/events/tait-black/winners/fiction |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131031022529/http://www.ed.ac.uk/news/events/tait-black/winners/fiction |archive-date=31 October 2013 |access-date=2015-01-08 }}</ref> [[Time (magazine)|''Time'' magazine]] included the novel in its "All Time 100 Novels" list.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=All Time 100 Novels |date=2005-10-16 |url=https://entertainment.time.com/2005/10/16/all-time-100-novels/slide/all/ |url-status=live |magazine=Time |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100313052053/http://www.time.com/time/2005/100books/the_complete_list.html |archive-date=13 March 2010 |access-date=2010-04-23}}</ref> The novel is based on Forster's experiences in India, deriving the title from [[Walt Whitman]]'s 1870 poem "[[Passage to India (Whitman)|Passage to India]]" in ''[[Leaves of Grass]]''.<ref>{{cite book|last=Sarker|first=Sunil Kumar|title=A Companion to E.M. Forster|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YsRurf1zL8cC&pg=pg702|access-date=2015-01-08|date=2007-01-01|publisher=Atlantic Publishers & Dist|isbn=978-81-269-0750-2|page=702}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Kummings|first=Donald D.|title=A Companion to Walt Whitman|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2uTCiN347lMC&pg=21|access-date=2015-01-08|date=2009-10-19|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-1-4051-9551-5|page=21}}</ref>
-The story revolves around four characters: Dr. Aziz, his British friend Mr. Cyril Fielding, Mrs. Moore, and Miss Adela Quested. During a trip to the fictitious [[Marabar Caves]] (modeled on the [[Barabar Caves]] of Bihar),<ref>{{cite book|last=Sarker|first=Sunil Kumar|title=A Companion to E.M. Forster|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YsRurf1zL8cC&pg=pg708|access-date=2015-01-08|date=2007-01-01|publisher=Atlantic Publishers & Dist|isbn=978-81-269-0750-2|page=708}}</ref> Adela thinks she finds herself alone with Dr. Aziz in one of the caves (when in fact he is in an entirely different cave), and subsequently panics and flees; it is assumed that Dr. Aziz has attempted to assault her. Aziz's trial, and its run-up and aftermath, bring to a boil the common racial tensions and prejudices between Indians and the British during the colonial era.
+The story revolves around four characters: Dr. Aziz, his British friend Mr. Cyril Fielding, Mrs. Moore, and Miss Adela Quested. During a trip to the fictitious [[Marabar Caves]] (modelled on the [[Barabar Caves]] of Bihar),<ref>{{cite book|last=Sarker|first=Sunil Kumar|title=A Companion to E.M. Forster|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YsRurf1zL8cC&pg=pg708|access-date=2015-01-08|date=2007-01-01|publisher=Atlantic Publishers & Dist|isbn=978-81-269-0750-2|page=708}}</ref> Adela thinks she finds herself alone with Dr. Aziz in one of the caves (when in fact he is in an entirely different cave; whether the attacker is real or a reaction to the cave is ambiguous), and subsequently panics and flees; it is assumed that Dr. Aziz has attempted to assault her. Aziz's trial, and its run-up and aftermath, bring to a boil the common racial tensions and prejudices between Indians and the British during the colonial era.
 ==Background==
+[[File:Rajgir 12 hills panorama (31396985691).jpg|thumb|View of the [[Rajgir Hills]], an inspiration for the fictional Marabar Hills.]]
-''A Passage to India'' is a reflection of Forster's visit to India in 1912-13 and his duration as private secretary to the Maharajah of [[Dewas State]] in 1921-22.<ref name="bloom1">{{cite book |last1=Bloom |first1=Harold |title=Novelists and Novels |date=2004 |page=251}}</ref>
+''A Passage to India'' is a reflection of Forster's visit to India in 1912–13 and his duration as private secretary to [[Tukojirao III]], the Maharajah of [[Dewas Senior]] in 1921–22.<ref name="bloom1">{{cite book |last1=Bloom |first1=Harold |title=Novelists and Novels |date=2004 |page=251}}</ref> He dedicated the book to his friend [[Ross Masood]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Sunday Tribune - Books |url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/2007/20070701/spectrum/book8.htm |access-date=2022-09-09 |website=www.tribuneindia.com}}</ref>
 ==Plot summary==
+British schoolmistress Adela Quested and her elderly friend Mrs. Moore visit the fictional Indian city of Chandrapore. Adela is to decide if she wants to marry Mrs. Moore's son, Ronny Heaslop, the city magistrate.
-===Arrival===
-A young British schoolmistress, Adela Quested, and her elderly friend, Mrs. Moore, visit the fictional city of Chandrapore, [[British Raj|British India]]. Adela is to decide if she wants to marry Mrs. Moore's son, Ronny Heaslop, the city magistrate.
-Meanwhile, Dr. Aziz, a young [[Indian Muslim]] physician, is dining with two of his Indian friends and conversing about whether it is possible to be a friend of an Englishman. During the meal, a summons arrives from Major Callendar, Aziz's unpleasant superior at the hospital. Aziz hastens to Callendar's bungalow as ordered but is delayed by a flat tyre and difficulty in finding a [[tonga (carriage)|tonga]] and the major has already left in a huff.
+Meanwhile, Dr. Aziz, a young Indian Muslim physician, is called from dining with friends by Major Callendar, Aziz's superior at the hospital, but is delayed. Disconsolate at finding him gone, Aziz walks back and enters his favourite mosque on impulse. Seeing Mrs Moore there, he yells at her not to profane this sacred place, but the two then chat and part as friends. When Mrs. Moore relates her experience later, Ronny becomes indignant at the native's presumption.
+Because the newcomers had expressed a desire to meet Indians, Mr. Turton, the city tax collector, invites several to his house, but the party turns out awkwardly, due to the Indians' timidity and the Britons' bigotry. Also there is Cyril Fielding, principal of Chandrapore's government-run college for Indians, who invites Adela and Mrs. Moore to a tea party with him and a Hindu-Brahmin professor named Narayan Godbole. At Adela's request, he extends his invitation to Dr. Aziz.
-Disconsolate, Aziz walks down the road toward the railway station. When he sees his favourite mosque, he enters on impulse. He sees a strange Englishwoman there and yells at her not to profane this sacred place. The woman, Mrs. Moore, has respect for native customs. This disarms Aziz, and the two chat and part as friends.
+At the party, Fielding and Aziz become friends and Aziz promises to take Mrs. Moore and Adela to see the distant Marabar Caves. Ronny arrives and, finding Adela "unaccompanied" with Dr. Aziz and Professor Godbole, rudely breaks up the party.
-Mrs. Moore returns to the British [[gentleman's club]] down the road and relates her experience at the mosque. Ronny Heaslop, her son, initially thinks she is talking about an Englishman and becomes indignant when he learns the facts. Adela, however, is intrigued.
+Aziz mistakenly believes that the women are offended that he has not followed through on his promise and arranges an outing to the caves at great expense to himself. Fielding and Godbole are supposed to accompany the expedition, but they miss the train. In the first cave they visit, Mrs. Moore is overcome with claustrophobia and disturbed by the echo. When she declines to continue, Adela and Aziz climb the hill to the upper caves, accompanied by a guide.
-===Bridge Party===
-Because the newcomers had expressed a desire to see Indians, Mr. Turton, the city tax collector, invites numerous Indian gentlemen to a party at his house. The party turns out to be an awkward event, due to the Indians' timidity and the Britons' bigotry, but Adela meets Cyril Fielding, principal of Chandrapore's government-run college for Indians. Fielding invites Adela and Mrs. Moore to a tea party with him and a [[Hindu]]-[[Brahmin]] professor named Narayan Godbole. At Adela's request, he extends his invitation to Dr. Aziz.
+Asked by Adela whether he has more than one wife, Aziz is disconcerted by her bluntness and ducks into a cave to compose himself. When he comes out, he is told by the guide that Adela has gone into a cave by herself. After quarreling with the guide, Aziz discovers Adela's field glasses broken on the ground and puts them in his pocket. He then looks down the hill and sees Adela speaking to Miss Derek, who has arrived with Fielding in a car. Aziz runs down and greets Fielding, but Miss Derek and Adela drive off, leaving Fielding, Mrs. Moore and Aziz to return to Chandrapore by train.
-===Fielding's tea party===
-At Fielding's tea party, everyone has a good time conversing about India, and Fielding and Aziz become friends. Aziz promises to take Mrs. Moore and Adela to see the Marabar Caves, a distant cave complex. Ronny Heaslop arrives, and finding Adela "unaccompanied" with Dr. Aziz and Professor Godbole, rudely breaks up the party.
+Aziz is arrested on arrival and charged with sexually assaulting Adela. The run-up to his trial increases racial tensions. Adela alleges that Aziz followed her into the cave and that she fended him off by swinging her field glasses at him. The only evidence is the field glasses in the possession of Aziz. When Fielding proclaims his belief in Aziz's innocence, he is ostracised and condemned as a blood-traitor.
-Aziz mistakenly believes that the women are offended that he has not followed through on his promise and arranges an outing to the caves at great expense to himself. Fielding and Godbole are supposed to accompany the expedition, but they miss the train.
+While awaiting the trial, Mrs Moore becomes concerned at her failing health; taking a ship to England, she dies on the way. Then during the trial, Adela admits that she had been similarly disoriented by the cave's echo. She was no longer sure who or what had attacked her and, despite great demand to persist in her accusation, withdraws the charge. When the case is dismissed, Heaslop breaks off his engagement to Adela and she stays at Fielding's house until a return to England is arranged.
-===Marabar Caves===
-Aziz and the women explore the caves. In the first cave, Mrs. Moore is overcome with [[claustrophobia]]. But worse than the claustrophobia is the [[echo]]. Disturbed by the sound, Mrs. Moore declines to continue exploring. Adela and Aziz, accompanied by a guide, climb to the upper caves.
+Although he is vindicated, Aziz is angry that Fielding befriended Adela after she nearly ruined his life. Believing it to be the gentlemanly thing to do, Fielding convinces Aziz not to seek monetary redress, but the men's friendship suffers and Fielding departs for England. Believing that he is leaving to marry Adela for her money, and bitter at his friend's perceived betrayal, Aziz vows never again to befriend a white person.
-===Adela's illusion===
-As Aziz helps Adela up the hill, she asks whether he has more than one wife. Disconcerted by the bluntness of the remark, he ducks into a cave to compose himself. When he comes out, he finds the guide alone outside the caves. The guide says Adela has gone into a cave by herself. Aziz looks for her in vain. Deciding she is lost, he strikes the guide, who runs away. Aziz looks around and discovers Adela's [[binoculars|field glasses]] lying broken on the ground. He puts them in his pocket.
+Two years later, Aziz has moved to the Hindu-ruled state of Mau and is now the Raja's chief physician by the time Fielding returns, married to Stella, Mrs. Moore's daughter from a second marriage. Though the two meet and Aziz still feels drawn to Fielding, he realises that they cannot be truly friends until India becomes independent from British rule.
-Aziz then looks down the hill and sees Adela speaking to another young Englishwoman, Miss Derek, who has arrived with Fielding in a car. Aziz runs down the hill and greets Fielding, but Miss Derek and Adela drive off without explanation. Fielding, Mrs. Moore, and Aziz return to Chandrapore on the train. Adela has injured herself while descending from the caves.
+==Character list==
-balou
+; Dr. Aziz : A young [[Muslim]] Indian physician who works at the British hospital in Chandrapore.
+; Cyril Fielding : The 45-year-old, unmarried British headmaster of the small government-run college for Indians.
+; Adela Quested : A young British schoolmistress who is visiting India with the vague intention of marrying Ronny Heaslop.
+; Mrs. Moore : The mother of Ronny Heaslop.
-===Aziz's arrest===
+; Ronny Heaslop : The British city magistrate of Chandrapore.
-At the train station, Aziz is arrested and charged with sexually assaulting Adela in a cave. The run-up to his trial releases the racial tensions between the British and the Indians. Adela says that Aziz followed her into the cave and tried to grab her, and that she fended him off by swinging her field glasses at him. The only evidence the British have is the field glasses in the possession of Aziz. Despite this, the British believe that Aziz is guilty. They are stunned when Fielding proclaims his belief in Aziz's innocence. Fielding is ostracised and condemned as a [[Race traitor|blood-traitor]]. But the Indians, who consider the assault allegation a fraud, welcome him.
+; Professor Narayan Godbole : A professor at Mr. Fielding's school. (pronounced {{respell|god|boh|lay}})<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ryxcEAAAQBAJ&dq=Godbole+pronounce+god&pg=PT115|title=Fiction & the Colonial Experience|first=Jeffrey|last=Meyers|date=14 February 2022|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781000528350 |via=Google Books}}</ref>
+; Mr. Turton : The British city collector of Chandrapore.
-===Moore mystery===
+; Mrs. Turton : Mr. Turton's openly racist wife.
-During the weeks before the trial, Mrs. Moore is apathetic and irritable. Although she professes her belief in Aziz's innocence, she does nothing to help him. Ronny, alarmed by his mother's assertion that Aziz is innocent, arranges for her return by ship to England before she can testify at the trial. Mrs. Moore becomes more concerned with her own end of life issues as she feels her health failing. Her relationship with her son allows her to be distracted and less sympathetic to Aziz's situation.<ref>The tombstone; her attack in the cave; comments to Ronny regarding things she needed to attend to; all play out in her death at sea.</ref> Mrs. Moore dies during the voyage. Her absence from India becomes a major issue at the trial, where Aziz's legal defenders assert that her testimony would have proven the accused's innocence.
+; Maj. Callendar : The British head doctor and Aziz's superior at the hospital.
+; Mr. McBryde : The British superintendent of police in Chandrapore.
-===Trial scene===
+; Miss Derek : An Englishwoman employed by a [[Hindu]] [[princely state|royal family]] who frequently borrows their car.
-Adela becomes confused as to Aziz's guilt. At the trial, she is asked whether Aziz sexually assaulted her. She has a vision of the cave, and it turns out that Adela had, while in the cave, received a shock similar to Mrs. Moore's. The echo had disconcerted her so much that she became unhinged. At the time, Adela mistakenly interpreted her shock as an assault by Aziz. She admits that she was mistaken, and the case is dismissed.
+; Nawab Bahadur : The chief Indian citizen in Chandrapore.
+; Hamidullah : Aziz's uncle.
-(In the 1913 draft of the novel, E. M. Forster had Aziz guilty of the assault and found guilty in the court; he changed this in the 1924 draft to create a more ambiguous ending.){{cn|date=May 2020}}
+; Amritrao : A prominent Indian lawyer called in to defend Aziz.
+; Mahmoud Ali : A [[Indian Muslims|Muslim Indian]] barrister who openly hates the British.
-===Aftermath===
+; Dr. Panna Lal : A low-born [[Hindu]] doctor and Aziz's rival at the hospital.
-Ronny Heaslop breaks off his engagement to Adela and she stays at Fielding's house until her passage on a boat to England is arranged. After explaining to Fielding that the echo was the cause of the whole business, she departs India, never to return.
+; Ralph Moore : The second son of Mrs. Moore.
+; Stella Moore (later Fielding): Mrs. Moore's daughter.
-Although he is vindicated, Aziz is angry that Fielding befriended Adela after she nearly ruined his life. Believing it to be the gentlemanly thing to do, Fielding convinces Aziz not to seek monetary redress from her. The men's friendship suffers, and Fielding departs for England. Aziz believes that he is leaving to marry Adela for her money. Bitter at his friend's perceived betrayal, he vows never again to befriend a white person. Aziz moves to the [[Hindu]]-ruled state of [[Mau, Uttar Pradesh|Mau]] and begins a new life.
-===At Mau===
-Two years later, Fielding returns to India. His wife is Stella, Mrs. Moore's daughter from a second marriage. Aziz, now the [[Raja]]'s chief physician, comes to respect and love Fielding again. However, he does not give up his dream of a free and united India. In the novel's last sentences, he explains that he and Fielding cannot be friends until India becomes independent from British rule.
 == Literary criticism ==
@@ Line 89: / Line 87: @@
 The nature of critiques of ''A Passage to India'' is largely based upon the era of writing and the nature of the critical work. While many earlier critiques found that Forster's book showed an inappropriate friendship between colonizers and the colonized, new critiques on the work draw attention to the depictions of sexism, racism and imperialism in the novel.
-Reviews of ''A Passage to India'' when it was first published challenged specific details and attitudes included in the book that Forster drew from his own time in India.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.bl.uk/20th-century-literature/articles/the-mystery-and-muddle-of-a-passage-to-india|title=The mystery and muddle of A Passage to India|website=The British Library|language=en|access-date=2017-11-22}}</ref> Early critics also expressed concern at the interracial camaraderie between Aziz and Fielding in the book.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Delusions and discoveries : India in the British imagination, 1880-1930|first=Benita|last=Parry|date=1998|publisher=Verso| isbn=1859841287|location=London|pages=280|oclc=40922011}}</ref> Others saw the book as a vilification of humanist perspectives on the importance of interpersonal relationships, and effects of colonialism on Indian society.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|title=Postcolonial Studies: A Materialist Critique|url=https://archive.org/details/postcolonialstud00parr|url-access=limited|last=Parry|first=Benita|publisher=Routledge|year=2004|isbn=0-203-42053-5|location=New York|pages=[https://archive.org/details/postcolonialstud00parr/page/n175 163]}}</ref> More recent critiques by postcolonial theorists and literary critics have reinvestigated the text as a work of [[Orientalism|Orientalist]] fiction contributing to a discourse on colonial relationships by a European. Today it is one of the seminal texts in the postcolonial Orientalist discourse, among other books like ''[[Heart of Darkness]]'' by [[Joseph Conrad]], and ''[[Kim (book)|Kim]]'' by [[Rudyard Kipling]].<ref name=":0" />
+Reviews of ''A Passage to India'' when it was first published challenged specific details and attitudes included in the book that Forster drew from his own time in India.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.bl.uk/20th-century-literature/articles/the-mystery-and-muddle-of-a-passage-to-india|title=The mystery and muddle of A Passage to India|website=The British Library|language=en|access-date=2017-11-22}}</ref> Early critics also expressed concern at the interracial camaraderie between Aziz and Fielding in the book.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Delusions and discoveries : India in the British imagination, 1880-1930|first=Benita|last=Parry|date=1998|publisher=Verso| isbn=1859841287|location=London|pages=280|oclc=40922011}}</ref> Others saw the book as a vilification of [[humanist]] perspectives on the importance of interpersonal relationships, and effects of colonialism on Indian society.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|title=Postcolonial Studies: A Materialist Critique|url=https://archive.org/details/postcolonialstud00parr|url-access=limited|last=Parry|first=Benita|publisher=Routledge|year=2004|isbn=0-203-42053-5|location=New York|pages=[https://archive.org/details/postcolonialstud00parr/page/n175 163]}}</ref> More recent critiques by postcolonial theorists and literary critics have reinvestigated the text as a work of [[Orientalism|Orientalist]] fiction contributing to a discourse on colonial relationships by a European. Today it is one of the seminal texts in the postcolonial Orientalist discourse, among other books like ''[[Heart of Darkness]]'', by [[Joseph Conrad]], and ''[[Kim (book)|Kim]]'', by [[Rudyard Kipling]].<ref name=":0" />
+[[File:Barabar caves plan.jpg|thumb|Plan of the [[Barabar Caves]]]]
+[[File:Sudama and Lomas Rishi Caves at Barabar, Bihar, 1870.jpg|thumb|Entrance to the Barabar Caves]]
+''A Passage to India'' emerged at a time where portrayals of India as a savage, disorganized land in need of domination were more popular in mainstream European literature than romanticized depictions. Forster's novel departed from typical narratives about colonizer-colonized relationships and emphasized a more "unknowable" Orient, rather than characterizing it with exoticism, ancient wisdom and mystery. Postcolonial theorists like Maryam Wasif Khan have termed this novel a Modern Orientalist text, meaning that it portrays the Orient in an optimistic, positive light while simultaneously challenging and critiquing European culture and society.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Khan|first=Maryam Wasif|date=2016-06-22|title=Enlightenment Orientalism to Modernist Orientalism: The Archive of Forster's A Passage to India|journal=MFS Modern Fiction Studies|volume=62|issue=2|pages=217–235|doi=10.1353/mfs.2016.0027|s2cid=163305870 |issn=1080-658X}}</ref> However, Benita Parry suggests that it also mystifies India by creating an "obfuscated realm where the secular is scanted, and in which India's long traditions of mathematics, science and technology, history, linguistics and jurisprudence have no place."<ref name=":2" />
+One of the most notable critiques comes from literary professor [[Edward Said]], who referenced ''A Passage to India'' in both ''[[Culture and Imperialism]]'' and ''[[Orientalism (book)|Orientalism]]''. In his discussion about allusions to the [[British Empire]] in early 20th-century novels, Said suggests that though the work subverted typical views on colonialism and colonial rule in India, it also fell short of outright condemning either nationalist movements in India or colonialism itself. Of Forster's attitude toward colonizer-colonized relationships, Said says Forster:<blockquote>. . . found a way to use the mechanism of the novel to elaborate on the already existing structure of attitude and reference without changing it. This structure permitted one to feel affection for and even intimacy with some Indians and India generally, but made one see Indian politics as the charge of the British, and culturally refused a privilege to India nationalism.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |title=Culture and Imperialism |last=Said |first=Edward W.|date=1994|publisher=Vintage Books|isbn=0679750541|edition=1st Vintage books |location=New York|oclc=29600508}}</ref></blockquote>Stereotyping and Orientalist thought is also explored in postcolonial critiques. Said suggests that Forster deals with the question of British-Indian relationships by separating Muslims and Hindus in the narrative. He says Forster connects Islam to Western values and attitudes while suggesting that Hinduism is chaotic and orderless, and subsequently uses Hindu characters as the background to the main narrative.<ref name=":1" /> Said also identifies the failed attempt at friendship between Aziz and Fielding as a reinforcement of the perceived cultural distance between the Orient and the West. The inability of the two men to begin a meaningful friendship is indicative of what Said suggests is the irreconcilable otherness of the Orient, something that has originated from the West and also limits Western readers in how they understand the Orient.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Orientalism|last=Said |first=Edward W.|date=1979|orig-year=1978|publisher=Vintage Books|isbn=039474067X|edition=1st |location=New York|oclc=4831769}}</ref>
-''A Passage to India'' emerged at a time where portrayals of India as a savage, disorganized land in need of domination were more popular in mainstream European literature than romanticized depictions. Forster's novel departed from typical narratives about colonizer-colonized relationships and emphasized a more "unknowable" Orient, rather than characterizing it with exoticism, ancient wisdom and mystery. Postcolonial theorists like Maryam Wasif Khan have termed this novel a Modern Orientalist text, meaning that it portrays the Orient in an optimistic, positive light while simultaneously challenging and critiquing European culture and society.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Khan|first=Maryam Wasif|date=2016-06-22|title=Enlightenment Orientalism to Modernist Orientalism: The Archive of Forster's A Passage to India|journal=MFS Modern Fiction Studies|volume=62|issue=2|pages=217–235|doi=10.1353/mfs.2016.0027|issn=1080-658X}}</ref> However, Benita Parry suggests that it also mystifies India by creating an "obfuscated realm where the secular is scanted, and in which India’s long traditions of mathematics, science and technology, history, linguistics and jurisprudence have no place."<ref name=":2" />
+Other scholars have examined the book with a critical postcolonial and [[feminist]] lens. Maryam Wasif Khan's reading of the book suggests ''A Passage to India'' is also a commentary on gender, and a British woman's place within the empire. Khan argued that the female characters coming to "the Orient" to break free of their social roles in Britain represent the discord between Englishwomen and their social roles at home, and tells the narrative of "pioneering Englishwomen whose emergent feminism found form and voice in the colony".<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Khan|first=Maryam Wasif|date=2016-06-22|title=Enlightenment Orientalism to Modernist Orientalism: The Archive of Forster's A Passage to India|journal=MFS Modern Fiction Studies|volume=62|issue=2|pages=230–233|doi=10.1353/mfs.2016.0027|s2cid=163305870 |issn=1080-658X}}</ref>
-One of the most notable critiques comes from literary professor [[Edward Said]], who referenced ''A Passage to India'' in both ''[[Culture and Imperialism]]'' and ''[[Orientalism (book)|Orientalism]]''. In his discussion about allusions to the [[British Empire]] in early 20th century novels, Said suggests that though the work subverted typical views on colonialism and colonial rule in India, it also fell short of outright condemning either nationalist movements in India or colonialism itself. Of Forster's attitude toward colonizer-colonized relationships, Said says Forster:<blockquote>. . . found a way to use the mechanism of the novel to elaborate on the already existing structure of attitude and reference without changing it. This structure permitted one to feel affection for and even intimacy with some Indians and India generally, but made one see Indian politics as the charge of the British, and culturally refused a privilege to India nationalism.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |title=Culture and Imperialism |last=Said |first=Edward W.|date=1994|publisher=Vintage Books|isbn=0679750541|edition=1st Vintage books |location=New York|oclc=29600508}}</ref></blockquote>Stereotyping and Orientalist thought is also explored in postcolonial critiques. Said suggests that Forster deals with the question of British-Indian relationships by separating Muslims and Hindus in the narrative. He says Forster connects Islam to Western values and attitudes while suggesting that Hinduism is chaotic and orderless, and subsequently uses Hindu characters as the background to the main narrative.<ref name=":1" /> Said also identifies the failed attempt at friendship between Aziz and Fielding as a reinforcement of the perceived cultural distance between the Orient and the West. The inability of the two men to begin a meaningful friendship is indicative of what Said suggests is the irreconcilable otherness of the Orient, something that has originated from the West and also limits Western readers in how they understand the Orient.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Orientalism|last=Said |first=Edward W.|date=1979|orig-year=1978|publisher=Vintage Books|isbn=039474067X|edition=1st |location=New York|oclc=4831769}}</ref>
+[[Sara Suleri Goodyear|Sara Suleri]] has also critiqued the book's orientalist depiction of India and its use of racialized bodies, especially in the case of Aziz, as sexual objects rather than individuals.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/rhetoricofenglis0000sule/page/132|title=The rhetoric of English India|last=Suleri Goodyear|first=Sara|date=1992|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=9780226779836|location=Chicago|pages=[https://archive.org/details/rhetoricofenglis0000sule/page/132 132–135]|oclc=23584165}}</ref>
-Other scholars have examined the book with a critical postcolonial and feminist lens. Maryam Wasif Khan's reading of the book suggests ''A Passage to India'' is also a commentary on gender, and a British woman's place within the empire. Khan argued that the female characters coming to "the Orient" to break free of their social roles in Britain represent the discord between Englishwomen and their social roles at home, and tells the narrative of "pioneering Englishwomen whose emergent feminism found form and voice in the colony".<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Khan|first=Maryam Wasif|date=2016-06-22|title=Enlightenment Orientalism to Modernist Orientalism: The Archive of Forster's A Passage to India|journal=MFS Modern Fiction Studies|volume=62|issue=2|pages=230–233|doi=10.1353/mfs.2016.0027|issn=1080-658X}}</ref>
-[[Sara Suleri Goodyear|Sara Suleri]] has also critiqued the book's orientalist depiction of India and its use of radicalized bodies, especially in the case of Aziz, as sexual objects rather than individuals.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/rhetoricofenglis0000sule/page/132|title=The rhetoric of English India|last=Suleri Goodyear|first=Sara|date=1992|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=9780226779836|location=Chicago|pages=[https://archive.org/details/rhetoricofenglis0000sule/page/132 132–135]|oclc=23584165}}</ref>
-==Character list==
-; Dr. Aziz : A young [[Muslim]] Indian physician who works at the British hospital in Chandrapore, which is probably based on the city of [[Bankipur]], a suburb of [[Patna]] in the state of [[Bihar]]. He relies heavily on intuition over logic, and he is more emotional than his best friend, Fielding. He makes friends easily and seems quite garrulous at times. His chief drawback is an inability to view a situation without emotion, which Forster suggests is a typical Indian difficulty. Aziz seems to possess a profound love for his late wife but only thinks of her intermittently. Initially he is somewhat indifferent to the British, but comes to resent them after his treatment during the trial.
-; Cyril Fielding : The 45-year-old, unmarried British headmaster of the small government-run college for Indians. Fielding's logical Western mind cannot comprehend the muddle (or mystery) of India, but he is highly tolerant and respectful toward Indians. He befriends Dr. Aziz, but cultural and racial differences, and personal misunderstandings, separate them.
-; Adela Quested : A young British schoolmistress who is visiting India with the vague intention of marrying Ronny Heaslop. Intelligent, brave, honest, but slightly prudish, she is what Fielding calls a "[[prig]]." She arrives with the intention of seeing the "real India". But after a frightening trip to the Marabar Caves, she falsely accuses Aziz of sexually assaulting her.
-; Mrs. Moore : The elderly, thoughtful mother of Ronny Heaslop. She is visiting Chandrapore to oversee her son's engagement to Adela Quested. She respects Indians and their customs, and the Indians in the novel appreciate her more than they do any other Briton. After undergoing an experience similar to Adela's, she becomes apathetic and bitter.
-; Ronny Heaslop : The British city magistrate of Chandrapore. Though not a bad man, he shares many of his colleagues' derogatory views towards Indians. He breaks off his engagement to Adela after she retracts her accusation against Aziz. He considers her retraction to be a betrayal of their race. Adela also states in open court that she doesn't love him anymore.
-; Professor Narayan Godbole : An elderly, courteous, contemplative [[Brahmin]] who views the world with equanimity. He remains totally aloof from the novel's conflicts. He remains a mystery to the end, when he rehabilitates the friendship of Fielding and Aziz.
-; Mr. Turton : The British city collector of Chandrapore. He does not hate Indians, for that would be to negate his life's work. Nevertheless, he is fiercely loyal to his race, reviles less bigoted people like Fielding, and regards natives with thinly veiled contempt.
-; Mrs. Turton : Mr. Turton's wife. Openly racist, snobbish, and rude toward Indians and those Europeans who are different, she screams at Adela in the courtroom when the latter retracts her accusation against Aziz.
-; Maj. Callendar : The British head doctor and Aziz's superior at the hospital. He is more openly racist than any other male character. Rumours circulate among the Indians that Callendar actually tortured an injured Indian by putting [[Black pepper|pepper]] instead of antiseptic on his wounds.
-; Mr. McBryde : The British superintendent of police in Chandrapore. Like Mr. Turton, he openly holds racist views towards Indians. During Aziz's trial, he publicly asserts that it is a scientific fact that dark men lust after white women. Nevertheless, he is more tolerant of Indians than most of his colleagues, and he is on friendly terms with Fielding.
-; Miss Derek : An Englishwoman employed by a [[Hindu]] [[royal family]]. She frequently borrows their car—and does not trouble to ask their permission or return it in time. She is too boisterous and easygoing for most of her compatriots' tastes. She has an affair with McBryde.
-; Nawab Bahadur : The chief Indian gentleman in Chandrapore, a Muslim. Wealthy (he owns a car) and generous, he is loyal to the British (he lends his car to Ronny Heaslop). But after the trial, he gives up his title of "[[nawab]]", which the British bestowed on him, in favour of plain "Mr. Zulfiqar."
-; Hamidullah : Aziz's uncle and friend. Educated in law at [[Cambridge University]], he declares at the beginning of the novel that it is easier to be a friend of an Englishman in England than in India. Aziz comes to agree with him.
-; Amritrao : A prominent Indian lawyer from [[Calcutta]], called in to defend Aziz. He is known for his strong anti-British sentiments. He takes the case for political reasons and becomes disgusted when the case evaporates in court.
-; Mahmoud Ali : A [[Indian Muslims|Muslim Indian]] barrister who openly hates the British.
-; Dr. Panna Lal : A low-born [[Hindu]] doctor and Aziz's rival at the hospital.
-; Ralph Moore : A timid, sensitive and discerning youth, the second son of Mrs. Moore.
-; Stella Moore : Mrs. Moore's daughter and, later, Fielding's beautiful younger wife.
 ==Awards==
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 {{See also|A Passage to India (film)}}
+* In 1948, an adaptation by [[George Lefferts]] aired on ''[[NBC University Theatre]]'', featuring [[Alma Lawton]], [[Ben Wright (English actor)|Ben Wright]], and [[Joseph Schildkraut]] as Dr. Aziz.<ref>Palmer, Zuma (27 November 1948). [https://www.newspapers.com/article/los-angeles-evening-citizen-news-194811/97342267/ "Sunday Programs"]. ''Los Angeles Evening Citizen News''. p.&nbsp;20.</ref>
 * [[A Passage to India (play)|''A Passage to India'' (play)]], A play written by [[Santha Rama Rau]] based on the novel that ran on the West End in 1960, and on Broadway in 1962.<ref>{{cite web |title=A Passage to India |website=Internet Broadway Database |url=http://www.ibdb.com/production.php?id=2763 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121020041509/http://www.ibdb.com/production.php?id=2763 |archive-date=2012-10-20 |access-date=2015-01-08}}</ref> A 1965 BBC television version of the play was broadcast in their ''[[Play of the Month#A Passage to India|Play of the Month]]'' series.<ref>{{cite web|last=Angelini|first=Sergio|url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/1052917/index.html|title=Passage to India, A (1965)|publisher=BFI Screenonline|date=2003–2014|access-date=18 July 2017}}</ref>
-* The Indian filmmaker  [[Satyajit Ray]] intended to direct a theatrical adaptation of the novel, but the project was never realised.<ref>{{cite web |title=IndiaStar book review: Satyajit Ray by Surabhi Banerjee |website=IndiaStar |last1=Wallia |first1=C. J. |url=http://www.indiastar.com/satyajitray.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19970219080300/http://www.indiastar.com/satyajitray.html |archive-date=1997-02-19 |access-date=2015-01-08}}</ref>
+* The Indian filmmaker [[Satyajit Ray]] intended to direct a theatrical adaptation of the novel, but the project was never realised.<ref>{{cite web |title=IndiaStar book review: Satyajit Ray by Surabhi Banerjee |website=IndiaStar |last1=Wallia |first1=C. J. |url=http://www.indiastar.com/satyajitray.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19970219080300/http://www.indiastar.com/satyajitray.html |archive-date=1997-02-19 |access-date=2015-01-08}}</ref>
-* The [[A Passage to India (film)|1984 film version]] directed by [[David Lean]], and starring [[Judy Davis]], [[Victor Banerjee]], [[James Fox]], [[Peggy Ashcroft]] and [[Alec Guinness]], won two [[Academy Award|Oscars]] and numerous other awards.<ref>{{cite web |title=A Passage to India |website=Internet Movie Database |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087892/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130114134046/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087892/ |archive-date=2013-01-14 |access-date=2015-01-08}}</ref>
+* The [[A Passage to India (film)|1984 film version]] directed by [[David Lean]], and starring [[Judy Davis]], [[Victor Banerjee]], [[James Fox]], [[Peggy Ashcroft]] and [[Alec Guinness]], won two [[Academy Award|Oscars]] and numerous other awards.<ref>{{cite web |title=A Passage to India |publisher=IMDb |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087892/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130114134046/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087892/ |archive-date=2013-01-14 |access-date=2015-01-08}}</ref>
-* [[Martin Sherman]] wrote an additional version for the stage, that premiered at the [[Shared Experience]] in [[Richmond, London|Richmond]] in 2002.<ref>{{cite web |title=Shared Experience Take Forster Passage to India |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=2002-08-30 |website=What'sOnStage |url=http://www.whatsonstage.com/west-end-theatre/news/08-2002/shared-experience-take-forster-passage-to-india_27338.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150108030513/http://www.whatsonstage.com/west-end-theatre/news/08-2002/shared-experience-take-forster-passage-to-india_27338.html |archive-date=8 January 2015 |access-date=2015-01-08 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> It has toured the UK and played at the [[Brooklyn Academy of Music]] [[Harvey Theater]] in November 2004.<ref>{{cite news |last=Isherwood |first=Charles |date=2004-11-04 |title=A Minimal Meeting of Forster's Twain |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/04/theater/reviews/04pass.html |url-status=live |work=The New York Times |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130622072201/http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/04/theater/reviews/04pass.html |archive-date=2013-06-22 |access-date=2015-01-08}}</ref>
+* [[Martin Sherman (dramatist)|Martin Sherman]] wrote an additional version for the stage, that premiered at the [[Shared Experience]] in [[Richmond, London|Richmond]] in 2002.<ref>{{cite web |title=Shared Experience Take Forster Passage to India |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=2002-08-30 |website=What'sOnStage |url=http://www.whatsonstage.com/west-end-theatre/news/08-2002/shared-experience-take-forster-passage-to-india_27338.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150108030513/http://www.whatsonstage.com/west-end-theatre/news/08-2002/shared-experience-take-forster-passage-to-india_27338.html |archive-date=8 January 2015 |access-date=2015-01-08 }}</ref> It has toured the UK and played at the [[Brooklyn Academy of Music]] [[Harvey Theater]] in November 2004.<ref>{{cite news |last=Isherwood |first=Charles |date=2004-11-04 |title=A Minimal Meeting of Forster's Twain |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/04/theater/reviews/04pass.html |url-status=live |work=The New York Times |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130622072201/http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/04/theater/reviews/04pass.html |archive-date=2013-06-22 |access-date=2015-01-08}}</ref>
 == Manuscript ==
 In 1960, the manuscript of ''A Passage to India'' was donated to [[Rupert Hart-Davis]] by Forster and sold to raise money for the [[London Library]], fetching the then record sum of £6,500 for a modern English manuscript.<ref>Hart-Davis, Rupert: ''Halfway to Heaven'' p55, Sutton Publishing Ltd, Stroud, 1998. {{ISBN|0-7509-1837-3}}</ref>
@@ Line 139: / Line 119: @@
 ==References==
-{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}
+{{reflist}}
 * S. M. Chanda: ''A Passage to India: a close look in studies in literature'' (Atlantic Publishers, New Delhi 2003)
@@ Line 148: / Line 128: @@
 * [http://www.bl.uk/works/a-passage-to-india ''A Passage to India''] at the [[British Library]]
 * {{Gutenberg book|61221|A Passage To India}}
+* {{librivox book | title=A Passage To India | author=Forster}}
 * [http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/passage/ Detailed analyses, chapter summaries, a quiz and essay questions], by SparkNotes
 * [http://books.guardian.co.uk/reviews/classics/0,6121,99926,00.html Original 1924 review] reprinted by ''The Guardian''
@@ Line 154: / Line 135: @@
 {{E. M. Forster}}
 {{Authority control}}
 {{DEFAULTSORT:Passage To India, A}}
 [[Category:1924 British novels]]

v t e E. M. Forster
Novels	Where Angels Fear to Tread (1905) The Longest Journey (1907) A Room with a View (1908) Howards End (1910) A Passage to India (1924) Maurice (1971)
Short stories	"The Machine Stops" (1909) The Celestial Omnibus ("The Other Side of the Hedge") (1911) The Eternal Moment (1928) "The Life to Come" "The Classical Annex" "The Other Boat"
Nonfiction	Aspects of the Novel (1927) "What I Believe" (1938) Two Cheers for Democracy (1951)
Other	A Diary for Timothy (1945 documentary film script) Billy Budd (1951 libretto)
Related	Bloomsbury Group Marianne Thornton