CIA 1

A PASSAGE TO INDIA

POST-COLONIAL LITERATURE

Submitted to: Dr Pompi Basumatary

Submitted by: Sanjana Singh

20214249

Christ (Deemed to be University), Delhi NCR

INTRODUCTION
This extensive historical drama, named ‘A Passage to India” is based on the famed E.M. Forster
book, is concerned with the shifting relationships between British colonials and indigenous
Indians in India in the 1920s. A major court case is brought about when an excursion to explore
beautiful caves results in English tourist Adela Quested (Judy Davis) accusing Indian doctor
Aziz Ahmed (Victor Banerjee) of rape. This incident heightens tensions between the British
Empire and the expanding movement for Indian independence. The case gains notoriety among
the British. It is determined that Mrs. Moore should go back to England once she makes it
obvious that she strongly believes in Aziz's innocence and would not testify against him. She
then had a deadly heart attack while at sea, and is buried there. Adela changes her mind and
exonerates Aziz in public court, much to the dismay of her fiancé and friends. The Indians shout
enthusiastically as they take the exonerated guy out of the courthouse while the Colonials are
forced to make an embarrassing retreat. Following this, Miss Quested cancels her engagement
and departs from India, while Dr. Aziz dons traditional clothing, gives up his western garb, and
entirely withdraws from Anglo-Indian culture before founding a clinic in Northern India close to
the Himalayas. Years later, despite the fact that he is still bitter and resentful, he writes to Adela
to express his gratitude and repentance.

According to the analysis, A Passage to India is the work that best depicts the postcolonial topic
and details Miss Adela Quested's voyage. This investigation demonstrated that Miss Adela
Quested was given the order and border by the British in order to prevent her from travelling
with Indian indigenous and only permit her to travel with British. Therefore, even though Miss
Adela tried to look for pleasure while travelling, she still felt bored, proving that humans are
unable to escape monotony. It was due to the fact that humans must adhere to order and border in
order to keep their lives on track and since it is impossible to deny that they require them.

POST COLONIAL VIEW OF ‘A PASSAGE TO INDIA’

At one point, critics attacked A Passage to India "for its reduction of political history to a
liberal's preoccupation with personal connections" at a time where it is thought to strive "to
remove the boundaries of racial difference." According to some researchers, the work illustrates
"how the British in India disdain and shun Indians, while the Indians on their side mistrust and
underestimate the British." The novel, on which the film is based does a good job of capturing
the racial divide between the West and the East. Its occurrences are merely stereotypical, and its
characters are likewise conventional. Here, in A Passage to India, it is only limited to India, and
Dr. Aziz is the personification of misery. He happens to be the mime, who tries to be more
British, hoping to make a human contact with them. But both the characters, Aziz and Fielding,
fail to make that human contact and bridge the gaps.

A concept that is becoming more and more significant in post-colonial thought since it now
adequately captures the complex interaction between colonizer and colonized. The colonized
subject never simply replicates the colonizer's cultural habits, assumptions, institutions, or ideals
when colonial discourse urges them to "mimic" the colonizer by doing so. Instead, what happens
is a "blurred duplicate" of the colonizer, which can be seriously dangerous. Because imitation
might appear to satirize whatever it resembles, it is never far from mocking. The ambiguity of
colonial dominance's ability to govern the actions of the colonized is thus revealed by imitation.
The entire canon of postcolonial literature displays conflicting emotions toward the inescapable
duality that has been revealed in this book. The colonial other is highlighted in Homi K.
Bhabha's concepts of imitation, ambivalence, and in-betweenness. The idea of the "colonial
other" or the in-betweenness between the "colonial other" and the mimed British image are
recurring themes, whether in the writings of Bhabha or any other post-colonial theorist. Colonial
mimicry is the need for a changed, recognized other as the focus of a nearly identical difference.

The most influential example of "mimicry" in the book is Dr. Aziz. His qualifications are
labelled as those of a "spoilt Westernized" type despite the fact that he is a licensed doctor and "a
handsome little oriental," echoing the exalted ideology of colonial power. His association with
the caged or hurt bird is recurring, which emphasizes the "ironic compromise" mimicking has set
apart for him. He is known to the outside world as a doctor, a Muslim, and a person of color, but
these labels do not accurately describe the true guy who lies beneath them. He is also a poet, a
parent, a widower, and many more selves that colonial agents fail to notice. He is, nevertheless, a
truly "recognizable other," the "nearly the same but not quite" that the colonizer, thanks to the
juxtaposed titles of doctor and native.
India's notion and perception as location warrant research from both the colonizer's and the
colonized's perspectives. Place in India includes not just the country's geographical geography
but also its language, history, culture, and traditions. Identifying the individual or group using the
area, whether they are the colonizers or the colonized, is the first step in understanding a
location. Colonial discourse results from polar opposites like "self" versus "other" and
authenticity versus hybridity. Binaries are recognized once, and then sensations of place are
developed and dialogue is launched. In A Passage to India (1924), written by E. M. Forster, we
learn that two British tourists, Miss Adela Quested and Mrs. Moore, travel to India in pursuit of
the mystic, exotic, and "genuine" India.

Throughout his book, Forster describes different people's perceptions of place, and these
perceptions vary depending on who is speaking. The Self/Other binary identifies one's location
within their sense of place. The Indian home and the British administrative region are in stark
contrast in the first chapter of A Passage to India. The Indian city of Chandrapore is described by
Forster as being perplexing and "nothing exceptional." The object is filthy and "indistinguishable
from the trash." The temples are "ineffective," while the streets are "mean." The perspective
changes as you approach the Anglo-Indian mansion, which is located above Chandrapore: "On
the second rise is laid out the modest civil station and viewed thus Chandrapore looks to be an
entirely different place. It is a city of gardens”. It is ironical that the English civil station “shares
nothing except the overarching sky” with the inland where the natives live.

In A Passage to India, the binary contrast of the Western Self and Oriental Other is often shown.
The Indians are merely stereotypes, in actuality. They are portrayed as being sluggish and having
strong parasitic tendencies. Latif, a close relative of Hamidullah, is a typical illustration.
According to Forster's account, Latif has never worked a day in his life and relies entirely on
Hamidullah's charity to support him. In addition, the Indians are not only represented to be
embarrassed of their own people and culture, but also to be desperately trying to win over
English officials. The "effect of imperial culture upon the native culture and identity" is actually
reflected in this. On the one hand, Dr. Aziz criticizes the Hindu Bhattacharyas for being impolite
by failing to show up when scheduled to meet two English women by carriage. However, after
sending his invitation to cater to the ladies, he regrets it and diverts their attention with remark on
other topics because he is embarrassed by his own run-down home. This incident perfectly
supports Said's contention in Orientalism that "the European is rational, virtuous, mature, and
'normal,' while the Oriental is irrational, depraved, childish.

A Passage to India's theme is that the British Imperialist strategy does not guarantee long-term
success. Foster believes that the British strategy toward India included the "white man's burden"
concept. This imperialist ideology emphasizes the British's duty to remain in India. Fielding
wasn't always of this opinion. As time went on, Mr. Fielding began to adopt the "White man's
burden" worldview in some manner.

Foster thinks that India won't be a good fit for this strategy. People like Aziz won't put up with it.
In his final words to Fielding, Aziz is frank and blunt. Aziz is adamant that Britain would
withdraw from India. He makes the claim that either he or his children will attend. He even
implies that the time is just around the corner. Aziz contends that as England enters a war, it will
do so without the help of India. Aziz's behavior is a clear refutation of the "white man's burden"
theory. The social and political issues of the day hinder Aziz and Fielding from being friends,
despite their desire to do so. The conclusion, in which the land actually divides Aziz and
Fielding, illustrates how the "white man's burden" concept will not succeed in India. Foster
utilizes this conclusion to demonstrate that because resistance to imperialism in India is
unavoidable, it will not succeed there. The horseback ride between Aziz and Fielding came to
represent how India would choose its allies. Since this is how the film finishes, its moral is that
success and friendship won't happen unless both sides can understand one another.

CONCLUSION
It is difficult to say whether a friendship between colonizers and colonized might ever exist.
Forster leaves the reader to make up their own mind about this ambiguity. But when he states
that Aziz is prepared to re-establish his relationship with Fielding when Independence has been
attained, he gives a clue towards a potential friendship after Independence. This represents the
friendship that India and Britain will enjoy once India was free, according to him. A Passage to
India has been the subject of numerous studies, but there are still more in-depth areas of the book
that have not yet been examined. It is our hope that one of these explorers may discover the
solution to his question through this article.
Bibliography
A Passage to India by EM Foster . (n.d.). Retrieved from E Notes : https://www.enotes.com/homework-
help/what-message-novel-how-does-relate-imperialism-
481010#:~:text=The%20message%20of%20A%20Passage%20to%20India%20is%20that%20the,o
bligation%20to%20be%20in%20India.

Dr. Arun Behera, V. B. (2015). A Post-Colonial View of A Passage to India.

Ling-yu, L. (2019). A Study of A Passage to India Through the Lens of Orientalism . Journal of Literature
and Art Studies, 6.