In E. M. Forster’s A Passage to India the serious mistakes the British make when interacting with the Indians reveals the negative the British had on Indian society during their occupation of India. The novel presents various scenarios of British and Indians interacting and then gives the most logical outcome of that scenario.
Before delving into the novel’s representation of what was happening to India at this time it is best to first take a quick look at what was occurring in the real India. A real interaction can be found in an article by Forester depicting two different interactions an Indian man had on a train. The first time the Indian man comes across a British man some words are exchanged between them, but on the second encounter
…show more content…
Fielding’s character almost sits between the two groups because he is slightly distrusted by his fellow companions because of how close he is with the Indians, but the British still accept him none the less. On the other hand, no matter how close he might try to get to the Indians, he can never truly understand them or be a part of their group. This is highlighted when Aziz arrives at Fielding’s house to find him dressing when Fielding breaks his collar-stud so Aziz offers him his. This simple act of kindness later results in Roony making a remark about Aziz’s attire saying, “Aziz was exquisitely dressed…but he had forgotten his back collar-stud, and there you have the Indian all over: inattention to detail; the fundamental slackness that reveals the race” (97). Even with good intentions, Fielding will never be able to understand the Indians because the Indians they can never be seen as equals by the British. They either recognize how they are seen by the British or they see everything as an insult such as Aziz’s reaction to a statement made by Fielding during their conversation, “The remark suggested that he, an obscure Indian, had no right to have heard of Post-Impressionism – a privilege reserved for the Ruling Race, that” (84). Even
The British East India Company's lack of respect for the people of India, be it religious, economic, or administrative,
One of the earlier examples of cultural imperialism and marginalization is when Saul is kicked off of the town hockey team, “‘It's because I'm Indian isn't it?’ [...] ‘Yes.’ He said. ‘Do they hate me?’ , ‘They don't hate you Saul’, ‘Well, what then?’
Just like many other sports cricket is often seen as “just a game,” but it has made a much bigger significance than one might expect. Cricket and politics were deeply intertwined in 20th century India. Cricket helped symbolize and influence political tensions between India and both Pakistan and England, along with other religious rivalry between ethnic groups. Despite this, matches fostered togetherness and became a source of both religious and national pride. Cecil Headlam, an English cricketer and historian, once said in 1903, that Cricket was used as the final step in British colonization.
The first section of this chapter, it speaks on the introductory relations between Africans and Europeans. When trade was limited between both parties, there was a slight rapport built between
In the article written by John J. Miller, the writer didn’t make a strong connection to the audience and didn’t impact the audience emotionally either because of the lack of personal examples. However, the word choice was good and he conveyed his message to his audience in a way that I felt made them think about their own values on this subject. This is evident when Miller (2001) says, “It should matter, however, that Indians themselves don’t uniformly believe that ‘these references… are disrespectful and offensive,’ as the commission’s proposed statement asserts” (p. 2) In this quotation, he is making the readers think about the other side of the argument that often isn’t considered.
According to Wardi, Said claims, “[the] principal dogma of Orientalism... is the absolute and systematic difference between the West, which is rational, developed, humane, superior, and the Orient, which is aberrant, undeveloped, inferior” (32). It is through this “dogma” that the West is able to ascribe evil to such a diverse group of people simply based off the idea that they “look” similar so they in fact must be similar. This rhetoric is unfortunate and instantly creates a binary between what is good and what is bad. It is held, according to this flawed framework that Americans, but only the ones that look how Americans should look, that is, white, or like the accepted minorities, are good and everything unfamiliar, from the East, is bad. It is only when one examines the discourse of how Arabs are portrayed in mass American culture that one can gain an understanding about how marginalized and caricaturized they
Culture is easily influenced and is constantly shifting as it passes through various racial and ethnic interactions and exchanges. “With your liberal minds, you patronize our culture, scanning the surface like vultures, with your tourist mentality, we’re still the natives. You’re multicultural, but we’re anti-racist. We ain’t ethnic, exotic or eclectic” (Prashad, 56). This refers to when cultures are commodified and picked apart without taking both the negatives with the perceived positives.
The Ottoman and Mughal empires both used Islam in their culture, economy, wars, and society. It influenced their art, the way they treated non-Muslims, their motivations for war. It is important to note that both empires were influenced differently by their majority religion. However, both the Ottomans and Mughals were heavily influenced as Islam was a major part of everyday life from the art to the bureaucracy.
Muslims still felt less important than the Hindus fearing Muslim interests wouldn’t be protected by the mainly Hindu congress. In conclusion for Dr. Lalvani to say that the British over all helped and positively impacted India completely disregards the fact that Indians had to go through so much loss and pain through struggles and challenges that India has to go through
One’s perspective is affected by their environment, their surroundings, and the culture they choose to adapt. Due to everybody’s unique cultural identity, we are all different, however, to others, one might be viewed as simple-minded or alien, as shown in “An Indian Father’s Plea”. An example from the essay would be “...I can't understand why you have already labeled him a ‘slow learner’ ”. The son was stereotyped because he is different, darker, and unlike the other ‘white’ children. Both part of distinct culture, the Indians and white people, were educated and nourished differently.
He is the first person to read and praise Amir’s stories, something that has great impact on Amir. Through simple yet genuine remarks, Rahim is able to “encourage [Amir] to pursue writing [more] than any compliment” has done, indicating the value of his words in Amir’s eyes, and the strong bond that the two share (Hosseini 14). As Amir transitions into adulthood, Rahim’s role in the friendship shifts into someone who must push Amir to do what is best. He understands that the only way to convince Amir to go back to Afghanistan is through painful reminders of the past, demonstrated through telling Amir that “there is a way to be good again”, and by questioning Amir’s courage, accusing Amir of being a “man who can’t stand up to anything” (Hosseini 2, 233). In contrast, Rahim also exhibits a sense of tenderness and caring when needed.
However, Marx addresses this matter and provides some basis in which we can understand the manifestation of such prejudices in society. Marx’s theories regarding of imperialism are of vital importance to our understanding of the issue of immigration today. In his article titled “On Imperialism in India” Marx addresses the matter of imperialism in the context India and quotes “Sir Stamford Raffles, the English Governor of Java” for his description of the effects of the ‘Dutch East India Company’ which states
They believed they were superior to the people of India, therefore it did not matter what the people of India believed or how British actions made them feel. In “The Mark of the Beast”, Rudyard Kipling uses symbolism to portray ignorance and arrogance in India brought on during its colonization by Britain. The character of Fleete exemplifies that ignorance and insensitivity, and he ultimately pays a grave price. Rudyard Kipling was able to experience both India and Britain growing up. Kipling was born in Bombay, India and was later taken to Britain to be educated (“Rudyard Kipling - Biographical” nobelprize.org).
Khushwant Singh’s Train to Pakistan recounts the event of the Partition of India, which happened in 1947. Set in a fictional village of Mano Majra, the novel aims to depict the cultural and political clash between the Sikhs, Hindus, and Muslims and, by following the development of the characters, unveil the moral of humanity. Throughout the novel, Singh portrays the experience of conflict that each character, including Juggut Singh, Iqbal Singh, and Hukum Chand, has to deal with. Based on the characters’ development, Singh’s goal is to present the idea that love always conquers the power of violence and ethnic antagonism. Singh starts off with a description of the Partition and of Mano Majra, a habitat for Sikhs, Hindus, and Muslims.
We are going to see to what extent we can say that Macaulay’s “Minute on Indian Education” reflects British society and the western point of view at the time. In a first part, we will focus on the opposition between Orientalists and Anglicists and in a second part, we will see about the western society seen as culturally superior compared to other nations and societies. On one hand, there was an opposition