Ending Journal

January 9, 2010

In the Passage to India E. M Forster uses his real experiences in India to write the book. The book opened a new world to British Imperialism and

I knew that around the 17^th century when Britain was the queen of the sea they began to take note of areas around the world that were rich in spices and also as a post to neighboring lucrative countries such as China. The company that was in charge of taking the lucrative products from India was the British East India Company which set up numerous posts in India. I knew that the British and the India used to have very positive relations. The British would send Indians to school in Britain to attain a proper education and teach them the necessary skills to become successful in society. I knew that in turn the British would take many of the profitable riches that the Indians had. The Indian nationalists who were devout Hindus and Muslim began to despise the presence of the British.

I learned a varied amount of facts from reading A Passage to India. I learned that the tensions between the English and the Indians had become strained and they showed more hatred towards one another. The English now saw the Indians as inferior to them and less as equals. I also learned that this story was written after the First World War which could add an additional strain to the Anglo- Indian relationship. They may have had extreme segregation as they separated themselves as they did in the mosque, the place of worship and many other places such as bathrooms. There were specific people who did try and make relations with the Indians and British but the majority of people refused to come together especially the British. The tensions never stayed stable but continued to rise among the two races as shown by the separation of Mr. Fielding and Dr. Aziz.

After reading the book I researched British Imperialism in India. I found that acts in 1773 and 1784 had already empowered the government to control the British East India Company policies and to appoint the Governor-), the highest Company official in India. The company prospered in India, where it became the most powerful political force, and beat its Portuguese and French competitors. There was a rebellion named the 1857 Sepoy Rebellion, or Indian Mutiny, an uprising initiated by Indian troops, called sepoys, who formed the major part of the Company's armed forces, was the key turning point. Indian nationalism began was at a high point during the time period, which explains the swarm of opposition to the British. The Indians first began by creating the Indian National Congress in 1851 with prominent leaders seeking their basic rights to appear for civil services examinations and more rights, for the Indians.

There has been so many facts that I have learned from reading A Passage to India from British Imperialism to India’s Independence and also the Anglo- Indian relations and its development.