E.M. Forster wrote A Passage to India in 1924, the last completed novel that he published during his lifetime. The novel differs from Forster's other major works in its overt political content, as opposed to the lighter tone and more subdued political subtext contained in works such as Howards End and A Room With a View. The novel deals with the political occupation of India by the British, a colonial domination that persisted another 23 years after the publication of A Passage to India.
The colonial occupation of India is significant in terms of the background of the novel. Britain occupied an important place in political affairs in India since 1760 via the East India Company, but did...