A Passage to India · Character

Hamidullah

Aziz's uncle and a Cambridge-educated Muslim barrister, he hosts the dinner where Indians and English nearly meet as friends.

supporting

Also known as Hamidullah Begum, Mr. Hamidullah, good old Hamidullah, XIX Hamidullah, Meanwhile Hamidullah

First appearance: i

As a supporting figure in A Passage to India, Hamidullah is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.

Aziz's friend; mentioned as part of the Indian social circle that discusses British rule and the possibility of friendship with the English.

In the storyA Passage to IndiaOpen this moment free

See Hamidullah in A Passage to India Book page

Free preview opens at this moment — character cards, Character Web, and themes sit beside the text as you read.

Hamidullah belongs to Chandrapore's Muslim gentry, a respected elder whose home becomes the setting for the novel's first attempt at cross-cultural intimacy. He carries a quiet grief for his Cambridge years and a weary skepticism about the nationalist committees he attends, where Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, and Parsis agree only in resenting the English. His affectionate, protective bond with Aziz gives the story its warmest early anchor, and his disillusioned realism foreshadows how fragile those bridges will prove.

Continue beside the text

The fuller portrait of Hamidullah sits in Reading Lens — open the free preview to keep reading with notes on the page.

See Hamidullah in i

Character Web

29 connections

A slice of how Hamidullah sits in the book — open the reader for the full interactive map.

Relationship types

Friendship
Social
Other

Character groups

Central trial figures
Protagonist
Trial witnesses and associates

+24 more in the full Character Web

Open in reader

Narrative arc

Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Exposition.

Setup
Escalation
Breaking point
Aftermath
Closing

In this passage, the dramatic climax occurs when Adela Quested, having renounced her own people and been absor…

Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.

Follow the arc while reading

Relationships

Dr. Aziz
friendship · positive
A close, familial friendship between two Indian intellectuals who share anti-colonial… How this plays out →
Cyril Fielding
friendship · positive
Adela Quested
social · ambivalent
Dr. Aziz
friendship · positive
A close, familial friendship between two Indian intellectuals who share anti-colonial… How this plays out →
Cyril Fielding
friendship · positive
Dr. Aziz
friendship · positive
A close, familial friendship between two Indian intellectuals who share anti-colonial… How this plays out →
Adela Quested
social · ambivalent

Dr. Aziz
A close, familial friendship between two Indian intellectuals who share anti-colonial sentiments and personal confidences.
Cyril Fielding
A cordial, intellectual friendship between Fielding and the educated Indian lawyer.
Adela Quested
A brief, formal acquaintance during the bridge party and trial, with no deep connection.
Dr. Aziz
A close, familial friendship between two Indian intellectuals who share anti-colonial sentiments and personal confidences.
Cyril Fielding
A cordial, intellectual friendship between Fielding and the educated Indian lawyer.
Dr. Aziz
A close, familial friendship between two Indian intellectuals who share anti-colonial sentiments and personal confidences.
Adela Quested
A brief, formal acquaintance during the bridge party and trial, with no deep connection.

Relationship notes

How these ties play out is in the reading companion — open the free preview.

See Hamidullah in i

In the story

Hamidullah appears across 16 companion beats. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.

A Passage to India
Aziz's friend; mentioned as part of the Indian social circle that discusses British rule and the possibility of friendship with the English.
Part I: Mosque
Aziz's friend, hosts a gathering where Aziz discusses the English.
Chapter II
Hamidullah hosts the discussion about the English and later takes Aziz to see his wife behind the purdah.
Chapter II
Hamidullah Begum, Aziz's distant aunt, speaks with him about a family circumcision and pressures him about marriage.
VI
Aziz borrows his pony, riding breeches, and polo mallet; Hamidullah is out when Aziz returns.
IX
Visits Aziz, quashes suspicion about Godbole's illness, engages in discussion with Fielding.
Chapter X
One of the seven gentlemen who had held various opinions inside the bungalow.
XI
Mentioned as having seen Aziz's wife and as someone Aziz enjoys talking to; also noted for liking Englishwomen in England.
XVIII
Another visitor; his card is brought to the office as the defense gathers.
XIX
Anxious about the legal case, proposes hiring Amritrao, and shows deference to Fielding while being rattled by the situation.
Chapter XXI
Present at the conference with the Nawab Bahadur and others.
XXVI
Objects to Adela staying at the College and discusses compensation with Amritrao.
XXVII
Hamidullah is present on the roof, listening to the conversation, and tries to prevent the evening from being spoiled by dismissing Fielding's news of Mrs. Moore's death as a joke.
XXIX
Fielding eats and sleeps at his house during the College closure.
Chapter XXX
Engages in a deep conversation with Aziz about the English, Indian unity, and Aziz's plans; discusses purdah and the respect for Fielding.
Chapter XXXI
Hamidullah murmurs that Fielding no longer addresses them with his former frankness, warning Aziz not to expect too much from the Englishman.

Chapter companion notes

Spoil-light check-ins for Hamidullah unlock in the free preview.

See Hamidullah in i

See Hamidullah in A Passage to India