Having come to India, he finds a place where he can be on top and he has developed a sophisticated justification for a virulent brand of racism. Merrick strongly believes that whites are the natural rulers of the world and non-whites must be made subject to them. He also believes that non-whites cannot ever improve their position and that they must be reminded of this. But Scott shows us repeatedly how racist and intolerant Indians are of one another, despising caste, origin and religion in the fatal clash of Hindu and Muslim.