INDONESIAN NATIONAL REVIVAL

An 'Indonesian National Revival' or 'Indonesian National Awakening' began in the first decades of the twentieth century; for the first time, Indonesians began to develop a national consciousness as "Indonesians" with a more sophisticated political, cultural, and religious identity. New organisations and leadership developed, in part facilitated by the Dutch Ethical Policy's creation of an educated Indonesian elite. These profound changes amongst the indigenous Indonesian population and often referred to as the 'Indonesian National Revival' or culminated in Indonesian nationalists' proclaming independence on 17 August 1945.^[1]

Contents

Political Awakenings

The Development of a National Consciousness

References

General

Notes

External links

Political Awakenings

The Ethical Period's emphasis on education failed to deliver widespread educational opportunities, however, it did provide a Dutch education for the children of the indigenous Indonesian elite. Largely intended to provide clerical labour for the growing colonial bureaucracy, the Western education brought with it Western political ideas of freedom and democracy. During the 1920s and 30s, this small elite began to articulate a rising anti-colonialism and a national consciousness.
Two important events in this process were the establishment of the youth group, Budi Utomo in 1908, and the Second Youth Congress in 1928, where the famous Youth Oath ''(Sumpah Pemuda)'' was adopted, establishing the nationalist goals of: one country - Indonesia, one people - Indonesian, and one language - Indonesian.
During this period the first Indonesian political parties began to emerge, the first being the Indische Partij in 1912. The same year, Sarekat Islam was founded; inspired more by Islamic and Javanese mysticism than notions of independence and self-rule. It brought Indonesians together, using the banner of Islam in opposition to Dutch rule, however, it had not nationalist agenda, and was often more anti-Chinese than anti-Dutch. In contrast, the Communist Party of Indonesia (PKI), formed in 1920, was a fully-fledged independence party inspired by European politics. In 1926, it attempted a revolution throughout Indonesia through isolated insurrections across Java that panicked the Dutch, who arrested and exiled thousands of communists, effectively neutralising the PKI for the remainder of the Dutch occupation.
Muhammadiyah was established by KH Ahmad Dahlan in Yogyakarta, and Dwijo Sewoyo and some associates formed the Peasant's Insurance Cooperative ''(Asuransi Jiwa Bersama Bumi Putera)'' in Magelang.
On 20 July 1913, Suwardi Suryaningrat, who had connections with the Bumi Putera Committee wrote ''Als ik eens Nederlander was (What if I were a Dutchman?)'' a striking protest against the plans of the Dutch Colonial Government to celebrate 100 years of Dutch Independence. As a result of this article, Dr Tjipto Mangunkusumo and Suwardi Suryoningrat were tried and sentenced to exile in the Banda Islands. However, they were given the alternative choice of transportation to the Netherlands. In the Netherlands, Suwardi pursued studies in field of Education, while Dr Tjipto fell ill and returned home to Indonesia.

The Development of a National Consciousness

In 1918 a proto-parliament, the Volksraad, met for the first time. 39% of its members were native Indonesians. During this year, the Dutch government agreed that at some, unspecified point in the future, Indonesians would be granted self-rule, but in subsequent years did nothing to follow up this aim.
The next twenty years saw the emergence of some of the major figures and organisations that were to play a major role in the move to Independence and in post-Independence politics in the 1950s, including Sukarno, Mohammed Hatta, Sutan Sjahrir, the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) and the Indonesian National Party (PNI). In action similar to the Youth Congress, the PNI in 1928 adopted the red and white flag of Indonesia, declared Indonesian (''Bahasa Indonesia'') the national language, and ''Indonesia Raya'' as the national anthem.
However, it was not until the Japanese defeat in 1945 that these prominent figures took the initiative and declared Indonesian Independence.

References

General

★ A Modern History of Indonesia, 2nd edition, , M.C., Ricklefs, MacMillan, 1991,

★ A History of Modern Indonesia, , Adrian, Vickers, Cambridge University Press, 2005,

★ Indonesia, , Patrick, Witton, Lonely Planet, ,

Notes

1. A History of Modern Indonesia since c.1300, , M.C., Ricklefs, MacMillan, , ISBN 0-33-579690-X

External links

★ Article: The Growth Of National Consciousness