The beginning of nationalism

The beginning of nationalism

Hartoyo Pratiknyo, Staff Writer, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

As Indonesia marks the 57th year of its existence as a nation
tomorrow with poverty, crises and turmoil still plaguing parts of
this vast archipelago, it is a good time for Indonesians to
seriously take stock of what independence has brought for the
nation, what achievements have been made, what opportunities have
been missed. It must be admitted that those who have been keenly
observing events in this country lately are correct in getting
the impression that a good many opportunities have been missed in
recent years.

Yet, in all fairness it must be said that the accomplishments
that have been made in the past 57 years are numerous. Most
important of all, although poverty is still widespread,
Indonesians are no longer social outcasts in their own country,
whatever their position on the social ladder may be. Education,
once a luxury that only children of the country's local
aristocracy -- the social elite and the colonial masters -- could
afford, is now, at least in principle, available to all, and with
it, opportunities for employment and promotion too have become
more egalitarian.

Certainly making life more egalitarian by improving the
intellectual base of Indonesians of all walks of life is not an
easy achievement. That, however, was the vision in 1908, that a
small group of well-educated Javanese had when they arranged to
set up the first popular organization along modern organizational
lines, appropriately named Budi Utomo, or noble endeavor.

After the harsh colonial policies that had prevailed in
earlier centuries, the turn of the 20th century, indeed, was a
time of important changes for the better in what was then the
Netherlands East Indies. At that time, the archipelago's
population, especially on the island of Java, had suffered
immensely under the burden of a forced commercial crop
cultivation system, known as the Cultuur Stelsel, imposed by the
Dutch Governor General J. van den Bosh to make up for the huge
shortage of funds the Dutch homeland was suffering.

To make a long story short, the swelling opposition that arose
in the Netherlands against this policy caused the administration
in The Hague to gradually initiate a more "ethical" policy toward
its East Indian colonies. For the first time, Holland was obliged
to consider the well-being of the indigenous population of the
Indies as much as the economic bottom line.

Budi Utomo, then, could be said to be one of the first direct
benefits, as far as Indonesians are concerned, of this new
policy. Even so, the organization limited its endeavors to
promoting the cultural and educational interests of the Javanese
only, staying away from engaging in day-to-day politics. By and
large it remained a conservative organization compliant to
colonial rule.

Budi Utomo's establishment, however, opened the gate for the
birth of several other, more revolutionary, organizations.

Around the same time, history witnessed the birth in Holland
of Indische Vereeniging, or Perhimpunan Hindia, an organization
of Indonesian students who were either studying there or living
in exile by the Dutch government. The organization entered a new
phase with the arrival of leaders of Indische Partij, Dr. Tjipto
Mangunkusumo, Douwes Dekker and Suwardi Surianingrat (later known
as Ki Hadjar Dewantoro) in 1913. Their arrival introduced a new
concept into the organization and the students began talking
about establishing a "Hindi" state that was governed by its own
people.

However, it was not until 1922 that the name Indonesia as a
political entity rather than merely a geographic and ethnological
term, was used, when Indische Vereeninging changed its name into
Indonesische Vereeninging (Indonesia Association).

In 1923, chairman Iwa Kusumasumantri said in a speech at the
opening of a general meeting, that the newly-revamped
organization was now based on three main principles: First, for
Indonesia to determine its own fate. Second, in order for
Indonesians to be able to determine their own fate, they must
rely on their own strength. Third, in order to fight the Dutch,
Indonesians must unite.

Three years after Budi Utomo's founding, the Sarekat Islam
(Islamic Union) saw its birth. Initially set up for the purpose
of assisting Muslim batik traders against their Chinese
competitors, Sarekat Islam under the leadership of the
charismatic H.O.S. Tjokroaminoto soon expanded to include
branches in Sumatra and Kalimantan as it adopted a more political
character.

A year after the birth of Sarekat Islam, another major Islamic
organization, Muhammadiyah, was born, followed in 1920 by the
Indonesian Communist Party (PKI). Modern politics was on its way
to taking shape in Indonesia, although several more years were
needed for the Indonesian national identity to be born. That
happened only in 1927 with the founding by Sukarno of the
Indonesian Nationalist Party (PNI).

Modern history, though, must have a beginning somewhere. The
answer to the question whether Indonesian contemporary history
would have taken the course it did without the presence of Budi
Utomo must of course remain hypothetical. As far as Indonesian
historians are concerned, however, Budi Utomo's birth in 1908
marks a major milestone in Indonesia's modern history.