The Birth of Indonesian Communism 1914-1926 and the impact of the Russian Revolution on Indonesia
What were the early origins of Communism in Indonesia?In 1913 Dutch Trade Union activist H. J. F. M. Sneevliet (more famously known as Maring-that's his picture at the top of this page) arrived in Indonesia. In 1914 at a meeting in Surabaya he founded the Indies Social-Democratic Association, ISDV). Not only is this significant as being the first Communist party in Asia, Maring would later play a key role in the birth of the Communist Party in China. The ISDV was very small and its members were Dutch not Indonesian. This made it difficult to grow quickly in the early stages.
How did events in Russia in 1917 influence Indonesia?The ISDV needed a much larger membership and soon attempted to join with other left-wing parties such as the Insulinde Party and Sarekat Islam. However, it was the Russian Revolution of 1917 which encouraged the ISDV to be more openly Communist in its ideology, and during 1917 the ISDV even established Soviets in Surabaya.
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LinksBiography: Sneevliet/Maring By Spartacus Schoolnet
Primary Source: "The class struggle element in the liberation struggle of the Indonesian people" By Sneevliet Primary Source: Superb collection Of Sneevliet/Maring's writings but mainly in Dutch with some Indonesian Primary Source: Lenin "The Awakening of Asia" Source A: Lenin-The Awakening of Asia"A significant development is the spread of the revolutionary democratic movement to the Dutch East Indies, to Java and the other Dutch colonies, with a population of some forty million. First, the democratic movement is developing among the masses of Java, where a nationalist movement has arisen under the banner of Islam. Secondly, capitalism has created a local intelligentsia consisting of acclimatised Europeans who demand independence for the Dutch East Indies. Thirdly, the fairly large Chinese population of Java and the other islands have brought the revolutionary movement from their native land." Source: Marxists Internet Archive |
How did the Dutch react?
The colonial administration soon stamped out these Indonesian soviets, and exiled Maring completely from Indonesia. The other Dutch leaders of the ISDV were also imprisoned or exiled.
How did the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) develop from this?
A consequence of the Dutch members being imprisoned or exiled was that ISDV was now led by native Indonesians. This made it far easier to develop a mass movement. The party name was soon changed in 1920 and then again it 1924 to Partai Komunis Indonesia (the Indonesian Communist Party). The PKI would soon become one of the very largest Communist parties in the world.
What were the beliefs of the early PKI ?
The PKI heavily modified traditional Communist ideas to include a great deal of Indonesian elements. Instead of Marx and Lenin, the heroes of the movement included Diponegoro, the Indonesian hero from the Java War. While the Communist idea of a classless society was said to have originated during the medieval Majapahit Empire. In this way, the PKI modified Communism to appeal to Indonesians.
Tasks and Questions
- Which international Communist would start the movement in Indonesia?
- Which other Asian Communist movement did he contribute to?
- What was the membership of the party he founded in 1918?
- Which international revolution made the ISDV more openly Communist?
- What did the ISDV do in Surabaya which demonstrated their newfound confidence?
- How did the colonial government react?
- How did the colonial government's reaction to events in Surabaya lay the foundations for a mass Communist movement?
- How did the early PKI's beliefs differ from more typically Communist ones?