The development of nationalist movements in Southeast Asia

Burmese nationalist movement

Factors for the rise of Burmese nationalism

Political

1. The British administration destroyed the old political system. The Konbaung dynasty was abolished and the Hlutdaw was removed. It removed the traditional headmen because they had led the resistance movement after 1885 and replaced them with salaried ones, like the myo-ok or the myothugyi.

2. It was convenient to adopt, wholesale, Indian administrative models that were not relevant to Burma. they had negative consequences. For example, the role of the headman, the economic and social institutions at the local level was completely reversed to conform to an Indian model

In 1920, many villages were grouped together under a circle headman, thus reducing the number of village headmen. The new headmen failed to inspire the kind of trust and loyalty among the peasantry that the myothugyi had in the pre-British era as he was regarded as a paid British officer. Instead of acting as the highest official at the local level, the headman became under the British the lowest official of the central administration representing an even smaller administrative unit, the village. As a result, the role of headman providing leadership at the village level, degenerated.

3. The Burmese felt alienated because of the British distrust and policy of not associating the Burmese with the administration in significant numbers. Instead the British preferred Indians and minority groups especially the Karens many of whom were Christians.

The educated Burman elite found the status of Burma as an Indian province (until its separation in 1937) offensive to their pride in Burma as an ancient kingdom with its own glorious traditions

Economic disruption

1. British rule introduced many economic changes hardly any of which benefited the Burmese people.

Large tracts of land were brought under rice cultivation and exports increased tremendously, but they benefited the Indian moneylenders and British companies involved in processing, shipping and exporting of the grain. Crops and lands were mortgaged by the Burmese peasants to the Indian chettiars who charged exorbitant interest rates as high as 120%. Indians came to own about one-fourth of the entire arable land through foreclosures by World War 2.

2. The peasants became insecure and restless who moved from village to village ready to listen to political leaders who identified the influx of Indian money lenders and labour with British imperialism. It was in the rice producing delta of Lower Burma that nationalism was most active.

3. In the extractive industries, like oil, zinc, lead and tin the Burmese were also exploited. The Burmese did not benefit economically from the exploitation of mines or teak forests. Railroads laced the country and shipping clogged its ports. Yet both capital and labour were largely alien mostly British and Indian, who did not share their profits with the indigenous Burmese.

4. As the empire grew so did administrative system and where else but to India would the British turn for such a labour force to man the administrative system? There had grown up in India generations of professionals and paraprofessionals and a wide range of others with equally needed skills who knew and could work with the British. In 1917, the Colonial Secretary announced in Parliament that it was government policy to place as many Indians as possible in the Burmese administration. In addition, the demand for manual labour increased as Rangoon and other cities grew. The upper and middle sectors of the colonial administration were staffed by British from the Indian Civil Service which extended to the district level. The British also controlled a large part of the private trade, both domestic and foreign and such government functions as the army and police, and a variety of services throughout Burma. However, they were a minority of the official community and if Burma was to pay for itself, it was essential that lower salaried officials could be Indians. Thus, for a long time, the Burmese were excluded from the higher levels of the bureaucracy. It was only in 1923 that a Burmese passed the Indian Civil Service examinations and Burmese representation at professional levels continued to be small until the close of the colonial era.

5. Indian immigration into Burma was great and it was encouraged by the British. In 1931, the Indian population in Rangoon was 53% which was termed an Indian city for the Burmese numbered only 32% in Rangoon. Certain occupations, such as the port and shipping fields became dominated by Indians. In Rangoon, the centre of Burmese industry, Indians held 62% of all skilled positions and about 95% of the unskilled jobs. In the Irrawaddy delta in 1931, Indians held 65.8% of trade positions, 52.1% of public administration jobs, 36.3% of jobs in transport and the same percentage in industry. Hence, there was no possibility for the Burmans to adjust to these new economic conditions or to acquire entrepreneurial talents. The labour vacuum was filled at all levels by Indians.

Thus, as their country was beginning to experience economic growth, Burmans were excluded from most aspects of that growth. They continued to be farmers, a few were in the traditional extractive industries and some remained petty traders in the bazaars .

6. The Burmans also faced competition from the Chinese who had been in Burma for a long time.

Hence, there was ethnic division of labour. The Burmans were on the lower rungs of the economic ladder, in agriculture at the mercy of foreign moneylenders at home and the world market price for rice abroad. Few could have middle-class aspirations and the middle class until well after independence, was essentially Indian and Chinese.

7. Discrimination together with economic depression, began to produce unrest that was directed toward the foreign community. Discontent centred not only on the colonial masters, but on the Indians who were associated with the British. The 1930 Rangoon dock strike which saw Burmese against Indians resulted in riots which killed about 100 people and injured 1000.

Social

The role of Buddhism in the nationalist movement

1. The most single factor disruptive of Burmese society was the British neglect of the Buddhist sangha (monkhood) Traditionally, the monks had played a crucial educational and cultural role helping social cohesion. The opening of government and missionary schools competed directly with the Buddhist schools. The cultural inroads made by the British wee opposed by the Buddhist monks whose monasteries became centres of resentful opposition to the West.

2. The monks or pongyis were also involved in the nationalist movement for when the King was removed, the British had actually removed the patron of the Buddhism. Moreover the removal of the “thathanabaing” (supreme patriarch) disestablished Buddhism. The Burmans had a real fear that the Christian invaders were destroying their religion. Christian missionaries were very active in Burma. Secular education dislocated the priesthood who were regarded as the traditional teachers. Since public expression of nationalist sentiments through the formation of political organisation was outlawed by the British it was natural that these feelings and their organisational expression were first articulated through Buddhist groups, such as the Young Men’s Buddhist Association (YMBA) founded in 1906 on the Christian model and the General Council of Burmese (Buddhist) Organisation started in 1922. By 1916, the YMBA had begun publicly to express concern over British religious policy.

3. The YMBA established schools conforming to the governmental curriculum requirements but also giving lessons in Buddhist scriptures to counter the Christian missionary schools, which offered Bible lessons. The YMBA schools soon became centres of the community’s social life and national awareness. They resorted to religious organisations as a politically safe way to promote nationalistic sentiments. Buddhism provided a common platform for those who deeply resented the colonial government’s neglect of and injury to their faith. Numerous political parties of later years were led by former YMBA volunteers.

4. The most well known nationalist monk was U Ottama. In 1921, the returned from India strongly influenced by Gandhi’s nonviolent resistance movement. He advocated independence and was arrested in 1921. The following year he was released, but spent the years 1924-1927 and 1928-1929 in jail for anti-British activities, after which he died. Another of the Buddhist monk-martyrs to the nationalist cause was U Wisara, who died in a Rangoon jail in 1929 after a hunger strike. Monks were also involved in and sometimes led, the anti-Indian riots of the 1930s. The Shwedagon Pagoda grounds were used for some of the anti-British student protests of the same period and the area was a common site for demonstrations.

Student movement of the 1920s

1. The students of the 1920s were influenced by Western political ideas such as J.S.Mill’s “Liberty”, democracy, freedom, etc

They were also influenced by other nationalist movements such as the Indian National Congress political demands and Gandhi’s non-cooperation movement, the PKI Revolt of 1926, the 1911 Revolution.

2. They expressed grievances over the the high pass mark set by the University of Rangoon which resulted in a high failure rate. They were also against the discrimination over job opportunities.

When the University of Rangoon was established, the British government passed the University of Rangoon Act ...

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Student movement of the 1920s

1. The students of the 1920s were influenced by Western political ideas such as J.S.Mill’s “Liberty”, democracy, freedom, etc

They were also influenced by other nationalist movements such as the Indian National Congress political demands and Gandhi’s non-cooperation movement, the PKI Revolt of 1926, the 1911 Revolution.

2. They expressed grievances over the the high pass mark set by the University of Rangoon which resulted in a high failure rate. They were also against the discrimination over job opportunities.

When the University of Rangoon was established, the British government passed the University of Rangoon Act of 1920 which placed the academic and administrative control of the University under the British government.

3. The strike of 1920 was significant for the development of student involvement in politics as they realised the effectiveness of student involvement in politics. It was to set the example for the students of the mid-1930s to use strikes as a political weapon to make their demands heard.

4. Although Burma was a province of India, it was treated differently with regard to political reforms. Thus, the liberal Montague-Chelmsford reforms of 1919, which provided for an elected majority in the central legislature and a part-Indian executive at the provincial level were not applied to Burma. At the same time, the University of Rangoon Act was passed in 1920, but unlike its Indian counterparts the new university was not given autonomous status. This double insult produced great agitation among the student activists.

5. The YMBA at the time renamed the General Council of Buddhist Associations (GCBA) and largely led by Western educated youths protested against the discrimination and demanded the same reforms as given to India. Students protested all over Burma the denial of autonomy to the university. By the time the British responded in 1921 by extending dyarchy to Burma, the GCBA had stepped up its demands. The students also demanded control over land legislation and immigration. They boycotted elections to the new councils and refused the executive positions in the new cabinet, which were filled by Karens, Indians, Chinese and British making a mockery of the 1921 Government of Burma Act.

6. The depression of the 1930s, hit the Burmese rice industry severely and further aggravated the economic and political tensions among the people. Prices fell to one third of previous levels, while property foreclosures, unemployment and the crime rate soared.

The Burmese became suspicious of the British government and Indian moneylenders, the latter becoming the special targets of Burmese tenant farmers and agricultural workers.

The Burmese suspicion of British intentions was so great that when the Simon Commission recommended Burma’s separation from India, it was regarded as an ‘imperial plot’ to rule Burma indefinitely. Despite Burmese protests, the Government of Burma Act was passed in 1935, separating Burma from India. This Act gave the Burmese provincial autonomy but with ‘reserved powers’ to the British Governor.

7. Saya San Rebellion of 1930-1932.

Saya San a Buddhist monk proclaimed himself the king. A former leader

of the GCBA, Saya San used the traditional, magical symbolism to restore a Buddhist monarchy and to reach the peasant masses. His peasant army roamed the countryside, killing British forestry officials and Indian labourers. The rebellion was effectively crushed by the police and armed forces. Saya San was executed in 1937 after a long trial. This rebellion was a rejection of modernisation and attempted to restore the Burmese monarchy and traditional way of life.

The student activists of the 1930s

1.These students called themselves the Thakins (Lord or Master). They formed the Dobama Asiayone (We Burman Association) was an offshoot of an organisation started by the University of Rangoon students, called the All Burmese Youth League which united with the Dobama Society. The term “Master” was used to address the British but the Thakins used it to emphasise their equality with the British and to signify that they were their own masters.

2. The Thakin stood for the revival of Burmese-Buddhist cultural tradition. It sternly opposed the British education system which devised a curriculum suited to produce members of the subordinate civil service. The party had a number of study groups most leftist and they were opposed to non-Burmese domination over Burma’s economy. Like all Burmese parties, the Thakins hated the Indian community in Burma but it had great respect for the Indian National Congress and its leaders like Gandhi. In 1939, the Thakins joined the Indian leaders in withholding cooperation in the British war effort and were imprisoned by the British.

3. The Japanese Occupation

During WW2, the Thakins were divided into three groups.Those committed to Communism included Thakin Soe and Thein Pe. The Communist Party was established in 1943. Most other Thakins like Aung San were democratic socialists whilst the third group consisted of U Ba Swe, U Nu and others who disfavoured factionalism. In 1940, a Japanese agent, Colonel Suzuki Keiji, contacted the Thakins to offer military help if they would agree to side with the Japanese in their war effort. The Communists rejected the offer and so did Aung San who preferred to ask for assistance from the Chinese Communist party and secretly he left for Shanghai. However, Aung San changed his mind and agreed with the Japanese to form a fighting force to train 29 others in Hainan. (30 Heroes). They formed the Burmese Independence Army (BIA) and later led the Japanese invasion force into Burma.

The Burmese expected the Japanese to grant them independence. On 1 August 1943, the Japanese military administration (Baho administration) was disbanded and Burma was declared independent with Dr. Ba Maw appointed as the ‘Adipati’ or head of the government

The Indonesian Nationalist Movement

1. Unlike the situation in the Philippines and Burma, the nationalists in Indonesia were quite unsuccessful in making their demands heard because of an unyielding and rigid colonial government towards the close of the 1930s.

2. Indonesian nationalism in the beginning as everywhere in Southeast Asia, was moderate in nature and as in Burma, strongly affected by religion, that is, Islam.

3. The nationalist movement was initiated and led by the two elite classes, the priyayi and the santri. The priyayi, particularly its upper levels, belonged to the landed aristocracy in interior Java, whose circumstances of birth entitled them to positions of regents and wedana and sub-wedana (district and subdistrict heads). The santri came from the coastal and commercial community, well expose traditionally to external influences, including those of reformist Islam. Education given to the priyayis made them realise the oppressive nature of Dutch rule as they soon became very discontented with discrimination in terms of low salaries, few opportunities for promotion and the avenues to bureaucratic employment or teaching positions were inadequate. The santri class was even more discontented for they had hoped that the liberal economic provisions of the Ethical Policy of 1900 would open better business opportunities for them. Instead, the Dutch companies and overseas Chinese continued dominate the economy. The Chinese dominated even the sale and distribution of batik textiles, a traditional stronghold of Javanese and Sumatran small businesses. The processing of rice, coconut, tapioca, kapok and kretek was also in Chinese hands. With their greater capital, business experience and wider contacts all over Southeast Asia, the Indonesians found difficulty in competing with the Chinese which provided a reason for discontentment and hence it became a potent force in Indonesian nationalism.

Nationalist organisations

It was the priyayi class which started forming cultural organisations. Education made the people more aware of the subordinate positions to which they had been relegated by their colonial masters. Anti-Dutch sentiments were encouraged by these cultural organisations.

1. Kartini schools :1902 - A school set up for girls by Radeng Adjeng Kartini. Her work started numerous Kartini schools for girls all over Java.

2. Boedi Utomo - 1908

It was established by Dr. Sudira Usada and it had 10,000 members. Most of its supporters were Javanese aristocratic families or the bupatis class, civil servants, students and intellectuals drawn mainly from the priyayi class. It failed to get popular support as its activities were confined to Java only and appealed only to the upper priyayi class. Furthermore, their objectives were mainly limited to education and cultural revival without any political aim as it would have been shut down by the Dutch government.

Mutual aid societies were formed

Objectives

1. To promote among Indonesians a commercial spirit and to protect Indonesian merchants against the Chinese. In the early 20th century the status of the Chinese improved. Their economic strength and sense of superiority left an unpleasant effect on the Javanese. In 1908, the Dutch lifted the Pass Laws against the Chinese which enabled the Chinese to trade in the interior of Indonesia. They began to infiltrate the kretek and batek industries which were indigenous industries. Hence, the Javanese merchants used Islam to unite together against Chinese economic domination.

2. To defend Islam against the evangelising efforts of the Christian missionaries.

Sarekat Dagang Islam - Islamic Trading Association (1909)

This association was started by Hj. Samanhudi. It was an anti-Chinese organisation which used Islam to symbolise ethnic distinction. It became militant when it started anti-Chinese riots. The Dutch government closed it which led to its dissolution.

Sarekat Islam (Islamic Association) - 1912

The Sarekat Islam was led by Umar Sayed Tjokroaminoto.

1. The Sarekat Islam was the first organisation with mass appeal dealing with religious and economic issues. Its initial objectives were modest.

a. To improve the economic and social standing of Javanese Muslims to b. To reform Islam and to defend Islam from the efforts of the Christian missionaries

2. It had a membership of about 2 million by 1919, but there were differences among the leaders over the the long term goals of the party and the methods to achieve them. Most of the members agreed on a number of issues, like the need for modernisation, self-government and socialism.

The differences were on how radical they should be, how much they should cooperate with the Dutch government and later after 1919 how rapidly the socialist programmes should be adopted.

3. The Sarekat Islam was organised at two levels :

a. Central level : The leaders here were very modernised, western educated elite and they used modern ideas to try to get mass support. They also cooperated with the Dutch advocates of the Ethical Policy in the early years of the nationalist movement and in 1918, their demands were quite successful when the Dutch set up the Volksraad.

b. Local level : Here the masses saw Sarekat Islam as wholly an anti-Chinese party and it adopted a more aggressive attitude. It started violent protests directed at the Chinese and the local authorities. It was at the local level that the ISDV successfully gained control of Sarekat Islam’s branches eventually.

4. Partly in response to the Sarekat’s demands, the colonial government agreed to introduce some administrative and constitutional reforms. In 1903, Indonesians had been allowed some modest participation in the local and regional councils. Then in 1918, the People’s Council or the Volksraad was established to allow Indonesian participation in the government. Out of the 60 members, 30 were Dutch officials appointed by the Governor General while the other half comprising of 25 Indonesians and 5 others were elected by local councils. The Volksraad powers were advisory and the Governor General even needed permission from The Hague to accept its advice.

5. In 1919, the Sarekat Islam was infiltrated by the Socialist elements or the Indies Socialist Democratic Club (ISDV - 1912 and founded by Hendrik Sneevliet) which made the Sarekat Islam a more politically active and militant party. In 1920, the ISDV leaders, Samuan and Tan Malaka tried unsuccessfully to gain control of the Trade Union Central which was a federation of 22 trade unions formed by Sarekat Islam. In 1921, Samaun formed a rival association of trade unions, the Revolutionary Trade Union Central and in the process was able to detach considerable strength from Sarekat Islam’s Trade Union Central.

6. By 1920, Samaun and Tan Malaka insisted that the Sarekat Islam come out openly as a political party with a radical and revolutionary programme for the overthrow of Dutch rule and the establishment of a socialist state. In 1920, the Socialists broke away from the Sarekat Islam to form the Partai Kommunis Indonesia (PKI).

In 1921, the Sarekat Islam passed the Surabaya Resolution which expelled the Socialists from the party.

7. In 1923, the Sarekat Islam changes its name to Partai Sarekat Islam (PSI) and in the same year it adopted non-cooperation tactics by not participation in the Volksraad. It became more interested in an active Islamic programme as it was influenced by the teachings of Mohd. Abduh from the University of Cairo (Islamic Reformist Movement). It held congresses and gained some support from the masses.

8. By 1927, PSI lost influence to Sukarno’s Partai Nasional Indonesia (PNI) as by then the western educated elite found Islam to be an insufficient factor in the nationalist cause. The members drifted away to join other parties and this probably explains why the Dutch government did not apply any harsh measures in spite of its non-cooperative stand.

9. The ultimate significant feature of Sarekat Islam lies in its position as a training ground for a small group of Islamic leaders who would play an active role in the political arena where Islam was at a disadvantage. Islam did not pose as a strong political threat to colonial rule and hence in the late 1920s educated Indonesians did not accept Islam as an important factor in the nationalist cause

10. However, the bitter struggle between the central leadership of Sarekat Islam and the Communists for control of the organisation’s branches and the growing Indonesian trade union movement, together with their difference over questions such as class warfare and religion proved to be disastrous for the nationalist movement for it destroyed most of Sarekat Islam’s control over its peasant based branches. The Communists within four years managed to gain control of a majority of its branches but in doing so lost most of the large peasant membership. There were two reasons for this :

a. The Dutch government’s increasingly effective barring of contact between the leaders (both non-Communist and Communist) and the peasantry.

b. The fact that religion became a main issue in the nationalist struggle, with the Communists alienating the peasant members by rejecting Islam’s role in the nationalist movement which violated their religious sensitivities.

Hence, the division and rivalry for leadership in the nationalist movement weakened the nationalists’ cause.

The nationalist movement in the Philippines

Modern nationalism in Southeast Asia first emerged in the Philippines and of Southeast Asia’s nationalist ambitions only those cherished by the Filipino political leaders were on the verge of being fulfilled in the 1930s. Philippine nationalism, the oldest in the regions, had gone through several phases by that time.

1. First Phase

Unorganised local revolts and resistance movements against Spanish rule up to 1872

A contributing factor for Filipino nationalism was western education. In the 19th century the Filipinos who received Spanish education were the priesthood as they were trained for lower positions in the priesthood. The unequal position given to the Filipino clergy aroused resentment. Racial discrimination also caused many Filipino priests to rebel.

2. Second Phase

The Reformist movement of 1872-96

The execution of three Filipino priests in 1872 greatly affected Rizal and this started a moderate reformist movement in the 1880s of which Jose Rizal was the nationalist leader, it took on more radical aspects in the face of Spanish misrule

3. Third Phase

The Revolution of 1896 discontent resulted in a large-scale rebellion. Led by the Katipunan (Highest and Most Respected Association of the Sons of the Country) and with Andres Bonifacio as its main leader, the revolt contained strong social revolutionary elements, but these were removed when Emilio Aguinaldo took over the leadership of the movement and had Bonifacio’s leadership ended in 1897. From then onwards the revolution was a purely nationalist affair and it was of great help to the Americans when they conquered the Philippines from the Spanish in 1898 but the nationalists were not rewarded with the freedom Aguinaldo expected the Americans to grant to the Philippines. Instead, the Americans destroyed the Philippine Republic which had been proclaimed earlier, crushed Filipino armed resistance and replaced Spanish domination with their own brand of colonialism.

4. Under American rule, Philippine nationalism changed its character once again. Its aim, independence for the Philippines remained the same, but it abandoned violence and adopted the tactics of a pressure group instead. This last phase was led by Sergio Osmena, Manuel Quezon and Manuel Roxas. The main party, the Partido Nacionalista founded in 1907, was characterised by the principle of American-Filipino partnership. But although American policy created the facilities for the Filipinos to take over the legislative branch of government and the civil service, and Filipino nationalists cooperated with the colonial administration, nationalist agitation remained vehement. There was a vague distrust of American intentions particularly during the 1920s, when after the sweeping reforms carried out under Governor-General Harrison, Governor-General Wood slowed down the development towards emancipation. Many Filipino politicians were sent to Washington to persuade the American government to speed up the granting of independence.

5. In the 1930s, a mission led by Osmena and Roxas was successful when due to the Great Depression, the ideal of Philippine independence obtained the support of powerful American economic interests. The result was the passing of the Hare-Hawes-Cutting Bill of 1932, which provided for a ten-year transitional period after which independence was to be granted. The passing of this bill by the American Congress was followed by rivalry between Filipino politicians, when Quezon, angered that his rival Osmena and not he who headed the mission to Washington used his influence to have the bill rejected on the ground that its stipulations on the continuation of American military facilities after independence would be contrary to Philippine national dignity. He went to Washington himself, arranged for a new bill, the Tydings-McDuffie Act, which did not differ from the Hare-Hawes-Cutting Bill but which increased his and not Osmena’s prestige and ensured his election as first president of the autonomous government in 1935.

Vietnam

1. Resistance to French rule up to 1916

Initially nationalism in Vietnam was also moderately reformist in nature aiming at political change as advocated by Phan Boi Chau, under the monarchy and inspired by Japan (Russo-Japanese War) He advocated that Vietnam obtain political skills and knowledge from Japan. By 1908, some 200 Vietnamese students had gone to Japan to study but by the end of 1909, Japan under the pressure of the French government expelled the students. Phan Chau Trinh recommended closer ties with France and independence was to be gained with the guidance and help of France. But the French policy of objecting to any political trend which was not completely subservient to the colonial regime prevented any political development.

An important turning point in Vietnamese nationalism was the establishment at Hanoi in 1902 of the Dong Kinh Free school. It was Vietnam’s first university. Education in this institution was free to all and at one point it attracted about 1000 students. It existed for less than a year before the French closed it.Several of its leaders were arrested and exiled The Dong Kinh Free School was important because it drew attention to the need for changes within Vietnamese society especially in education and culture. It called for the replacement of Chinese characters with romanised Vietnamese so that more peasants could be educated. The Dong Kinh Free School was anxious to remove those Vietnamese institutions like the Confucian civil service and the mandarin class which the French readily made use to dominate Vietnamese society. In 1912, Boi Chau formed the Vietnam Quang Phuc Hoi (Vietnamese Revival Society) the first political organisation of the Vietnamese nationalist movement. This organisation was inspired by the Chinese Revolution of 1911 in China and it attempted to create a similar democratic republic in Vietnam as that of Sun Yat Sen.

2. The Nationalist Movement from 1917-1927

At the outbreak of the First World War, the French recruited about 100,000 Vietnamese for military service on France’s western front. The Vietnamese expected some reward for their services but were disappointed. Some Vietnamese had also met Chinese revolutionaries who taught them the value of organised political parties. Others learned from the Indian nationalist movement or were inspired by the communists. The French educated elite led the nationalist movement for a brief period. Their strategy was cooperation with the French colonial government for political reforms leading to self-government.

(a) In 1923, a very moderate group comprising the intellectual class, officials and landowners formed the Constitutionalist Party in 1923 in Saigon. In Cochin-China political parties were not prohibited. This party was therefore the first legal political party of Vietnam. It was led by Bui Quang Chieu and Nguyen Phan Long. The party made several moderate demands but were rejected by the Paris government and the party faded away without making any achievements.

(b) In Tongking, the Viet Nam People’s Progressive Party was formed in 1926 by Pham Quynh. Moderate nationalists joined this party which sought cooperation with the colonial government but the French refused to recognise this party and the moderate members had to operate underground.

(c) The Cao Dai Organisation was formed in 1926 and it was established as a religious movement. It was outspoken against French rule and its aim was to overthrow French control and to restore monarchical rule. By 1930 it had more than one million members. From 1917 to 1926, the nationalist movement with the exception of the Cao Dai Organisation was moderate in its demands

3. The Viet Nam Nationalist Party (1927)

From 1927 onwards, the rejection of the moderate nationalists by the French and their repressive measures forced some moderate politicians to become revolutionaries and also encouraged the more radical nationalists to take over from the moderates. In 1927, Nguyen Thai Hoc founded the radical Viet Nam Quoc Dan Damg (VNQDD) or Vietnam Nationalist Party with the aim of overthrowing the colonial government. Up to 1941, the VNQDD was the leading political organisation in Indo-China. It was modelled along the Kuomintang (KMT) of China and maintained close links with it. Wealthy Vietnamese , especially in Tongking contributed generously to the party. The VNQDD attempted to unite all nationalist parities including the communists but this aim failed. This was because the party was unwilling to operate from outside Vietnam. Secondly, it had such close connections with the KMT that it was unwilling to join other nationalist groups for it would result in a change of name. The VNQDD was like a secret society for it established cells, and new recruits had to be introduced by two members. However, the party lacked planning for it had little idea what sort of society was to be established after the colonial rule ended. The VNQDD included teachers, students and soldiers and at half of its members were civil servants in the French administration. Under the harsh rule of Governor-General Pierre Pasquier (1928-1934), its members were harassed by the police. Owing to this action the party decided to start a revolt at Yen Bay in Tongking in 1930 but was mercilessly crushed and followed by numerous executions. The remaining members went into exile in China. The VNQDD was destroyed for nearly 15 years and did not resurface again until the Second World War.

4. The Indo-Chinese Communist Party (ICP) 1930

The destruction of the VNQDD in 1931 left a vacuum in political leadership which was then filled by Ho Chi Minh of the Communist Party. Ho Chi Minh gained considerable support in the northern art of Vietnam. The communists also benefited by the establishment of an efficient organisation as well as foreign support. Chinese communists assisted and inspired the Vietnamese communists and it was in Canton that Ho trained young Vietnamese revolutionaries so that they could be sent back to Vietnam to fight. It became a very effective organisation with the help of Russian and Chinese communists and Ho Chi Minh himself was a first-class political agitator and organiser. He launched the ICP in 1930 and it aims were to gain independence for Vietnam in two stages; to set up a democratic government run by the middle class and then to launch the communist revolution. This meant obtaining political independence first and then subsequently restructuring Vietnamese society. Many nationalists saw that the communists with their efficient organisation might be able to achieve the revolution which others had failed to bring.

The communists gained considerable influence over the rural peasants by establishing peasant organisations all over the country. In a society where there was widespread poverty and indebtedness, many peasants saw the communists as saviours in ending their miseries. In 1931, the communists led the peasants in a revolt in Tongking owing to a series of bad harvests. Peasant demonstrations wee accompanied by industrial strikes in the plantations and factories of Tongking and disturbances in central Anna and Cochin-China. Terrorist tactics were used to disrupt the economy. The French government took firm action and as many as 10,000 were imprisoned. Thousands were killed and many communist leaders were executed. Ho Chi Minh was arrested by the British in June 1931 when he escaped to Hong Kong. The repressive measures weakened the ICP so that it was an ineffective party until later in the war years.

5. Government repression was so severe that Vietnamese nationalists were unable to reorganise effectively again until during and after the Japanese Occupation. Then once again, the moderates gave way to the leadership of the militant communists. This was because the suppression of the VNQDD revolt in 1930 and the failure of Ngo Dinh Diem’s efforts to modernise the administrative set-up in 1933 marked the end of intellectual and middle class nationalist movement, both revolutionary and moderate. It was the revolutionary proletarian based form of nationalism which gradually gained in importance. This was because after three decades of failure bourgeois nationalism was weak and exhausted and unlikely to gain the support of the masses any more. They lacked social contact with the people and the almost complete absence of any social programme the middle class organisations were not in the position to compete successfully with the communists. Furthermore, in no Southeast Asian country did the social revolutionary wing of the nationalist movement have so many great leaders, tacticians and organisers at its disposal as in Vietnam.

The nationalist movement in Malaya

1. Of the Southeast Asian countries, Malaya was the only one lacking a genuine nationalist movement. The political demands of the intellectual elites of the three major ethnic groups was mainly focussed on it own community. Whatever nationalism there existed among the Chinese and Indians was related to political development in China and India. The Malays were loyal to their own regional state and its ruler and any Malay nationalist sentiment was characterised by discontent over the position and interests of other races in Malaya, particularly the Chinese among them, rather than by concern over the well-being of the nation as a whole or by opposition to the colonial power.

2. Reformist trends in Malaya were therefore the expression of sectional or communal feelings rather than of Malayan nationalism. This pattern of ethnic nationalism and racial contrasts was not removed by one common factor, that is, that is hatred of colonialism. British rule never gave rise to such a dislike that it should encourage the racial communities to establish a united front.

3. The British administration had retained the feudal structure of Malay society and it made sure it had the loyalty of the aristocratic ruling class. At the same time, its policy aimed at protecting as much as possible the position of the Malays. The Malays afraid of being overwhelmed in their own country by the Chinese and Indians counted on the British government in preserving the Malay ‘special rights’ as a means to protect them against such threat. Therefore, the Malays regarded the colonial administration as the only power capable of securing their survival as a community, and this was sufficient to prevent them from turning against the colonial regime.

4. A Malay college was started in 1905 in Kuala Kangsar which cultivated conservative opinion among the traditional elite and produced civil servants for the Malay Administrative Service, a subordinate to the almost exclusively British Malayan Civil Service. A second institution, the Sultan Idris Training College started in 1922 to conduct teacher-training programmes, attracted students from village vernacular schools. By promoting the study of Malay literature, the college created an environment that encouraged political awareness and a critical approach towards Malay society. Its graduates played a prominent role in the development of a nationalist educated elite critical of British rule in Malaya.

Malay nationalism

Malay nationalism could be divided into three phases before WW2 :

1. 1900-1926 (religious and cultural)

Nationalism was mainly expressed in cultural and religious forms

Modernist reform nationalists concentrated mostly on religion and education before 1940 drawing inspiration from the Arab Middle and Turkey Reformist Movements. The Malay press like Al-Hadi’s ‘Al Imam’ , the ‘Utusan Melayu’ and the ‘Warta Negara’ published extensive discussions of religious issues, and as in the Dutch East Indies the nationalists were divided into two groups, namely, the Kaum Muda (young and modernist group) and the Kaum Tua (older group). Kaum Muda sought to improve and purify Islam and to modernise education along Western lines whereas Kaum Tua was the conservative group which was conservative and did not want change.

2. 1926-1939 (quasi-political)

Malay nationalism was a quasi-political in character and could be described as a watershed in the development of Malay political consciousness. In 1926, a group of young Malays formed the Kesatuan Malayu Singapura (Singapore Malay Union) which provided a political base for the expression of Malay political attitude. Influence came from contact with Indonesian extremists, namely, the members of the Partai Kommunis Indonesia (PKI) who had fled Indonesia after the failure of their PKI revolt in 1926. Another source of influence was Sukarno’s Partai Nasional Indonesia (PNI) with its demand for immediate independence.

The Malay nationalists identified three problem areas :

a. The Malay rulers who collaborated with the colonial government

b. The colonial administration itself

c. The growing alien population.

Criticism of the rulers was unpopular as the Malays in general were still traditionally supportive of their rulers and were very loyal to them.

The British administration, the target of the nationalists was generally sympathetic toward the Malays during the 1920s and 1930s, which stressed the need to to ensure adequate representation of the local population among the government civil servants and taking steps to protect the interests of the Malays when they seemed threatened by an immigrant population that outnumbered them in some states. Eg: during the Great Depression, the government repatriated a number of Indians and Chinese while an Aliens Enactment restricted new immigration and made it clear that those allowed to enter the country were to remain only for the duration of their contracts.

3. 1939-1942 (political)

The rise of Chinese nationalism and the expression of anti-Japanese activity among the Chinese as well as strikes and labour unrest, heightened Malay concerns about foreign domination. In 1937, the SMU formed branches in Malacca and Penang and Malay associations were also formed in other states. A Brotherhood of Pen Friends (Persaudaraan Sahabat Pena) was formed in 1937. It examined political affairs and especially the position of the Malays. In the same year, the Kesatuan Melayu Muda (Malay Youth Union) was organised. It was a radical party and it neither expressed loyalty to the sultans and the British nor spoke of non-cooperation but it worked to promote nationalist feelings and teachings among its members, whose strength lay in the lower classes. A Pan-Malayan Conference of Malay state associations met in Kuala Lumpur in August 1939 to attempt to unite Malay groups together in a single movement, but the effort failed. However, it laid the foundation for the formation of another political organisation, the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) formed in 1946.

Chinese nationalism

To the Chinese, the colonial administration provided the conditions and the opportunities for a large-scale economic development and thus they were not encouraged to dispute British authority. They had their objections against what they experienced as discrimination, against the Malay ‘special rights’ and against the Malay claims that Malaya was a Malay country, but as long as they were allowed to work in the economic field without interference, they hardly showed an interest in Malaya’s political development and they did not consider their complaints a sufficiently strong motive to oppose the colonial regime.

Indian nationalism

Similar considerations conditioned the attitude of the Indians, who were, as a group, not important enough, numerically, to tip the scales and who were more interested in the political activities of the Indian National Congress’ efforts to gain independence for India. Hence, democracy, popular representation and independence were hardly an issue in Malaya and if there happened to be a few intellectuals mostly Eurasians, sometimes, Chinese who diffidently brought up these matters for discussion, they did not meet with any response from among either the population in general or the leading personalities in public life.