The first major problem came with the formation in 1912 of the Sarekat Islam
movement, which, as its name suggests, was an organization that sought greater
political rights for Muslims. It was in part inspired by the Islamic resurgence
that occurred throughout the Muslim world, but it also represented local
concerns, and, in particular, the fear that the overseas Chinese population in
Java was benefiting disproportionately from the improving economy. Within
a short space of time Sarekat Islam developed into a mass movement that the
Dutch could not ignore, although, like the British in India, they did try to disarm
its effectiveness by pushing it into local politics rather than dealing with its
claims at the national level. Economic reforms complicated the problem further
by stimulating the growth of a trade union movement and interest in socialism.
The result was that in the period following the First World War, the combination
of an economic recession, the Khalifat Movement and increased activities by
socialists culminating in the appearance of the Communist Party of Indonesia,
the PKI, led to fifteen years of unrest. Indeed, in 1926 and 1927 the PKI engaged
in abortive insurrections in Java and Sumatra. Fortunately for the Dutch, the
indigenous opposition to their rule by secular nationalists, Islamic parties and
socialists was hopelessly disunited. Nevertheless, the authorities were forced to
bring in severe measures, such as increasing powers of arrest, curbing union
power and sending into internal exile the leading secular nationalists Ahmed
Sukarno and Mohammed Hatta. Thus, by the 1930s the ‘ethical policy’ had
been abandoned and Dutch rule had been forced to become increasingly strict.
It is therefore no surprise that the Indonesian nationalist movement should
have been so violently opposed to the Dutch returning after the Second World
War.