Introduction: A Nation in Transition

The early 20th century marked a transformative period in Indonesian history, as colonial economic policies gave rise to new social classes and political consciousness. The emergence of modern industry and plantation agriculture under Dutch rule created Indonesia’s first substantial industrial workforce and agricultural laborers, setting the stage for organized resistance against colonial exploitation. This era witnessed the convergence of local grievances with global revolutionary ideas, particularly following the 1917 Russian Revolution, which inspired anti-colonial movements worldwide. Against this backdrop, Indonesia’s communist movement emerged not merely as a political party but as a catalyst for broader social transformation, weaving together workers’ rights, peasant demands, and nationalist aspirations into a powerful force that would shape the archipelago’s struggle for independence.

The Dawn of Organized Labor

Indonesia’s labor movement began taking shape during the first decade of the 20th century, as Dutch colonialism intensified its extractive economic policies. The establishment of railways, plantations, and processing industries created concentrated workforce populations in urban centers and rural estates. In 1905, railway workers formed the nation’s first trade union organization—the National Railway Workers’ Union—marking a watershed moment in Indonesian labor history. This pioneering organization demonstrated workers’ growing awareness of their collective power and established patterns of organization that would spread across various sectors.

The following years witnessed rapid expansion of labor organizing. By 1908, railway and tram workers had established their own union, followed by numerous other sector-specific organizations including the Pawnshop Native Employees Union and various private enterprise unions. These early organizations primarily focused on economic improvements rather than political transformation, reflecting the pragmatic concerns of workers facing harsh colonial labor conditions. The proliferation of these unions created an organizational infrastructure that would later facilitate more radical political movements, providing communication networks, meeting spaces, and experienced organizers who understood how to mobilize workers across Indonesia’s diverse archipelago.

Consolidation and Radicalization

The movement toward labor unity culminated on December 25, 1919, when twenty-two trade unions convened in Yogyakarta to establish the Workers’ Movement Federation. This landmark gathering elected Semaoen as chairman and created an organization boasting approximately 70,000 members—an unprecedented show of labor solidarity in colonial Indonesia. The federation’s formation immediately strengthened workers’ bargaining power and facilitated coordinated strike actions across different industries and regions. More significantly, it represented workers’ growing understanding that their economic struggles were inherently political, challenging the fundamental structures of colonial exploitation.

The Russian Revolution of 1917 profoundly influenced Indonesian intellectuals and labor leaders, demonstrating that revolutionary change was possible even in largely agrarian societies. This international context shaped the deliberations at the Seventh Congress of the Indies Social Democratic Association on May 23, 1920, when delegates voted to transform their organization into the Indies Communist Union. Despite opposition from branches in Surabaya, Bandung, and Ternate, the majority embraced this radical repositioning, electing Semaoen as chairman, Darsono as vice-chairman, with Bergsma and Dekker assuming secretary and treasurer roles respectively. This organization would join the Communist International later that year, formally aligning Indonesian workers with global revolutionary movements. In 1924, the group renamed itself the Communist Party of Indonesia while maintaining May 23, 1920 as its founding date, with Sudarsono assuming leadership.

Ideological Foundation and Publications

The newly formed Communist Party of Indonesia articulated a clear revolutionary program demanding national independence and the nationalization of key industries including factories, mines, banks, plantations, and transportation systems. This platform connected immediate workers’ demands with broader anti-colonial and socialist objectives, creating a coherent ideological framework that distinguished communists from more moderate nationalist and Islamic movements. The party recognized that economic struggles against Dutch capitalists necessarily involved political struggle against colonial rule, synthesizing class consciousness with national liberation in a manner that resonated with many Indonesian workers and peasants.

To spread its message, the party established an impressive array of publications with evocative titles reflecting revolutionary fervor: Communiqué, Flame, Alarm Bell, Fire, Proletarian, Blaze, Warning, Our Voice, Fighters, Heat, Alarm Clock, and Courage. These publications served multiple functions—educating workers about socialist theory, reporting on international revolutionary developments, coordinating strike activities, and building a shared political identity among diverse ethnic and regional groups. The proliferation of these publications demonstrated the party’s commitment to political education and its understanding that sustainable revolutionary movement required not just organization but ideological transformation among the masses.

Labor Struggles and Organizational Challenges

The Communist Party immediately immersed itself in labor organizing, supporting strikes across the archipelago. In September 1920, workers at Deli Railway Company and Batavian Petroleum Company in Sumatra struck for higher wages. Two months later, dockworkers in Surabaya launched their own wage strike. The following year witnessed a general strike in the grain industry and a remarkable six-month dockworkers’ strike in Surabaya that tested both workers’ endurance and colonial repression. These actions demonstrated workers’ growing militancy but also revealed strategic divisions within the labor movement.

The Workers’ Movement Federation found itself divided between radical elements aligned with communist perspectives and reformists who favored concentrating on economic improvements within the colonial system. This ideological conflict led radical unions to establish the Revolutionary Central Trade Union in Semarang in 1921, creating a parallel labor organization that weakened working-class unity. Recognizing this problem, rank-and-file workers increasingly demanded a unified organization that could more effectively challenge both Dutch capitalists and colonial authorities. This pressure eventually led to the merger of competing labor federations into the Indies Trade Union Federation in September 1922, with Public Works Employees’ Union leader Suroso assuming chairmanship. The Communist-led Railway and Tram Workers’ Union played a central role in this new federation, strengthening radical influence within the broader labor movement.

Escalating Confrontation and Colonial Repression

The growing militancy of labor actions inevitably provoked harsher colonial responses. In April 1923, the Railway and Tram Workers’ Union prepared for a major strike demanding wage increases. The colonial administration preemptively arrested union leader Semaoen in May, triggering protest strikes by Semarang railway workers that quickly spread to Cirebon, Tegal, Pekalongan, Madiun, and Surabaya. This coordinated action represented the most significant challenge to colonial economic interests to date, demonstrating the communists’ ability to mobilize workers across Java’s transportation network.

Despite this show of force, the strike ultimately failed due to ruthless colonial suppression tactics including mass arrests, strike-breaking violence, and economic pressure on workers’ families. In August 1923, the colonial government deported Semaoen, removing one of the movement’s most effective organizers from the struggle. This defeat highlighted both the growing strength of organized labor and the formidable power of the colonial state to crush resistance through repression and deportation. The failure also prompted strategic reevaluation within communist ranks about the balance between economic strikes and political revolution.

The Awakening Peasantry

While urban workers mounted strikes, rural areas witnessed their own forms of resistance. Since the late 19th century, peasants in Java and Sumatra had resisted various colonial taxes including head taxes, land taxes, and slaughter taxes. Dutch regulations required peasants in the Solo princely territories of Central Java to lease half their land to sugar plantations and provide unpaid labor during harvest season—a system that generated widespread resentment. In 1917, the Indies Social Democratic Association organized the Peasant and Agricultural Workers Association to demand higher rents for plantation-leased land. Two years later, peasants in Garut Regency revolted against government-enforced grain prices, demonstrating rural willingness to resist exploitative policies.

The Communist Party recognized the revolutionary potential of the peasantry and worked to connect rural and urban struggles. After communists were expelled from the Islamic Union in 1923 due to conflicts with reformist elements, Semaoen and other radicals established the Red Islamic Union in December 1923, actively recruiting peasants. The following year, this organization transformed into the People’s Alliance under Communist Party leadership, with representatives attending party congresses. This strategic orientation toward peasant organizing distinguished Indonesian communists from many European socialist movements and reflected their understanding of Indonesia’s predominantly agricultural economy.

International Solidarity and Asian Revolutionary Networks

Indonesia’s communist movement developed within a context of rising anti-colonial sentiment across Asia. The 1924 establishment of United Front cooperation between Nationalists and Communists in China particularly inspired Indonesian revolutionaries, demonstrating how anti-imperialist forces could unite against foreign domination. At May Day celebrations in Semarang that year, participants displayed portraits of Sun Yat-sen alongside Marxist leaders—a symbolic gesture connecting Indonesian struggles with broader Asian revolutionary movements.

International connections expanded through organizational networks. In June 1924, Communist Party leader Alimin attended the Pacific Transportation Workers Conference in Guangzhou, China. The party established a Red Trade Union Secretariat in Surabaya that joined both the International Labor Union and the Pan-Pacific Trade Union Secretariat based in Guangzhou. When the May 30th Incident shook Shanghai in 1925, Indonesian communists organized solidarity actions, seeing Chinese struggles against imperialism as directly relevant to their own fight against Dutch colonialism. These international connections provided ideological reinforcement, practical organizing experience, and a sense of participating in a global historical movement toward liberation.

Legacy and Historical Significance

The early Communist Party of Indonesia established patterns of organization and resistance that would influence Indonesian politics for decades. Despite colonial repression and internal challenges, the party pioneered methods of combining labor organizing, peasant mobilization, and anti-colonial nationalism that would be adopted by subsequent movements. The party’s emphasis on both economic demands and political liberation created a template for later nationalist organizations, while its efforts to bridge urban and rural struggles anticipated more comprehensive approaches to revolutionary change.

The movement’s limitations also offered important lessons. Organizational divisions between radical and reformist elements weakened labor’s effectiveness, demonstrating the challenges of maintaining unity in diverse movements. The colonial state’s ability to crush strikes through repression highlighted the need for broader popular support and more sophisticated strategies. The party’s eventual turn toward insurrection in 1926-1927—which ended disastrously—would grow from experiences during this formative period, reflecting both the urgency of revolutionary ambitions and the difficulties of challenging well-established colonial power.

Today, the early history of Indonesian communism remains relevant for understanding the complex relationships between class struggle, national identity, and religious affiliation in Indonesia’s political development. The movement’s efforts to synthesize Marxist theory with Indonesian realities, its international connections within Asian revolutionary networks, and its pioneering role in organized labor and peasant movements all represent significant chapters in Indonesia’s journey toward independence and modern nationhood. While subsequent historical developments would take complex turns, these early struggles established enduring questions about social justice, economic equity, and political sovereignty that continue to resonate in contemporary Indonesia.