Nationalism of Southeast Asian Nations

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Mechanisms of controlling the colonized country
Strategies of overcoming the foreign dominance
Conclusion
Works Cited
Footnotes

Introduction

The development of several Southeast Asian countries was profoundly affected by prolonged colonial rule. For many years such states as Philippines and Indonesia were under control of Western-European superpowers, namely the Netherlands and Spain. This fact gives rise to a great number of questions. First, it is necessary to single out those methods which European governments employed in order to subdue these people. We need to ascertain the reasons why their dominance was so tenacious and lasting. Furthermore, it is vital to identify the steps of escaping this dominance and challenging imperialism. For this purpose we should refer to such novels as This Earth of Mankind by Pramoedya Ananta Toer and El filibusterismo written by José Rizal. Although these are literary works they can be extremely helpful in this discussion because they provide first-hand information about the life of Indonesians and Philippines during that period. They authors portray the struggles of average people who strive to prove to themselves and to the rest of the world that they must not be treated as inferior or subhuman. These works may throw light on many of the issues which we need to discuss.

Mechanisms of controlling the colonized country

In his book Pramoedya Ananta Toer gives the reader very deep insights into the strategies of the Dutch government. In fact, it was a classical technique which is usually known as “divide and rule”¹. Its key objective is to spread enmity among the members of the host population by granting privileges to one group and abusing the other. The author eloquently demonstrates this approach: for instance, the main character Minke attends Holland school because he is of European descent. In turn, the native people are not allowed into this educational institution and no explanation is given to them.

It should be pointed out that Minke frequently becomes ashamed of his origins because a person can be humiliated only for being a native or a Javanese, to be more exact (Toer, 159). Thus, another technique of conquering the nation was to downgrade its own culture, make it look primitive, unsophisticated. Furthermore, the author emphasizes the lack of appropriate education: many native people, especially women were deprived of any opportunity to enter educational institutions. (Toer, 184). These examples show that there was actually no need to use military force, this effect could be achieved by means of well-staged public campaign. This is why this political course seems to be even more dangerous.

The main goal of these policies was to isolate different layers of the society from each other. Those, who achieved status in the community, were quite content with their position. Moreover, colonial rulers were perceived as the main benefactors. Those people who lived beyond poverty line did not have any chance of resistance. This case shows that Western-European countries were not willing to use power or resort to violence. Yet, they worked out more subtle or even Machiavellian methods of attaining dominance.

José Rizal describes similar tactics. In Philippines, Spanish colonizers also enabled some part of the native population to reach success as it was with Crisóstomo Ibarra who was once a well-to-do jeweler. But due to his misfortunes he grows more and more resentful against the foreign rule. Judging from these facts, we can argue that the strategies do not differ from each other. Colonizers were helping only those people who intended to cooperate with them and supported their orders. As for the rest of the nation, they were at a disadvantage. Thus, there was no unity among them. Logically, foreign governments were quite satisfied with such state of affairs. The thing is that people who are driven only the longing for individual safety can never join their efforts because they pursue only their own interests and have no concern for the welfare of the whole community.

Naturally, none of the writers actually calls the policies of foreign governments in this particular way. In their novels they only enumerate some of its elements, like discrimination. But at the end of the nineteenth century, the “divide and rule” approach was quite widespread among many Western-European governments. As a matter of fact, no one tried to conceal this fact. Again, many European politicians as well as philosophers maintained that all these brutalities were only for the sake of less advanced nations (Hobson, 253). But these books show all the callosity and inhumanity of this method. It can be observed that both Javanese and Filipino people were once reduced to powerless state. They virtually became aliens in their own country. This analysis leads us to the question of how to resist such form of dominance.

Strategies of overcoming the foreign dominance

It is rather difficult to enumerate the methods of overthrowing colonial rule. History offers us a great number of examples. In the vast majority of cases, Asian or African countries gained their autonomy because European states were no longer interested in keeping colonies. Sometimes former Western superpowers fell in decline and they were no longer able to control foreign lands, as it was with Spain. Still, it has to be admitted that without political mobilization of the host nation no change is possible. The essence of imperialism lies in superior attitude towards other ethnic group. This superiority frequently relies only on stereotypes and inability to accept the values of others. However, it is practically impossible to disprove these misconceptions. The most striking detail is that even now at beginning of the twenty-first century such beliefs are quite widespread. These remnants of colonial policies will survive, until former colonies fulfill their potential.

In this respect, we may refer to Pramoedya Toer work. The novelist says that even during school years, many Javanese people were raised with the feeling of inferiority. Minkes teachers constantly reminded him of “the Dutch nations contribution to civilization” (Toer, 113). So, it is not surprising that that he admires the invaders or at least pretends to do so in order to avoid punishment. One should not think that this conduct is unworthy of a noble man because at that time many Javanese people behaved in similar way. Perhaps, the nation can escape the dominance of others only if each member of this community feels the need for change. Pramoedya Toer and José Rizal offer us different explanations of this problem.

According to Toer, there are several steps to overcome this situation. First, in order to obtain national independence, the countrys people need to be politically mobile. They must feel the need for improvement. This can be done only if poorer layers of the community are able to think and judge for themselves and the only way to acquire these skills is continuous education. In his novel Pramoedya Ananta Toer stresses the fact that this is the only possible way to bring change into ones life. The main characters Minke and Nyai clearly understand they will remain helpless until they are financially and socially independent. But at the same time, they understand that they cannot do it without the Dutch support.

The paradox of this situation is that even if Minke and Nyai achieve any success; they would no longer associate themselves with Javanese. Any successful person does not want to have anything to do with those who have failed. This is one of the most though-provoking themes in Toers novel. The behavior of the main characters reminds individual rather than collective struggle. They do not think that they are responsible for others. To some extent, such perspective is quite understandable because a person cannot be answerable for others. Nonetheless, this approach is mostly based on vanity and egoism.

Apart from that, Pramoedya Toer expresses an idea that Indonesians must become more active. One of the characters says, “Europeans can no longer do anything to help. The Natives themselves must begin to do something” (Toer, 148). This statement hints at the idea that without political mobilization, the nation would never become self-sufficient. Again we need to remember the “divide and rule” tactics which acts like a system of checks and balances: it prevents the members of the community from merging into a single entity.

Pramoedya Toer does not support radical measures. Undoubtedly, the nation can obtain independence in the course of military conflict but this achievement will be short-lived because in the future people will not be able to live without someone elses guidance or prompt. Thus, we can argue that it is necessary to reach a certain level of maturity. In this case, we are not supporting former imperial claims of Western-European countries and these claims are morally impermissible but brutality cannot be conquered through brutality. This eventually creates a vicious circle that is almost impossible to break. The thing is that violence and cruelty are not able to produce anything except bloodshed. However, this is only view on the question and not everyone would agree with it.

In sharp contrast Jose Rizal presents a different scenario. The main character of the novel El filibusterismo, Juan Crisostomo Ibarra chooses rebellion or revolution. In his opinion, non-violent methods of resistance are of no use. José Rizal presents the protagonists line of reasoning in the following way, “It is the final argument of the weak, force against force, violence against violence’ (Rizal, 273). This man believes that force is the ultimate solution because he is not able to see any other way of solving this conflict. Unfortunately, even now some people are firmly convinced that “force against force” is best way to prove their rectitude.

Undoubtedly, from modern perspective this argument may seem appalling, to say the least. But in the course of history, a great number of nations attained independence only through active measures, as the United States did at the end of the eighteenth century. It should be mentioned that the protagonists point of view does not fully coincide with that one of the author. Father Florentino conveys Jose Rizals ideas. This character says that nation will liberate itself when all Filipinos acquire the sense of dignity and self-esteem (Rizal, p 254). By subduing ones enemy, the person cannot possibly improve his or her self-esteem. Unfortunately, Juan Crisostomo does not comprehend this self-evident truth.

He believes that the only way to overthrow the Spanish rule is to challenge them in open struggle but he does not find the support of other people, and this is his greatest tragedy. This is the main reason why his struggle does not yield practically any fruit. Apart from that, we should say that in his pursuit of freedom, Juan Crisostomo turns into a brutal and cynical criminal, who does not value the live of another human being. His example shows that sometimes people can commit the most terrible things under very noble pretexts. To some degree, José Rizal warns the reader against such errors.

Conclusion

The path to national independence is always associated with many obstacles and pitfalls. Neither literature nor history cannot offer step-by-step instructions how to escape colonial rule. Obviously, there might be various events or factors that can stimulate the nations rising. One of them is the military rebellion coup or revolution as José Rizal suggests but it is almost always doomed to failure unless it is supported by the public, whose members feel themselves self-sufficient and worthy of autonomy. Furthermore, armed rebellion frequently erases the line between good evil and even the noblest person can grow into a villain. In turn, Pramoedya Ananta Toer shows that the only way to sovereignty is continuous education because it gives the feeling of fulfillment and dignity. The novels, which have been discussed in this paper, prove that autonomy cannot be gained through individual effort because the concept of nation cannot be reduced only to one individual even if he or she is the most educated or courageous.

Works Cited

Hobson., J.A. Imperialism: A Study. Cosimo, Inc., 2006.

Rizal J., Soledad, M, & Locsin, R. El filibusterismo: subversion : a sequel to Noli me tangere. University of Hawaii Press, 2007.

Toer P.A., & Lane, M. This Earth of Mankind (Buru Quartet). Penguin Books, 1990.

Footnotes

1 This phrase is derived from Latin expression “divide et impera”.

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