SOEKARNO AND SUN YAT SEN STRUGGLING FOR LIBERTY AND NATIONALISM

Abstract

Abstract
Ir Soekarno, born on June 1st 1091, and Dr. Sun Yat-sen, born in 1866, were unforgotten
leaders until present. Soekarno was a leader determined to struggle for Indonesia’s liberty
since the colonial period. He felt how the people suffered those days because of the
exploitation of the colonialist. His dream was to form an independent country based on
nationalism. He realized that Indonesia, at that time the Dutch Indies, was plural, so he
believed that nationalism based on humanity was the most appropriate, although he was
strongly challenged by Islamic groups who wanted a country with Islamic principle. After
independence, Pancasila became Indonesian state philosophy.
Soekarno’s struggle during the colonial period was influenced by several leaders who were
also struggling for freedom from exploitation, both by colonialism or the power of absolute
monarchy. Several of them, such as Mahatma Gandhi, Aurobindo Ghose and Sut Yat Sen,
struggled against Manchu monarchy. Sun Yat Sen’s principle about nationalism, which
was based on The Three Principles of the People (Sanminxhuyi) apparently influenced
Soekarno in struggling for nationalism. Sun Yat Sen’s struggle became reality with the
birth of China Revolution in 1911
Keywords: Nationalism, Struggle for independence, Freedom, Justice