Great Indonesia Party

The Great Indonesia Party ( id, Partai Indonesia Raya, Parindra) was the name used by two Indonesian political parties.

Pre-war party

The first Parindra was established in December 1935 as a result of a merger between the Budi Utomo political society and the Indonesian National Union (''Perserikatan Bangsa Indonesia'') with the aim of working with the Dutch to secure Indonesian independence. It was led by Raden Soetomo, Mohammad Husni Thamrin, Susanto Tirtoprodjo, Sukarjo Wiryopranoto and Woerjaningrat, and became the most influential Indonesian grouping in the Volksraad, the notionally legislative body established by the Dutch. In the 1935 election, it won two seats in the body, with a further party member appointed directly. In 1939, four of its members were elected, and none appointed. In May 1939, Thamrin was the main driving force behind the merger of Parindra and seven other nationalist organizations into the Federation of Indonesian Political Parties (''Gaboengan Politek Indonesia'', GAPI).

Parindra had a youth 'scout organization', ''Surya Wirawan'', which used a version of Roman salute, similar to the Nazi salute, with the arm in a straight line. As early as 1937, members began using this salute, which was called ''groot saluut'', ''saluut terhormat'' or great salute. Newspaper articles from the period 1935-42 remarked on Parindra’s bizarre practice, but it was only officially banned in 1941, as colonial authorities became increasingly uneasy about the prospects of a Japanese invasion. In 1941, Mohammad Husni Thamrin died, five days after he was put under house arrest by the Dutch colonial authorities. As Jan Anne Jonkmann, president of the Volksraad from 1939 until 1942, put it in his memoirs: “Thamrin was buried like a prince. The interest and sympathy of the Indonesians were overwhelming.” During his burial ceremony, with a militaristic style, Soekardjo Wirjopranoto – an influential Parindrist, march through ''Surya Wirawan'' youths performing the salute. Although Parindra maintained that the party “did not adopt he saluteout of a particular sympathy for Hitler and his Nazis.”

On 10 January 1942, Japan invaded and subsequently occupied the Dutch East Indies. On 20 March, the Japanese authorities ordered all political parties to be dissolved and banned political activity.

Post-independence party

The second Parindra was established as a "splinter party" in November 1949 by one of the leaders of the pre-war party, R.P. Soeroso, who subsequently served in several cabinets. Its membership comprised members of the old Parindra that had decided not to join the PNI Initially it had seven members in the Provisional People's Representative Council, although party faction leader Lobo subsequently defected to another party, Permai.

The three pillars of the party were patriotism, populism and social justice. Its aims were to strengthen the position of the Indonesian state and people, to bring about a democratic unitary state, to strive for a socialist society and to promote national culture. Among its priorities were the inclusion of West Papua within Indonesia, the implementation of a unitary, not federal, state and the holding of general elections as soon as possible.

The party contested the 1955 legislative election, but despite party members having held important roles in Indonesian cabinets, its share of the vote was so small that it failed to win any seats in the legislature.

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{{Former Indonesian political parties

Defunct political parties in Indonesia