People's Youth ( Indonesian: ''Pemuda Rakyat'') was the youth wing of the

Communist Party of Indonesia The Communist Party of Indonesia (Indonesian language, Indonesian: ''Partai Komunis Indonesia'', PKI) was a communist party in the Dutch East Indies and later Indonesia. It was the largest non-ruling communist party in the world before its Indo ...

(PKI). The organisation was formed as the Socialist Youth of Indonesia (''Pemuda Sosialis Indonesia'' or ''Pesindo''). Initially the organisation was set up on the initiative of then Minister of Defence

Amir Sjarifuddin Amir Sjarifuddin Harahap ( EVO: Amir Sjarifoeddin Harahap; 27 April 1907 – 19 December 1948) was an Indonesian politician and journalist who served as the second prime minister of Indonesia from 1947 until 1948. A major leader of the lef ...

, as the youth wing of the Socialist Party of Indonesia. A congress was held on 10 and 11 November 1945, where seven locally based youth outfits merged. Rapidly it gained a membership of around 25,000. The organisation took part in the armed struggle for independence during the

Indonesian National Revolution The Indonesian National Revolution (), also known as the Indonesian War of Independence (, ), was an armed conflict and diplomatic struggle between the Republic of Indonesia and the Dutch Empire and an internal social revolution during A ...

. Pesindo units were engaged in intense street fighting during the

Battle of Surabaya The Battle of Surabaya () was a major battle in the Indonesian National Revolution fought between regular infantry and militia of the Indonesian nationalist movement and British and British Indian Army, British Indian troops against the re-imp ...

. Pesindo took part, along with PKI and FDR, in the Madiun Uprising in 1948. In 1950 the organisation established its ties to the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) and changed its name to "''Pemuda Rakyat''". At the congress of November 1950 Francisca C. Fanggidaej became the chairwoman of the organisation. Sukatno became the general secretary. According to the American CIA, the ''People's Youth claimed membership of 1,250,000 in 1962, with that strength being principally in

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

.'' In 1964, according to the PKI, the People's Youth had two million members. Membership of Pemuda Rakyat reached around three million in 1965. Pemuda Rakyat was effectively eliminated along with PKI during the Indonesian killings of 1965–66.

References

Youth wings of communist parties Youth wings of political parties in Indonesia Mass organizations of the Communist Party of Indonesia {{Indonesia-party-stub