1 - Abdul Rivai: Medicine and the Enticement of Modernity

Summary

From the 1880s, indigenous intellectuals in the Dutch East Indies tirelessly promoted progress, development, and education as essential in realising a modern society. Indies physicians, who, until the 1920s, had received the highest level of education available in the Indies, were natural leaders in the movement advocating progress. Abdul Rivai was a pioneer among them. His desire for equality with Europeans motivated him to obtain a medical degree in the Netherlands. During his studies, he published an influential weekly magazine, the Bintang Hindia. When the Volksraad, the colonial parliament, was established in 1918, he was elected as a member and frequently criticised the colonial administration. Because of their education, Indies physicians were very close to Europeans. Yet despite their desire for equality, they found themselves in an ambiguous and paradoxical social position. While the pursuit of professional advancement was rewarded in specific situations, Indies physicians were hardly ever considered equal to Europeans. In reaction, many developed an almost obsessive concern with their own place and with that of their profession in colonial society.