ACJC_H2_HIST_SEA _Suggested_approaches_Essays

©2016 ACJC History Department  SEAH Prelim – Suggested Approaches  1 | Page     Southeast Asian History Preliminary Examinations (2016) – Suggested Approaches 2. Assess the claim that successful pre-1941 movements were mainly driven by Western ideologies. The claim suggests that movements which were successful either by making significant progress towards independence through a collaborative relationship with colonial masters, establishing broad based support as a critical foundation to the eventual aim of overthrowing unrelenting colonial masters or simply preserving their ethno-religious identities in an overwhelming climate of Westernization; were all driven by Western ideologies in the form of democracy or communism. While this is true as seen via movements which were sophisticated in their worldview and stratagem as well as the failures of petulantly traditional movements, this claim overlooks the fact that there were Western-driven movements which failed. In addition, movements which were successful in either garnering broad-based support or preserving the ethno-religious identity of particular segments of the society utilized the masses’ ethno-religious adherence as much as they were driven by modern i deologies. Furthermore, the question has limited success to the mere facilities of Western ideologies without acknowledging the important role played by the attitudes of colonial masters in determining the success of pre-1941 movements. (Supporting) Line of Argument 1: successful movements with sophisticated world view and stratagem Vietminh which utilised the Communist strategy to break into cell groups; dual function: infiltrate into the rural population (peasants) faster & to avoid the detection of the punitive French colonial masters (Supporting) Line of Argument 2: failure of traditional movements which refused to embrace Western ideologies and were crushed under Western firepower Case studies: Mat Hassan & the Kelantan Uprising (1915) & Saya San rebellion (1931) (Challenging) Line of Argument 3: failed to acknowledge that there were movements driven by Western ideologies which struggled or totally failed as the masses couldn’t identify with their alien concepts Indochina Communist Party (ICP) & Partai Komunis Indonesia (PKI) (Challenging) Line of Argument 4 : movements which was successful because they were driven by a combination of ethno-religious concepts & Western ideologies. Partai Nasional Indonesia (PNI) : Sukarno’s “Nationalism, Islam & Marxism” and the concept of Ratu Adil Dobama Aseayone: Mass support spearheaded by General Council of Burmese Associations & intellectual direction provided by students from Rangoon University (Challenging) Line of Argument 5: movements were successful not because they were driven by Western ideologies but because they were focused on preserving the ethno-religious identities of the majority of the population Muhammadiyah and YMBA

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