Founded in 1912 by E.F.E. Douwes Dekker, Tjipto Mangoenkoesoemo, and Soewardi Soerjaningrat, the Indische Partij called for people across racial and ethnic lines to unite in an independent Indies. It challenged the colonial hierarchy that privileged Dutch settlers and discriminated against Indo-Europeans and Indigenous people. Its slogan, “Indie voor Indiers” (“The Indies for the people of the Indies”), welcomed members of many backgrounds. The party rapidly built branches and attracted thousands, but the colonial government refused to recognize it and banned it in 1913. Its leaders were exiled, while its ideas continued through successor groups and later nationalist movements.