Budi Utomo is considered the first nationalist society in the Dutch East Indies. The founder of Budi Utomo was Wahidin Soerdirohoesodo, a retired government doctor who felt that native intellectuals should improve public welfare through education and culture.^[40]

Budi Utomo's primary aim was at first not political. However, it gradually shifted toward political aims with representatives in the conservative Volksraad (the People's Council) and in the provincial councils in Java. Budi Utomo officially dissolved in 1935. After its dissolution, some members joined the largest political party of the time, the moderate Greater Indonesian Party (Parindra).

The use of Budi Utomo to mark the inception of modern nationalism in Indonesia is not without controversy. Although many scholars agree that Budi Utomo was likely the first modern indigenous political organization,^[41] others question its value as an index of Indonesian nationalism.