Abstract Kemadjoean (progress) was a key term for all social movement in the early 20th century Dutch East Indies. This article argued that the discourse of progress has no single meaning throughout the Dutch East Indies, but instead, it was practiced differently by people from different cultural communities. This article focuses on how the discourse of progress was negotiated by the Sundanese ethnic group. Using Foucauldian discourse analysis on the texts of Papaes Nonoman Newspaper (1914-1917), this studi found that, besides being interpreted as “an attempt to become Dutch”, the notion of progress was understood by the Sundanese specifically as a way to liberate Sundanese culture from the domination of Javanese culture. Abstrak Kemadjoean menjadi istilah kunci bagi semua gerakan sosial pribumi Hindia Belanda di awal abad 20. Tulisan ini meyakini bahwa wacana kemajuan dipraktikkan berbeda dalam tiap komunitas kultural. Tulisan ini membahas bagaimana kemajuan dipahami, didiskusikan dan dinegosiasikan oleh kelompok etnis Sunda pada dekade awal abad 20. Menggunakan analisis wacana Foucauldian pada teks Surat Kabar Papaes Nonoman (1914-1917), penelitian ini menemukan bahwa selain kemajuan dipahami sebagai ‘usaha menjadi Belanda’-sebagaimana umumnya terjadi di Hindia Belanda, kemajuan secara khusus dipahami oleh etnis Sunda sebagai pembebasan budaya Sunda dari dominasi budaya etnis Jawa.