National Awakening
National Awakening
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Remember the founding fathers’ spirits as a whole. The long process has given birth to this great nation.
Present day Indonesia. A nation where everything revolves around the existence of unity. A place where its people are free to work, learn, and pursue things they desire. It’s been 72 years since the National Awakening Day was first celebrated in Yogyakarta and 61 years since it was designated as one of Indonesia’s national days in 1959. Our country has been going through a lot of things in shaping the country, getting back on track, standing in its ground, and being the nation that we’re all proud to be a part of.
This particular era of National Awakening surely rooted from Indonesia’s nationalist movement back in the day. There were several factors which gave rise to a nationalist consciousness. Ranging from the media press, acts of communism, urbanization, Dutch oppression, and even education and mass entertainment. Leading intellectuals like Kartini, Tirto Adhi Soerjo, and Semaun gave voices and sentiments to the idea of a unified archipelago. But, indigenous voices were suppressed by the Dutch, who disallowed both freedom of speech and freedom of assembly. And indeed, only a small number of people dared to raise their voices against colonialism while most people avoided the Dutch as best as they could.
In 1948, Indonesia celebrated the National Awakening Day for the first time. Soekarno made a speech about national awakening in front of the masses without any documented proof of his complete speech that day. This speech represented the worries of Indonesia’s important figures with statements that Indonesia was under attack by political crisis, internally and externally. In that time of crisis, symbols of unity were needed. Ki Hadjar Dewantara and Radjiman Wediodiningrat then suggested Soekarno and Hatta to commemorate the rise of Boedi Oetomo as the National Awakening Day. Boedi Oetomo was the first national organization to unify the people of indonesia. This made it a perfect symbol to commemorate the National Awakening Day.
Because of the important role of Boedi Oetomo in the National Awakening Day origin, Dr. Soetomo plays an important figure in this as he was the founder of the organization, Boedi Oetomo. Dr. Soetomo was born in East Java on 30th July 1888. He then went on to a medical school at School tot Opleiding van Inlandsche Artsen (STOVIA) in 1903 and established an association with his friends named Boedi Oetomo in 1908. Dr. Soetomo worked as a government doctor and went on to continue his studies in Amsterdam. He then established Indonesian Study Club in 1924and changed it to Parindra in 1935 before he died in 1938.
Why do we celebrate this national day? The National Awakening is characterized by the national movement’s momentum, which is the momentum of transformation from an unorganized struggle to an organized one, from an unplanned struggle to a planned one, from a regional struggle to a national struggle, from a country without a parliament to a country that has a parliament. This initial honor became a political campaign designed to realize a country that has the honor of its own freedom and strength. This combination of various interpretations of transition is achieved to attain the growth of Indonesia. Therefore, the National Awakening is a landmark in the Indonesian people’s past that needs to be researched, appreciated, and that should be used in the future as an impetus to create a country to understand the values of national life. The spirit of nationalism enables this country to remain, be independent, and prosper in accordance with the independence of those nations that have first progressed and those that are evolving to make progress. Nationalism is often expected as an energy that generates a nation, society, and state in order to enable the country to know the potential of its national power to develop towards ideals that are expected to be a safe, peaceful, just, and prosperous society.
If there were no initiative from Boedi Oetomo, it would not be possible to hold a Pemoeda II Congress in 1928 which produced Sumpah Pemuda (The Youth Pledge) declaration, namely an oath of the union of youth from different organizations in Indonesia. Seventeen years later, through the signatures of Soekarno and Hatta on behalf of the people of Indonesia, the Declaration of Sumpah Pemuda inspired the Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, which was also supported by youth. Today, we are seeking to recognize and view the strengths of the Boedi Oetomo Anniversary as the National Awakening Day. What we have to recognize is that the true awakening is when we are mindful that we have to keep studying. Learning takes place anytime and anywhere.
Writers: Jehezkiel Axel Jordan, Aisyah Putri Ramadhania, Selly
Editor: Ratu Annisa Gandasari
REFERENCES
Indonesian National Awakening. Retrieved from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indonesian_National_Awakening
Rachmawati, J. (2019). [Online]. Millennials Nggak Boleh Lupa! Sejarah Singkat Dari Hari Kebangkitan Nasional. Retrieved from: https://blog.tunaikita.com/millennials-nggak-boleh-lupa-sejarah-singkat-dari-hari-kebangkitan-nasional/
Kelas Pintar. (2019). [Online]. 4 Fakta Menarik Tentang Hari Kebangkitan Nasional 20 Mei. Retrieved from: https://www.kelaspintar.id/blog/inspirasi/hari-kebangkitan-nasional-20-mei-608/
Kambali, A. (2017). Kenapa Kita Harus Merayakan Kebangkitan Nasional?. Retrieved from Komunitas Historia Indonesia: