Ki Hajar Dewantara

Ki Hajar Dewantara
Minister of National Education of the Republic of Indonesia
In office 2 September 1945 – 14 November 1945
President	Sukarno
Preceded by	Office created
Succeeded by	Todung Sutan Gunung Mulia
Personal details
Born	Raden Mas Soewardi Soeryaningrat (1889-05-02)2 May 1889 Pakualaman, Dutch East Indies
Died	26 April 1959(1959-04-26) (aged 69) Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Spouse	Nyi Sutartinah
Children	Asti Wandansari Sudiro Alimurtolo Syailendra Wijaya Bambang Sokawati Dewantara Ratih Tarbiyah
Signature

colonials.

He was honored as a National Hero of Indonesia by Indonesia's first president, Sukarno, on 28 November 1959.^[1]

Early life

Soewardi was born into

, a medical school for native students. However, he failed to graduate because of illness.

Later he worked as a journalist and wrote for many newspapers, including

During Soewardi's career in printed media, he was considered a talented and accomplished writer. His style of writing is popular, communicative, and yet imbued with idealism for freedom and anti-colonialist sentiment.

Activist movements

Besides being a tenacious young reporter, Soewardi was also active in social and political organizations. Since the establishment of

.

Young Soewardi was also a member of the Insulinde, a multi-ethnic organization that was dominated by Indo activists. This organization was advocating for self-rule in the Dutch East Indies. One of the prominent figures in this organization was Ernest Douwes Dekker. Later, Soewardi was invited to join the party when Douwes Dekker established the Indische Party.

If I were a Dutchman

In 1913, the Dutch East Indies government sought to collect money to fund the centennial anniversary of Dutch independence from France in 1813. The donations were drawn from Dutch East Indies citizens, which also included the bumiputera (indigenous people). This decision ignited critical opposition and negative reactions from pro-independence nationalists, including Soewardi. He wrote several critical columns, such as "Een maar ook voor Allen Allen voor Een" or "One for All, All for One". However, the most famous piece of Ki Hadjar Dewantara's column is "If I were a Dutchman" ("Als ik eens Nederlander was"), printed in De Expres newspaper on 13 July 1913. This article fiercely criticized the colonial government of the Dutch East Indies. The citation of his writing is as followsː

If I were a

Inlander (native Indonesian) to provide funds for such festivities. The very idea of the independence festivities alone is quite insulting for them, and now we also scour their pockets. Come on, away with the physical and spiritual humiliation! Had I been a Dutchman, a particular case that offends our friends and countrymen, is the fact that the inlanders required to participate and bankrolled an activity that do not have the slightest importance for them.^{[citation needed}

]

Some Dutch officials doubted that this piece was written by Soewardi because compared to his earlier writings, there are some differences in style and vocabulary.^[citation needed] Even if it is true, that it was Soewardi's writing, they suspected that Douwes Dekker might have actively influenced Soewardi to write in such a tone.^{[clarification needed]}

The colonial authorities considered Soewardi's writings that criticize the colonial government to be so subversive, sensitive, and divisive that they feared they might incite a popular revolt and upset the delicate social order of the Dutch East Indies. As a consequence, Soewardi was arrested under the order of Governor General

, protested on his behalf, and eventually in 1913, the three of them were exiled to the Netherlands instead. These three pro-independence activist figures, Soewardi, Douwes Dekker, and Tjipto, were later known as the Tiga Serangkai or the "triad". Soewardi at that time was only 24 years old.

Exile

During his exile in the Netherlands, Soewardi was active in the Indonesia students' organization, the

family. These underlying influences contributed to Soewardi's ideas for developing his educational system.

Taman Siswa

In September 1919, Soewardi returned home to Java, Dutch East Indies. Immediately, he joined his brother in establishing a school in his native hometown Yogyakarta. His educational background and his teaching experiences then proved to be useful in developing his concept for teaching in school, as he founded the Nationaal Onderwijs Instituut Ampel, or the national college. During the time of colonial social discrimination in the early 20th century, education was only made possible for the elites, the colonial Dutch people, and a handful of Javanese noblemen families. Education at that time was not made available for native commoners. In July 1922, Soewardi established the Taman Siswa school in Yogyakarta, a Javanese educational movement that strove to provide education for the native population.

When he reached 40 years of age, according to the

Raden Mas

in front of his name. It was a gesture to demonstrate his support for social equality and his disregard for the rigid social stature of Javanese society. Ki Hadjar intended to freely interact with people of all social backgrounds and to be close to them in both body and soul.

Tut Wuri Handayani

Ki Hadjar Dewantara has coined a famous proverb to describe his educational ideals. Rendered in Javanese, the maxim reads: Ing ngarso sung tulodo, ing madyo mangun karso, tut wuri handayani. Which translates: "(for those) in front should set an example, (for those) in the middle should raise the spirit, and (for those) behind should give encouragement". The proverb is used as the principle of Taman Siswa. Today, part of this maxim, Tut Wuri Handayani is used as the motto of the Indonesian Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology. It was meant to describe ideal teachers, who after transmitting knowledge to their students, would stand behind their students and encourage them in their quest for knowledge.

Government offices

During the

In the first cabinet of the Republic of Indonesia in the 1950s, Ki Hajar Dewantara was appointed Indonesian Minister of Education and Culture. In 1957 he received an honorary doctorate

.

He died in Yogyakarta on 26 April 1959 and was buried in Taman Wijaya Brata cemetery.

Recognition and honours

In recognition of his dedication and accomplishments in pioneering public education in Indonesia, he was declared the Father of Indonesian National Education, a national hero, and his birthday is appointed as National Education Day, through Presidential Decree no. 305 of 1959, dated 28 November 1959.

Taman Siswa has established Dewantara Kirti Griya Museum in Yogyakarta. The museum was built to commemorate, preserve, and promote the thoughts, values, and ideals of Ki Hajar Dewantara, the founder of Taman Siswa. In this museum, there are objects and works of Ki Hajar Dewantara. Museum collections include his works, papers, concepts, important documents, and correspondence of Ki Hajar during his lifetime as a journalist, educator, humanist, and artist. These documents have been recorded on microfilms and some are laminated with the help of the National Archives of Indonesia.

Legacy

Ki Hajar Dewantara advocates that education should be made possible and available for all people, regardless of their sex, race, ethnicity, culture, religion, economic and social status, etc. He argued that education should be based on the values of common humanity, human freedom, and the right to seek knowledge.

Ki Hajar Dewantara's birthday is now celebrated as

, bears his name in honor. His portrait immortalizes him in the 20,000 rupiah banknote denomination in 1998.

Tribute

On 2 May 2015, Google celebrated Ki Hajar Dewantara's 126th birthday with a Google Doodle.^[4]

References

External links

• Media related to Ki Hajar Dewantara at Wikimedia Commons
• Quotations related to Ki Hajar Dewantara at Wikiquote
• Profile in TokohIndonesia.com
• Taman Siswa
• (in Indonesian) Biography of Ki Hajar Dewantara

Political offices
New title	Minister of Education 1945	Succeeded by Todung Sutan Gunung Mulia