JP/9/BOOK

JP/9/BOOK

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Minorities, Modernity and the emerging nation
Christians in Indonesia, A Biographical Approach
Gerry Van Klinken
KITLV Press 2003
285 pp

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One of the unfortunate realities of history is that, as an
infamous 1940s German leader said, "History is written by the
victors". In many situations where one group is the majority,
they often overlook the important contributions of other members
of society.

Such is the nature of man, perhaps, so it is always
interesting to read about the history of minorities. And such is
the case in Indonesia with regard to the contribution by urban
middle class Christians to the nation's independence.

It is well documented that the Dutch colonists were
particularly neglectful of the indigenous population of the Dutch
East Indies for centuries. However, in the early 1900s, with
Liberalism all the rage in Europe, there was pressure on the
governor-generals in then Batavia to educate and employ the local
population.

The administration addressed the situation in a limited way.
Many of the beneficiaries of the new policy were "those that we
can work with" -- in that case the Christian population who were
considered more loyal to the administration.

A few decades later with Liberalism evolving into talk of
independence, led by indigenous, Dutch-educated Christians using
their limited -- but still much greater than almost every other
Indonesian -- influence within the church and government. They
began moving toward empowering more of the local population --
all ethnic groups and religions -- out of a sense of true
nationalism.

Van Klinken chose to focus this historical work on five key
Christian figures -- Amir Sjarifoeddin, Bishop Soegijapranata,
Kasimo, Moelia and Ratu Langie -- to illustrate in an extremely
exhaustive, academic manner, that without people such as these,
Indonesian independence may not have occurred until many more
decades had passed.

Despite that fact, they are, with the exception of Ratu Langie
(more frequently spelled Ratulangi), given short shrift among the
younger generation today. It's sad that the accomplishments of
some of these true Indonesian patriots have largely been
forgotten, not only for their instrumental roles as conduits
between the power base in Jakarta and the traditional masses, but
their roles as catalysts to connect Indonesians with the modern
concepts of democracy and social change.

This book is a must read for people interested in the complete
history of the first half of the 20th century in this
archipelago. By no means does it pit religions against one
another or claim one or the other contributed more; it is quite
simply about key figures who affected much positive change but
have not been accorded the status they deserve.

-- Rich Simons