West Java Renaming to Tatar Sunda Sparks Polemic, Indramayu Cultural Figure: West Java is a Heterogeneous Home for Many Ethnicities

The proposal to change the name of West Java Province to Tatar Sunda Province has sparked polemic. Rejection has come from various circles, especially from the Indramayu-Cirebon region. The rejection was voiced by the founder of the Indramayu Historia Foundation, Nang Sadewo. He assessed that the proposal does not reflect the historical reality and modern condition of West Java today. He firmly stated his disagreement with the discourse initiated by a group of people. According to him, the unilateral claim that West Java is dominated by 75 percent Sundanese people ignores the facts of population dynamics in the 27 existing regencies and cities. ‘I firmly reject it, especially since it is only a proposal from a primordial group,’ said the man familiarly called Dewo on Tuesday (7/7/2026). Dewo explained that historical values should not be trapped by group ego or ‘self-centredness’. On the contrary, history must be able to blend with the times. According to him, based on current development statistics, West Java has transformed into a heterogeneous home for various ethnicities. ‘West Java, with its long history and today’s evolving development statistics, is already inhabited by various ethnic groups who have come,’ he said.