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View all search results‘Revolusi’ returns home: David Van Reybrouck on youth, memory and the spirit of Bandung
"If young people believe that their voices do not matter, they have not studied Indonesian history," says Belgian historian David Van Reybrouck
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History in focus: Belgian historian David Van Reybrouck, author of Revolusi: Indonesia and the Making of the Modern World, poses for a post on his official social media account. (Instagram/David Van Reybrouck/@david.vanreybrouck)
“It felt like the book was coming home,” said Belgian historian David Van Reybrouck, describing the atmosphere inside the packed Teater Besar in Taman Ismail Marzuki in Central Jakarta, where students and diplomats gathered on Oct. 22 to celebrate the Indonesian translation of Revolusi: Indonesia and the Making of the Modern World, published by Gramedia.
In a conversation held a day after with The Jakarta Post’s Jafar Daniel, Van Reybrouck reflects on how Indonesia’s struggle for independence reshaped the modern world, and why its revolutionary spirit still matters today.
Question: How did the Indonesian revolution shape modernity?
Answer: It was the prototype for all independence movements in the mid-20th century. Indonesia was very visible as a new country. Sukarno was welcomed everywhere. Speaking with young Indonesians today, I often hear that "we didn't realize how important we were to the world." My hope is that Indonesia again can be a global lodestar. This country shows to what extent the democratic dream is still alive. If young people believe that their voices do not matter, they have not studied Indonesian history. The fourth-biggest country in the world was made by people aged 15 to 25.
Why is the global history of the Indonesian revolution so important?
Colonial history is often remembered as national history only, as if it was only a matter between two countries. As the first country that proclaimed its independence after World War II, it was the beginning of the global decolonization movement, one of the key events of the century. The world was involved in it and changed by it. Nasser, Nkrumah and Lumumba were inspired by the spirit of Bandung. In 1945, the southern half of the world was still a colony. How do you transition from a colony to a country? Indonesians came up with the recipe: It must occur fast, over the complete territory and with full political sovereignty.
What was it like finding eyewitnesses to these events?
