“Bhinneka Tunggal Ika”, the Old Javanese phrase that has been etched into the life of every Indonesian citizen since the moment they were born. The phrase adorns the national symbol of Indonesia, somehow becoming a national motto of the Indonesia. What does it mean? It means, “Unity in Diversity”. With more than 300 ethnic groups, 742 different languages, 6 official religions, Indonesia is a prime example of Benedict Anderson’s “Imagined Communities”. This paper will explore on how identity and citizenship interact in Indonesia through the writer’s personal experiences.
In the beginning, there was never an Indonesia. Indonesia was merely a concept envisioned by the country’s founding fathers, based upon the former area of the Dutch East Indies.
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From the ever existing tension between “pribumi” and Chinese Indonesians to separatist movements in Aceh, Maluku and Papua. The tension between “pribumi” and Chinese Indonesians was apparent during the latest presidential election. President Joko Widodo at the time was painted as a peon of the Chinese Indonesian business community, who will only prolong the economic domination of the Chinese Indonesian. Regarding separatist movements, these factions dream of independence, to be their own nations which consisted of Acehnese, Moluccans or Papuans. Interesting to note that in Indonesia, the “other” has always been fellow Indonesians of different ethnicity. Only a tiny fraction of the population worries about global flows, what the people have always been asking is their group rights, to be specific, economic. Aceh and Papua, well-endowed with natural resources, are both main contributors to the government’s treasury. Despite this fact, Aceh and Papua lag behind other provinces in terms of basic healthcare, education and infrastructure. Aceh in particular, asked for the right to implement Sharia law, which was granted by the government as part of the peace deal reached in
In the course of Colonization, the world was divided into binary categories of the colonizer and colonized. These binary groups were based on a division of class, gender, race, ethnicity and the oppression of cultural traditions. Traditions of language, religion, labor, and social values were based on theologies of the colonizers, enforced upon the colonized. These binaries can be associated with the Manichean binaries discussed by Frantz Fanon in his book entitled The Wretched of the Earth. In Post-Coloniality, societies gain independence either through diplomatic political transitions or violent revolutions against the occupying force. Regardless of how independence is achieved, these societies undergo a multitude of socio-cultural changes. The colonized populations struggle to rebuild their communities, individual identities and national identities. The process of this decolonization is a long-term and strenuous procedure that varies from one culture to the next. Periods of colonial oppression have negative repercussions on social structures and prohibit certain cultural growth. It is the nationalism that bonds individuals together in creating a national identity, rebuilding the state while imagining the community and representing it in the traditional cultural affiliations of the indigenous populations.
Communities throughout history have always sought to define who they are as a collective whole. Over the course of time, it was this that helped bind nations together through a collective sense of national identity and belonging. Although there are some set definitions that people use to define who collectively are, such as their own language and national history, this is not the only explanation of how groups of people have conceived who they are. In reality, communities have primarily conceived who they are by comparing themselves to an ‘other’ who they are not. As the historian Peter Sahlins put it, national identity over the course of time has been constructed “by the social or territorial boundaries drawn to distinguish the collective self and its implicit negation, the other.” As this argument suggests, throughout history, definitions of ‘us’ have been dependent on the contrasting definitions of ‘them’. I propose that communities have used this concept of the ‘other’ in order to elevate their own perceived superiority over groups that they deemed inferior. This essay will explore how these definitions have shaped history, from the time of the Romans all the way up to the twenty-first century. It will also be necessary to look at the varying ways in which groups are differentiated from each other, such as in terms of religion, nationality, race, and political beliefs. It is only through this exploration that we can fully understand the ways in which people have defined themselves and interacted with others over the course of time.
He suggests that many citizens now live in large and dense settings that require contacts with each other in a regular basis, thus social and cultural diversity is one of the key elements of city life (Leeuwen 2010: 632). Through the concept of ‘cosmopolitan citizenship’ he suggests that city life is formed by presence of people from different culture and social groups who have their own foundation of identity, which results in the rise of differences between social groups. He adds that such encounter with differences are viewed in terms of excitement or adventure (2010: 633). This could imply that the people in city are willing to contact the strange and unknown to develop their intercultural skills. This outlook represents the city as an ideal place for acceptance, building connections and respecting other cultures by getting engaged with differences. In contrast to the cosmopolitan citizenship, which is unrealistic as we discussed harmony doesn’t exist by mutual agreement with each other, he introduced another concept of ‘agonistic citizenship’ which suggests that acknowledge the fact that tensions between different social group occurs in a diverse cultural society. Therefore, this notion of
Kyi Suu San Aung. "The Quest of Democracy." Reading The World: Ideas That Matter, edited
In order to develop a general framework with which to understand collective political violence, I examine state mass killings in Indonesia 1965-66. While acknowledging the importance of historical/cultural factors, I identify elements within the sociopolitical sphere that influence actors of collective political violence at national, local, and event- specific levels. Elements discussed are elite interests, justification for violence, formal organizations, and mobilization factors. Finally, I suggest future preventative policy measures.
Ann Schiller’s Small Sacrifices explores religious change among the Ngaju in Borneo, Indonesia. She elaborates on the Indonesian government’s demand on the Ngaju to conform to one of the religions they deem acceptable. In conforming to Hinduism, however, the Ngaju lose their culture, eventually their identity,...
Identity is an abstract, multifaceted concept, which plays of an essential role in intercultural communication interactions, because of globalization and diversity around the world. In this paper I will describe the basic types of identity, such as human, social, and personal.
Who am I; my beliefs, values, morals, and views on society have assisted in molding me into the person that I am considered to be today. I was raced with specifics values, traditions, and norms. Being raised in a small town made being socially aware very easy. I was raised under the southern Baptist Christian religion. Church was always the same and it had a majority of women in attendance although the men and elderly people ran the church overall. It was always the same, repetitive habits and events that occurred in my town but after a while I became accustomed to always being near or known by others.
Bali is quite complex in their belief systems, especially when perceived by the western world. Their belief system is not comprised of a singular core religion, but of a sort of amalgam of various world religions. The religion of Bali is referred to as Hindu-Balinese Religion, or Agama Hindu Bali (Ramseyer 93), but the true religion of this culture is far more multi-faceted than this title justifies. The people of Bali have essentially created their own individualized religion by combining Mahayana Buddhism, orthodox Siwaism, “demonic practices of Trantric sects”, and Javanized Hinduism from Majapahit, joined by a dualistic world view and worship of nature and ancestors (Ramseyer 93).
Indonesia is a country in south-east Asia. It has the world’s highest population of Muslims and is the world’s 4th most populous country. Its capital is Jakarta. Having its world rank at 18th by economy, 15th largest in purchasing parity respectively, thus becoming a slowly progressive country.
In the 1999 elections for the first time in Malaysia’s history opposition parties united under Barisan Alternatif (Alternative Front or BA). Party Keadilan is a small multi-ethnic party formed in 1999 by activists in the reformation movement. Besides, PAS (Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party) had provided strong competition for UMNO. Another major ...
In Jhumpa Lahiri’s novel, The Namesake, the protagonist, Gogol, struggles with his cultural identity. He is an American-born Bengali struggling to define himself. He wants to fit into the typical American-lifestyle, a lifestyle his parents do not understand. This causes him tension through his adolescence and adult life, he has trouble finding a balance between America and Bengali culture. This is exemplified with his romantic relationships. These relationships directly reflect where he is in his life, what he is going through and his relationship with his parents. Each woman indicates a particular moment in time where he is trying to figure out his cultural identity. Ruth represents an initial break away from Bengali culture; Maxine represents
Jali, N.H.M., M. Redzuan, A.A. Saman, and I.H.M. Rashid. 2010. Malaysian Studies: Nationhood and Citizenship. Petaling Jaya: Prentice Hall.
Indonesia is the largest country in Southeast Asia. Consists of more than 18,000 islands, Indonesia provides a beautiful views, cultures, and tourist resort. The capital of Indonesia and the largest city is Jakarta, located in Java Island. The Indonesian’s currency is rupiah. Indonesia is a republic country, and the government system is democracy Absolutely, Indonesia also have a lot of tribes with different languages and religion. Indonesia got the freedom from the Netherlands in 1942, and Japan in 1945.
...nial institution--one voice which would articulate their own sense of national identity. But exploration of these societies, and the literature produced by postcolonial authors and poets illustrates that there is a veritable infinite number of differing circumstances inherent in each postcolonial society, and, consequently, in each piece of literature produced by postcolonial writers. If one is to read this literature in a way which will shed some light on the postcolonial condition, one must understand and adopt the theory that we are all walking amalgamations of our own unique cultures and traditions. We are all always struggling with our own identities, personal and national. We must understand that there is no "one true voice" representing an easily identifiable postcolonial condition, but, instead, each author is his or her own voice and must be read as such.