Resumo de Rebellion To Integration

Rebellion to Integration is a history of West Sumatra from the late colonial period down to the
fall of Suharto. Its focus is on politics, and in particular on the balance
between regional and national interests and forces, but it touches on economics
and social history where relevant ? education and traditional Minangkabau
government, trade routes during the fight against the Dutch, changing economics
under the New Order, and so forth.

Kahin begins with the geographical centers of opposition to the Dutch in West Sumatra, the 1927 rebellion, the growth of political
movements, and the Dutch crackdown in 1933. She surveys the varied independence
movements and their connection with religion, socialism, schools and
entrepreneurs, covering local leaders as well as those with a national profile
such as Mohammad Hatta and Tan Malaka. West Sumatra tended to have links to
Arabia and Malaysia
rather than to Java, and to Islamic education rather than Western.

Events in West Sumatra during the two decades leading up to
World War II do much to belie ? at least in this part of Indonesia ? the
frequent contention that the Indonesian nationalist movement was restricted to
a narrow, educated urban elite in Java.

With a sympathetic governor, The Japanese occupation saw the encouragement
of local organisations and creation of an indigenous People''s Army, but also
the discrediting of the traditional leaders who had been part of the Dutch
administration. In the struggle for independence, West Sumatra was a
nationalist stronghold, where the returning Dutch were largely restricted to Padang until the police action of December 1948; it hosted
the headquarters of the nascent Republic after the loss of Yogyakarta.

Throughout the revolution had
demonstrated their loyalty to the Indonesian
Republic and they trusted
the national leadership with its large Minangkabau component to act in their
region''s best interests.

Disillusionment with the national government soon spread, however, with
minimal regional autonomy and the rejection of federalism; and attacks on West
Sumatran institutions around 1950 alienated both military and civilians.
Connected with military revolts elsewhere, the West Sumatra
Rebellion took its own course: the Banteng Council in late 1956, effective
independence in 1957, open defiance with the declaration of an independent PRRI
state in 1958, and disastrous defeat culminating in a final surrender in 1961.
The region was effectively occupied by the left-leaning Diponegoro Division
from Central Java.

The consciousness that they had suffered a humiliating
defeat led to a kind of mental breakdown among the Minangkabau, which would
last through much of the 1960s.

In the 1965 upheaval West Sumatra saw far fewer killings than other regions
? the mass murder in North Sumatra provides a contrast ? but communists and
those who had joined them for survival were purged from public life.
Integration into Suharto''s New Order saw the suppression or co-option of
political parties, the near-elimination of Islam from politics, and the decline
of the nagari, the traditional large village units of Minangkabau
rural society. The extent and effects of the post-Suharto shift towards decentralization
are yet to be seen.

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