Ki Hajar Dewantara, Releasing the Title of Nobility for the People’s School

Jakarta, Armfalcon.com – Who doesn’t know Ki Hajar Dewantara, a man born on May 2, 1889 in Yogyakarta, who is an activist and pioneer of education for indigenous people.

What’s interesting is that he was born in a noble family but lived a simple life.

The man who was born with the name Raden Mas Soewardi Soerjaningrat is also known for establishing the Taman Siswa College. This school is referred to as the first educational institution for indigenous people to obtain education.

Thanks to his status as a member of a noble family, Ki Hajar Dewantara had the opportunity to study at Europeesche Lagere School (ELS) or a 7-year Dutch Elementary School in Bintaran village, Yogyakarta.

After graduating, he then continued to Kweekschool (Teacher School) in Yogyakarta.

Ki Hajar Dewantara himself has a simple personality and is very close to the people.

Reported from Second, Ki Hajar Dewantara took off his royal title (Raden Mas) in order to unite the figure of Soewardi Soerjaningrat with the people he fought for. And this decision turned out to be fully supported by his father, who called him a knight.

In 1928, Soewardi officially changed his name to Ki Hajar Dewantara. The meaning of the name Ki Hajar Dewantara itself is the Educator, the messenger of the people who was unchallenged in the face of colonialism.

Ki Hajar Dewantara started his career as a journalist at several newspapers such as Sedyotomo, Midden Java and De Express.

One of his famous writings is “Als ik een Nederlander was” or in Indonesian means “If I were a Dutchman.”

The article was published in Douwes Dekker’s newspaper as a form of protest against the Dutch East Indies government’s plan to collect donations from Indonesia to celebrate Dutch independence from France.

The writing finally made Ki Hajar Dewantara, Douwes Dekker, and dr. Cipto Mangunkusumo was exiled.

One day, they also proposed to the Netherlands that they could be exiled to the Netherlands so they could learn many things, instead of being in a remote place. Long story short, in August 1913, their request was granted.

In exile in the Netherlands, Ki Hajar Dewantara lived in poverty. Assistance was obtained from funds collected by Indische Partij administrators, namely “TADO (Tot Aan De Onafhankelijkheid) Fonds”.

At that time, Ki Hajar Dewantara made a living by working as a journalist. He also took advantage of the local mass media in the Netherlands to help his cause.

Through the mass media in the Land of Windmills, Ki Hajar Dewantara shares stories about the real condition of Indonesia. Upon returning to Indonesia, he continued his struggle.

The lesson behind the struggle of Ki Hajar Dewantara

The heroic attitude that we should emulate from Ki Hajar Dewantara is the heroic attitude that is willing to sacrifice for the common good.

Whoever you are, what your economic background is like, and what kind of family you were born from, you must be able to leave it all behind in order to unite with the people you stand for.

Because the most important thing in a struggle is not yourself, but the party you are fighting for.

[Gambas:Video CNBC]

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