Arudji Kartawinata (5 May 1905 – 13 July 1970) was an Indonesian politician and military officer. During the Indonesian National Revolution, he was the first commander of the 3rd Division, predecessor to the modern

Siliwangi Division Military Regional Command III/Siliwangi ( id, Komando Daerah Militer III/Siliwangi or Kodam III/Siliwangi) is an Indonesian Army Regional Military Command that covers Banten and West Java province. The division was formed during the Indonesia ...

. Politically, he was initially a member of

Masyumi The Council of Indonesian Muslim Associations ( id, Partai Majelis Syuro Muslimin Indonesia), better known as the Masyumi Party, was a major Islamic political party in Indonesia during the Liberal Democracy Era in Indonesia. It was banned in ...

before later re-forming the

Indonesian Islamic Union Party Indonesian Islamic Union Party ( id, Partai Sarekat Islam Indonesia) was an Islamic political party in Indonesia before and after independence. In 1973 it was merged into the United Development Party. The pre-independence party Establishment an ...

. He served as the chairman of the People's Representative Council for three years between 1963 and 1966.

Early life and career

Kartawinata was born in

Garut Garut is a district and town in West Java of Indonesia, and the former capital of Garut Regency. It is located about 75 km to the southeast of the major city of Bandung. History The modern history of Garut started on March 2, 1811 when Balub ...

on 5 May 1905, being of Sundanese descent. After completing his studies at a HIS (elementary school level) and a MULO (junior high school level), he became a teacher and later principal of a

Sarekat Islam Sarekat Islam or Syarikat Islam ( 'Islamic Association' or 'Islamic Union'; SI) was an Indonesian socio-political organization founded at the beginning of the 20th Century during the Dutch colonial era. Initially, SI served as a cooperative of ...

(SI) elementary school in Garut. During his time in Garut, he published the newspaper ''Balatentara Islam'', which covered the activities of the SI. He was also involved in nationalist activities.

Military career

During the

Japanese occupation of Indonesia The Empire of Japan occupied the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) during World War II from March 1942 until after the end of the war in September 1945. It was one of the most crucial and important periods in modern Indonesian history. In Ma ...

, Kartawinata enlisted in the ''

Pembela Tanah Air ''Pembela Tanah Air'' (abbreviated PETA; ) or was an Indonesian volunteer army established on 3 October 1943 in Indonesia by the occupying Japanese. The Japanese intended PETA to assist their forces in opposing a possible invasion by the Allies ...

'' (PETA) military unit, and he became a ''daidancho'' (battalion commander) there. Following the proclamation of Indonesian independence, Kartawinata became the

People's Security Agency The People's Security Agency ( id, Badan Keamanan Rakyat), or commonly abbreviated as BKR, was an Indonesian government agency established to undertake the task of maintaining security together with the people and the state offices. The BKR was fo ...

(BKR) commander in the

Priangan Parahyangan ( su, ᮕᮛᮠᮡᮀᮠᮔ᮪; Bantenese: Priangan; Dutch: Preanger) is a cultural and mountainous region in West Java province on the Indonesian island of Java. Covering a little less than one sixth of Java, it is the heartla ...

region, and he later was appointed as commander of the 3rd Division of the newly formed People's Security Army (TKR), covering the same area. This division was the predecessor of what is today the

. On 24 November 1945, under pressure from nationalist youths (''pemuda'') following the outbreak of the

Battle of Surabaya The Battle of Surabaya was fought between regular infantry and militia of the Indonesian nationalist movement and British and British Indian troops as a part of the Indonesian National Revolution against the re-imposition of Dutch colonial r ...

, Kartawinata organized an attack against British forces stationed in Bandung - planned to be a general attack, but in practice only limited and scattered fighting took place. He was later replaced as division commander by Abdul Haris Nasution.

Politics

As Sutan Sjahrir became

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

, Kartawinata (then a member of

) was appointed as the deputy minister of defense in his

Second Sjahrir Cabinet The second Sjahrir Cabinet ( id, Kabinet Sjahrir Kedua) was the third Indonesian cabinet and the second formed by Sutan Sjahrir. It served from March to June 1946. Background The first Sjahrir cabinet had been forced to resign by Tan Malaka a ...

. In the

Third Sjahrir Cabinet The third Sjahrir Cabinet ( id, Kabinet Sjahrir Ketiga) was the fourth Indonesian cabinet. It served from October 1946 to June 1947, when it fell due to disagreements related to implementation of the Linggadjati Agreement and subsequent negotia ...

, Harsono Tjokroaminoto took the post. Later, in 1947, he and proposed to

Amir Sjarifuddin Amir Sjarifuddin Harahap (Van Ophuijsen Spelling System, EVO: Amir Sjarifoeddin Harahap; 27 April 1907 – 19 December 1948) was an Indonesian politician and journalist who served as the second prime minister of Indonesia from 1947 until 19 ...

that they would reform the

(PSII) in exchange for cabinet seats. This proposal was accepted and Kartawinata returned to his deputy minister of defense post. Following the Dutch recognition of Indonesian independence, Kartawinata joined the

People's Representative Council of the United States of Indonesia The People's Representative Council of the United States of Indonesia ( id, Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Republik Indonesia Serikat, DPR-RIS) was one of the two national legislative assemblies in the United States of Indonesia (RUSI). The council was f ...

and was elected deputy speaker on 22 February 1950. He maintained his deputy speaker post for the Temporary People's Representative Council election in August 1950, and for the People's Representative Council sworn in in March 1956 following the 1955 election. The division of the Muslim parties in the country resulted in pressure for the parties - Masyumi, PSII,

Nahdlatul Ulama Nahdlatul Ulama (, , NU) is an Islamic organization in Indonesia. Its membership estimates range from 40 million (2013) to over 95 million (2021), making it the largest Islamic organization in the world. NU also is a charitable body funding sch ...

and Perti - to sign a declaration of unity on 15 June 1955, with Kartawinata representing PSII. Kartawinata's PSII was relatively open to cooperating with the

Indonesian Communist Party The Communist Party of Indonesia ( Indonesian: ''Partai Komunis Indonesia'', PKI) was a communist party in Indonesia during the mid-20th century. It was the largest non-ruling communist party in the world before its violent disbandment in 1965 ...

, with Kartawinata himself stating that the alliance was "based on reality". Journalist

Rosihan Anwar Rosihan Anwar (10 May 1922 – 14 April 2011) was a renowned Indonesian journalist and author. Rosihan Anwar was born in Kubang Nan Dua, West Sumatra. Rosihan received his early education at HIS and MULO in Padang. He continued his studies at A ...

wrote that in 1961, Kartawinata was awarded a Star of Mahaputera by then-president Sukarno, while the former was suffering from illness. Anwar wrote that Sukarno sent two of his ministers to present the award to Kartawinata in a ceremony, but despite Kartawinata's insistence, his doctor prohibited such ceremonies. In the Dwikora Cabinet, constituted in October 1965, Kartawinata served as Chairman of the "Gotong-Rojong" Parliament (DPRGR) following the death of its previous chair Zainul Arifin on 2 March 1963. He held this post between 1963 and February 1966. Afterwards, he served two years as a regular member of parliament until he was appointed to the ''Dewan Pertimbangan Agung'' ( Supreme Advisory Council) in February 1968, a position he held until his death.

Death

Kartawinata died on 13 July 1970 in Jakarta due to encephalitis. He was buried at the

Kalibata Heroes Cemetery The National Main Heroes Cemetery in Kalibata ( id, Taman Makam Pahlawan Nasional Utama, Kalibata, colloquially known as Kalibata Heroes Cemetery ( id, Taman Makam Pahlawan Kalibata, or ''TMP Kalibata'') is a military cemetery in Kalibata, South ...

References

Bibliography

: : : : {{DEFAULTSORT:Kartawinata, Arudji 1905 births 1970 deaths Indonesian collaborators with Imperial Japan Indonesian generals Indonesian Islamic Union Party politicians Masyumi Party politicians Members of Pembela Tanah Air Members of the People's Representative Council, 1955 People from Garut People of the Indonesian National Revolution Speakers of the People's Representative Council Sundanese people