Indonesian People's Revolutionary Front (), abbreviated as BPRI, was an Indonesian

militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

headquartered in

Surabaya Surabaya is the capital city of East Java Provinces of Indonesia, province and the List of Indonesian cities by population, second-largest city in Indonesia, after Jakarta. Located on the northeastern corner of Java island, on the Madura Strai ...

. It was founded by Sutomo on 12 October 1945.

History

The Indonesian People's Rebellion was aimed at realizing and defending the

Proclamation of Indonesian Independence The Proclamation of Indonesian Independence (, or simply ''Proklamasi'') was read at 10:00 Tokyo Standard Time on Friday 17 August 1945 in Jakarta. The declaration marked the start of the diplomatic and armed resistance of the Indonesian Nati ...

. The term "revolutionary front" (), and not "warrior front" (), was chosen because since the

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

held power over the local population, who were ordinary people, and wanted to emphasise the fact their militia was led first and foremost by the common man. BPRI rallied the people's resistance against the Dutch who wanted to reign Indonesia after the

Surrender of Japan The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was Hirohito surrender broadcast, announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally Japanese Instrument of Surrender, signed on 2 September 1945, End of World War II in Asia, ending ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The most prominent role of BPRI was its involvement in the

Battle of Surabaya The Battle of Surabaya () was a major battle in the Indonesian National Revolution fought between regular infantry and militia of the Indonesian nationalist movement and British and British Indian Army, British Indian troops against the re-imp ...

. At that time, Sutomo delivered a speech through a radio broadcast that rallied the people in Surabaya against the army of Allied forces.

Branches

BPRI had branches in

Kalimantan Kalimantan (; ) is the Indonesian portion of the island of Borneo. It constitutes 73% of the island's area, and consists of the provinces of Central Kalimantan, East Kalimantan, North Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, and West Kalimantan. The non-Ind ...

, among others: * BPRI expedition IX

Banjarmasin Banjarmasin is the largest city in South Kalimantan, Indonesia. It was the capital of the province until 15 February 2022. The city is located on a delta island near the junction of the Barito and Martapura rivers. Historically the centre of t ...

under the leadership of Mohd. Asnawie and H. Arsyad; * BPRI VIII Brig. "S" Div. VI (NAROTAMA) Samarinda under the leadership of RP Joewono.

References

{{reflist, 2, refs= {{cite book , date = 2015 , title = Bung Tomo: Soerabaja di Tahun 45 , publisher = Tim Buku TEMPO , language = id , series = Tokoh Militer {{cite book , last = Sarip , first = Muhammad , date = 2015 , title = Samarinda Bahari, Sejarah 7 Zaman Daerah Samarinda. Samarinda: Komunitas Samarinda Bahari , language = id , isbn = 978-602-736-170-6 {{cite book , last = Sanusi , first = Djunaid , date = 1984 , title = Secercah Perjuangan BPRI Bn. VIII Brig. "S" Div. VI (NAROTAMA) di Samarinda , publisher = Samarinda: Pemda Kalimantan Timur , language = id {{Verify source, date=July 2018 1945 establishments in Indonesia Military units and formations of Indonesia in the Indonesian War of Independence