Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Indonesia may be the largest Muslim nation with a 232 million population (12.7 percent of the world’s total Muslim population), Hinduism, one of its six officially recognized religions, continues to influence its cultural life in ways more than one.
This, despite the fact that less than 2 percent of the Indonesian population follows Hinduism, and 90 percent of them live on Bali Island. The predominantly Muslim nation is, however, proud of its Hindu legacy, and its official airline is known as Garuda Airlines. Indonesia is globally known for its lively dance-drama troupes playing the Hindu epics Ramayana and Mahabharata. Besides, it also has a rich Buddhist heritage.
No wonder many Indonesians feel nostalgic about India and its rich Hindu culture.
That may explain why Sukmawati Sukarnoputri, daughter of the country’s founding Muslim President Sukarno, converted to Hinduism on Tuesday, marking her 70th birthday.
Sukarno, who served as Indonesian President from 1946 to 1967, had married six times. Sukmawati’s mother, Fatmawati, was his third wife. Sukmawati is the third daughter and youngest sister of Megawati Sukarnoputri, who served as Indonesia’s fifth President from 2001 to 2004.
Sukmawati embraced Hinduism after a purification ceremony, known as “Sudhi Wadani” in Bali.
She was married to Kanjeng Gusti Pangeran Adipati Arya Mangkunegara IX but got divorced in 1984. She started her political career thereafter and founded the Indonesian National Party.
The media reports suggested Sukarnoputri’s late Balinese grandmother influenced her decision to convert to Hinduism.
In 2018, radical Islamic groups had protested against the resurgence of Hinduism in the country. They had also filed a ‘blasphemy’ complaint against Sukmawati, accusing her of reciting a poem that allegedly insulted Islam.
Her father had close links with India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and veteran politician Bijayananda (Biju) Patnaik, father of current Odisha Chief Minister Navin Patnaik, and celebrated author Gita Mehta. Biju later served Odisha as its chief minister twice.
During a political crisis in Indonesia in 1947, Nehru had sent Biju on a rescue mission to help Sukarno and his colleagues. Patnaik, ace pilot and founder of the Kalinga Airlines (which merged with Indian Airlines in 1953) flew to Indonesia with relief material and a dozen aircraft to rescue some of Sukarno’s associates and bring them to India.
Later, a grateful Indonesia honored Biju with gifts and citizenship.
Odisha continues to have close cultural and trade links with Indonesians.