Pramoedya Ananta Toer

Pramoedya Ananta Toer, also known as Pram, was an Indonesian novelist and writer who wrote about the colonial and post-colonial history of his homeland and its people. He was born in Blora, a town in the heart of Java, in 1925. He was the firstborn son of a teacher and a rice trader. His father was a descendant of Eduard Douwes Dekker, the famous Dutch writer who used the pen name Multatuli. Pramoedya received his education at a Dutch school and learned to speak several languages, including Dutch, English, German, and Arabic. He developed an interest in literature and journalism, and started working as a typist and a reporter for various newspapers and magazines. He also joined the nationalist movement that sought independence from the Dutch colonial rule. He was arrested by the Dutch authorities in 1947 and imprisoned until 1949 for his involvement in the Indonesian Revolution. After Indonesia gained its independence, Pramoedya continued his literary and political activities. He wrote several novels, short stories, essays, and histories that reflected his personal and national experiences. Some of his most notable works include the Buru Quartet, a series of four novels that chronicle the lives of Indonesian nationalists from the late 19th century to the mid-20th century. He also wrote a biography of the first president of Indonesia, Sukarno, and a history of the Chinese community in Indonesia. Pramoedya was a critic of both the Sukarno and the Suharto regimes, and he advocated for democracy, human rights, and social justice. He was accused of being a communist and a subversive, and he was arrested again in 1965 during the anti-communist purge that followed the failed coup attempt. He was detained without trial for 14 years, mostly on the island of Buru, where he was subjected to torture and isolation. He was not allowed to write or read, but he managed to compose his novels orally and recite them to his fellow prisoners, who memorized and transcribed them. He was released in 1979, but he remained under house arrest in Jakarta until 1992. He was also banned from publishing or traveling abroad, and his books were censored and burned by the authorities. Despite his persecution, Pramoedya gained international recognition and acclaim for his literary works. He was nominated several times for the Nobel Prize in Literature, and he received many awards and honors, including the PEN Freedom to Write Award, the Magsaysay Award, and the Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. He was also a cause célèbre for many human rights and freedom of expression activists, who campaigned for his release and his right to write. Pramoedya died in 2006, at the age of 81, from complications of diabetes and heart disease. He was survived by his third wife, Nelly Kruymel, and his five children. He was buried in Jakarta, where thousands of people attended his funeral. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest Indonesian writers of all time, and his works have been translated into many languages and read by millions of people around the world.