JAKARTA – History today, 70 years ago, June 9, 1950, the Prime Minister of India, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru made his visit to Bandung. The visit was immediately greeted with great joy by Bung Karno. Nehru's arrival was accompanied by a convoy of 87 cars. The people of Bandung also welcomed him. This is proof that Nehru is a special guest of the country. Moreover, Nehru and Soekarno were known as close friends. Indonesia often helps and fully supports India. Vice versa.
Soekarno was good at establishing close relationships with world leaders. He is able to build emotional closeness in a short time. Therefore, Bung Karno could get along with anyone. This includes building relationships with India's leader, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. In fact, the two have become a symbol of the warm relationship between Jakarta and New Delhi.
It all started when Indonesia -- through Sutan Sjahrir -- offered rice assistance of 500 thousand tons of rice when India was hit by famine in 1946. On the other hand, India offered Indonesia 500 thousand tons of clothing. The rice offer won sympathy from India.
For Indonesia, rice is a tool of diplomacy. The tactic is accurate. Indonesia's concern has received sympathy from the international community. India also has an emotional closeness with Indonesia. India fully supports Indonesia's independence. This support makes support from other Asian countries flow.
The courage of India to recognize Indonesia's independence was continuously appreciated by Bung Karno. On the anniversary of Indonesia's independence on August 17, 1946, for example. Soekarno expressed his support and gratitude to India.
“Soekarno showed his gratitude to India by inviting the masses present to call for Jai Hind (Long live India) three times in a row. This gratitude is the Republic's way of showing their good character when receiving help from others."
“Jai Hind's speech is one of the expressions used by Indians to greet each other and to celebrate their nationalism, the Jai Hind slogan can be said to be equivalent to the call for independence which was commonly used in Indonesia at that time. By calling for "Jai Hind" together, President Soekarno clearly wants to strengthen the connection between Indonesia and India as countries that share the same history, as two countries that have just emerged from the midst of Western colonialism," said Muhammad Yuanda Zahra in the book For Humanity. and Brotherhood (2020).
Both Soekarno and Nehru visited each other. Nehru himself was recorded as visiting Indonesia in the context of a state visit in 1950. Even in Indonesia, Nehru also visited the Flower City, Bandung on June 9, 1950. The visit was very special.
Soekarno and the people of Indonesia welcomed him with great fanfare. Thousands of people welcomed the arrival of his entourage. Red and white flags fly in every house. They wanted to say hello to Nehru's arrival in the Flower City.
"Bung Karno, Bung Hatta and Pendit Nehru and their escort only arrived in the afternoon in front of the Governor's Building at 16.40. Along the road from Tjipanas to Tjiandjur, Padalarang, Tjimahi, all the way to the city limits, many people stood on the side of the road to welcome Bung Karno's entourage accompanied by 87 cars," wrote a report in the People's Thought newspaper, June 10, 1950.
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