Sukarno’s reign of twenty years was under his self-modeled secular doctrine of Pancasila that was the basis of the Constitution and of Guided Democracy in Indonesia. He dissolved the elected Constituent Assembly on 5 July 1959 and reinstated the constitution of 1945. Guided Democracy was the result of the failure to practice parliamentary democracy against a tempestuous background of political and military factionalism, religious and regional dissension and economic decline. Sukarno who always donned the military uniform claimed that Indonesia was not ready to practice full democracy. 

Fighting one of the most miserable situations of famines, inter-racial conflicts, and poverty, Sukarno endeavored to maintain the unity of the country. However, insurgencies continued with frequent confrontations between the nationalists and the theocrats on the question of imposing Islamic elements i.e. the shari’ah and the hadith into various government policies.  Sukarno’s stiff attitude towards the theocrats could not stop the emergence of ‘Darul Islam’, a movement that encouraged the students of theocracy and Islamic jingoists to initiate jihad and declared Indonesia as an Islamic state in 1948, which was crushed by the Suharto regime.

Suharto reversed many of the policies of his predecessor.. He founded a nepotistic network to remain a lifelong president.  His government legalized corruption among the bureaucracy, which resulted in the financial mess in 1997.

During Suharto’s tenure, however, the country made rapid progress during the early eighties and mid nineties, in certain sectors.  He and his cronies became some of the richest tycoons of the entire archipelago by late nineties.  However, the country’s achievements in the field of petrochemical products and other minerals, fabrics, and agricultural products (which were handled mostly by a handful of Indonesian Chinese entrepreneurs and a few indigenous Indonesians) can be counted. Transportation, basic education, family planning and communication system improved as the neighboring countries also made progress almost to the same level.  Certain problems such as unemployment, labor migration to neighboring countries, and basic infrastructure remained major obstacles to the country’s overall development. However, the people realized the impact of these deficiencies only when a major economic crisis ousted Suharto and his cronies from thrity-two years in power in 1997. 

During his regime, Suharto checked the major or minor Islamic institutions from flexing their muscles as they could undermine his rule. In the early 1980s, Suharto banned all Islamic organizations which were based on the Qur’an, the hadith, and the shari’ah. Other important reasons why Indonesia could not project itself as a strong theocratic state are ‘mysticism’ and ‘adat’ or numinous elements in Indonesian Islam that oblige the people to appreciate  indigenous spiritual values.

After Suharto’s departure, three factors were mainly responsible for the enhancement of the insurgency in Indonesia.. First, the tumbling economy combined with the frustration of unemployed youth.  Second, there was a sudden euphoric feeling of freedom among the hardcore mullahs. As soon as the cane-master disappeared from the scene, all the hardliners who were either in exile or were underground made a beeline for their share of power.  The third most important factor was 9/11 which heralded a new era in the insurgency in Indonesia. It bound all the religious zealots along the line of thinking of Osama bin Laden. 

Thirteen Islamic parties participated in the first full democratic general election held in 1999. The new government of Abdurrahman Wahid, the leader of the NU, was formed with the coalition of other major Islamic parties and PNI under Sukarnoputri Megawati. Now, there is neither Suharto, nor his military to check the zealots. A number of self-styled Islamic groups who endorse the Taliban’s attitude and storm pubs and other recreational places which they think are corrupting the society.

Megawati’s economic policy and restraint on the mounting corruption in the country as well as an autonomous military have not been able to check the rapid increment in the demonstrations by religious zealots.  Therefore, it is unlikely that the Islamic insurgency will decrease in the near future.  The geo-strategic location of Indonesia may provide a safe haven for the terrorists as the whole archipelago comprises of more than seventeen thousand islands.  It would be virtually impossible to counter terrorism by military means once there are established terrorist bases on the impregnable terrain in the mountainous jungles of Sumatra, Kalimantan and other islands.