Enlightenment and the revolutionary press in colonial Indonesia. An investigation of Sinar Hindia's content, production, and distribution practices

The 1917 revolutions inspired the popularization and radicalization of the nascent anti-colonial movement in the Indies, which is reflected in the history of the revolutionary press which emerged in the subsequent years until 1926-7. This article recovers the tradition of the revolutionary press and situates it in the history of Indonesian national struggles by examining the production and development of the revolutionary newspaper Sinar Hindia. An investigation of the paper's content, production, and distribution practices reveals how Sinar Hindia not only embodied the anti-colonial national struggle but also became a voice for a project of enlightenment in the colony.