Indonesia National Anthem — Indonesia Raya

"Indonesia Raya" is above all a hymn of unity. It calls Indonesia "my homeland" and "the land where I shed my blood", and urges the peoples of a vast archipelago to "proclaim: Indonesia unites!" — a powerful idea when the country was still a Dutch colony of hundreds of islands and languages.

The refrain rings out "merdeka! Merdeka!" ("be free! Be free!"), the rallying cry of the independence movement, and prays that Indonesia's soul and body alike be awakened for a "Great Indonesia". It is a song of nationhood forged from diversity.

Wage Rudolf Supratman, a young journalist and violinist, composed "Indonesia Raya" and first presented it at the Second Youth Congress on 28 October 1928 — the occasion of the Sumpah Pemuda ("Youth Pledge"). Wary of Dutch colonial censorship, he introduced it instrumentally on the violin. The song spread through the nationalist movement, and when Sukarno proclaimed independence on 17 August 1945 it became the national anthem. Supratman, who died in 1938, is honoured as a national hero.

"Indonesia Raya" is inseparable from the birth of the Indonesian nation and the Youth Pledge that first declared "one homeland, one nation, one language". Sung at flag ceremonies in schools every week and at Independence Day each 17 August, it remains a living symbol of unity across the world's largest archipelagic country.

"Indonesia Raya" ("Great Indonesia") is the national anthem of Indonesia, one of the great unifying songs among the world's national anthems. Both words and music are by Wage Rudolf Supratman.

First performed in 1928, it became the national anthem at independence in 1945. It is in the public domain. The anthem uses the first stanza and the refrain of a longer song.