The Modern Novel

Biography

Achdiat Mihardja was born in Garut, West Java in 1911. His family was a devout Muslim family, of Sundanese descent. His father was a bank manager. Miharjda worked as a journalist, teacher and editor. During the Indonesian Revolution, he founded a newspaper and was part of the underground resistance. He was a member of the Socialist Party but it was banned by his friend, President Sukarno. He became head of the Jakarta Cultural Division of the Department of Education, before moving to Australia where he taught Indonesian and where he spent the rest of his life. He is best-known for his novel Atheis (Atheis), which has become one of the key novels of Indonesian literature. He died in 2010.

Other links

Achdiat Karta Mihardja
Achdiat K Mihardja
Obituary