MARGA On 20 November 1946, Lt. Col. I Gusti Ngurah Rai, acommander of nationalist troops in Bali, and his company of guerrilla fighters were killed in the Battle of Marga. Surrounded by a numerically superior Dutch force, and under bombardment from the air, the small band, only 94 men in all, refused to surrender; they attacked the enemy positions and died to the last man-a puputan reminiscent of the royal puputans carried out forty years earlier also against the Dutch. At Marga there stands a monument honoring these soldiers, inscribed with a famous letter written by Ngurah Rai refusing surrender until the cause was won. Stone medallions symbolize Panca Sila, the five principles of the Indonesian state: the star for belief in God, a linked chain for democracy, a bull for nationalism, a banyan tree for humanity, and rice and cotton grainsfor socialjustice.A Hero's Day is held on the anniversary of Ngurah Rai's death and the Bali International Airport is named in his honor.  |
Post a Comment