Sutomo was born in Kampung Blauran in the centre of Surabaya to a clerk father, Kartawan Tjiptowidjojo, and mother of mixed Javanese, Sundanese and Madurese descent. He had received Dutch secondary education before the Japanese occupation. Alongside menial jobs, he joined the Indonesian Scouting organisation and at the age of seventeen as the second Pramuka Garuda; a rank achieved by only three Indonesians before the Japanese occupation during World War II. During the occupation period he worked for the Dōmei Tsushin in Surabaya. Sutomo became famous by setting up Radio Pemberontakan, which promoted unity and fighting spirit among the Indonesian pemuda.
Battle of Surabaya and race-based execution of civilians
During the Japanese occupation, Sutomo was chosen in 1944 as a member of the Japanese-sponsored Gerakan Rakyat Baru. During the early stages of the Indonesian National Revolution he played a central role when Surabaya came under British attack. Although the Surabaya city was lost to the British, the battle served to galvanise Indonesian and international opinion in support of the independence cause. Sutomo spurred thousands of Indonesians to action with his distinctive, emotional speaking-style of his radio broadcasts. His "clear, burning eyes, that penetrating, slightly nasal voice, or that hair-raising oratorical style that second only to Sukarno's in its emotional power". During the Bersiap period, Sutomo encouraged atrocities against Indonesians of mixed European–Asian ancestry and personally supervised the summary executions of hundreds of civilians. These are archived eye witness testimony of the events of 22 October 1945.
Post-independence
Sutomo was a minister of state in the Burhanuddin Harahap Cabinet between August 1955 and March 1956, an appointment which pleased cabinet supporters because of his nationalist credentials. However, his relationship with President Sukarno soured after he offended the president by asking about personal matters. After the 1950s, Sutomo emerged again as a national figure during the 1965 turbulent period. Initially, he supported Suharto to replace the left-leaning Sukarno government, but later opposed aspects of the New Order regime. On 11 April 1978, he was detained by the government for his outspoken criticism of corruption and abuses of power; upon his release three years later, however, Sutomo continued to loudly voice his criticisms. He said that he did not want to be buried in the Heroes' Cemetery because it was full of "fairweather heroes" who had lacked the courage to defend the nation at times of crisis, but when peace came appeared in public to glorify their achievements.
Personal life
On 9 June 1947, Sutomo married Sulistina in Malang, East Java. He was known as a devoutly religious father of four who took religious knowledge seriously throughout his life. Before his death, Sutomo managed to finish a draft of his own dissertation on the role of religion in village-level development. On 7 October 1981, he died in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, during his Hajj pilgrimage. His family and friends had his body returned to Indonesia. Although his reputation and military rank gave him the right to be buried in the Heroes' Cemetery, he was laid to rest in public burial ground at Ngagel, Surabaya, East Java.
