Independence & Modern Bali

After the Japanese occupation (1942-1945) and the Indonesian declaration of independence in 1945, Bali became part of the Republic of Indonesia. The transition was not peaceful: On November 20, 1946, the Balinese freedom fighter I Gusti Ngurah Rai died fighting the returning Dutch at Marga (Tabanan) — a final Puputan. Bali's international airport bears his name.

The darkest hour of modern Bali was the massacres of 1965-1966. Following a failed coup attempt in Jakarta, General Suharto ordered the annihilation of the Communist Party (PKI). In Bali, where the PKI had support among landless peasants, a blood frenzy ensued: Between 80,000 and 100,000 Balinese — an estimated 5% of the population — were murdered in a few months, often by neighbors and fellow villagers. The graves have never been exhumed, and to this day, people in Bali only speak of this time behind closed doors.