Sukmawati Soekarnoputri, daughter of Indonesia’s founding father Sukarno to convert from Islam to Hinduism

New Delhi: Sukmawati Sukarnoputri, the third daughter of Indonesia’s founding father and first president Sukarno and his wife Fatmawati, has announced that she would convert from Islam to Hinduism.

According to a report by CNN Indonesia, Ida Ayu Nyoman Rai Srimben, the late Balinese grandmother of Sukmawati played a major role in influencing her decision to embrace Hinduism.

The 69-year-old founder of the Indonesian National Party (Partai Nasional Indonesia-PNI) will embrace the new religion in a ceremonial Hindu ceremony ‘Sudhi Wadani’ on October 26.

Married to Kanjeng Gusti Pangeran Adipati Arya Mangkunegara IX, Sukmawati got divorced in 1984.

Informing the press about her decision, her lawyer said that Sukarno’s daughter has extensive knowledge of Hinduism and is also aware of all doctrines and rituals of Hindu theology.

In 2018, Sukmawati had to face the ire of Islamists when she read a poem at Indonesia’s Fashion Week and suggested that a traditional Indonesian hair bun is more beautiful than the veil worn by Muslim women.

After outrage, she had to tender an apology to all the Indonesian Muslims who had accused her of blasphemy and insulting Islam.

 GNPF Ulama, a conservative Muslim organisation called her a “religious blasphemer” and urged the people to support the cops to arrest Sukmawati and put her on trial.

According to The Sydney Morning Herald, Sukmawati called a press conference and apologised with tears in her eyes.

“From the bottom of my heart I extend an apology to all Muslims of Indonesia, especially those who feel offended by the poem,” she had said.

Islam is the largest religion in Indonesia. The Southeast Asian nation has the largest Muslim population in the world while Hinduism is one of the six official religions and home to the fourth-largest population of Hindus in the world, after India, Nepal and Bangladesh.