THE tensions during the plenary session of the Indonesian Independence Preparation Investigative Assembly (BPUPKI) on July 11, 1945, were rising because of the seven words. Chaired by Sukarno, the session was attended by 62 people discussing the substance of the Jakarta Charter, the text formulated by the small committee comprising nine members from the BPUPKI over the previous three weeks.

The BPUPKI-formed by the Japanese government under the n