Among old newspapers, black-and-white photographs, official announcements, and student magazines lies the trace of an Islamic institution of higher learning that grew into what is now UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta. That trace is now being gathered once again, piece by piece, to invite the public to trace the first decade of the journey of Perguruan Tinggi Agama Islam Negeri (PTAIN, the State Islamic College).

To piece together these historical fragments, the Archives Team of UIN Sunan Kalijaga held a preparatory meeting for an exhibition titled “RINTISAN: 'An Indelible Trace' Across Time 1951–1961: Rereading the Roots of Identity,” in the second-floor meeting room of the PAU Building, on Monday (9/7/2026). The exhibition is planned to run from September 21–25, 2026, in the ground-floor corridor of the University Central Administration (PAU) Building at UIN Sunan Kalijaga.

Junior Archivist Expert and Head of the Archives Unit at UIN Sunan Kalijaga, Wahyu Setianingsih, S.H., M.M., said the exhibition will focus on the journey of PTAIN from 1951 to 1961, with a historical prologue tracing back to 1945.

Known familiarly as Aning, she explained that this timeframe was chosen to show how the aspiration to establish Islamic higher education in Indonesia was first pioneered, debated, and eventually realized. The history of the Sekolah Tinggi Islam (STI, Islamic College), Universitas Islam Indonesia (UII), and the founding of PTAIN will be presented so that visitors not only view old artifacts but also understand the context behind them.

Exhibition materials were gathered from a number of institutions and documentation centers, including the UIN Sunan Kalijaga Library, the National Press Monument, Kedaulatan Rakyat (a local newspaper), and the Jogja Library. Searches were also conducted through the archives of the Ministry of Information and the Pakualaman collection.

“From that search, we found a variety of news coverage about PTAIN, historical photographs, newspapers, official announcements, the inaugural speech of the university's first professor, the names of its first students, and student magazines that documented the intellectual dynamics of that era,” she said.

The effort to locate archival material did not always end in official storage repositories. Some traces were instead scattered across private collections, libraries, faculties, family documentation, and even the memories of people who once had contact with PTAIN's founding figures.

Among the key elements to be featured are the traces left by Prof. K.H. Muh. Adnan and Prof. Dr. H. Muchtar Jahja, the institution's first and second rectors. Both played important roles in laying the foundation of the institution that has since developed into UIN Sunan Kalijaga.

The traces of these two figures will not only be presented through photographs and biographical notes. The team also traced their written works, ideas, documents, and stories preserved in the memories of family members and others who once had contact with them. The results of this research will form part of the exhibition materials.

In the search for traces of Prof. Adnan, for instance, Aning recounted how the team managed to make contact with one of his family members now living in the United States. That communication was made to learn more about his life journey while also exploring the possibility that personal works, books, photographs, and archival materials might still exist.

A similar search was conducted regarding the career of Prof. Dr. H. Muchtar Jahja. The team sought to gather photographs, works, documents, and information on various academic events involving PTAIN's second rector. “From his family, we also learned that Prof. Muchtar once served as a promoter in the conferral of an honorary doctorate from Al-Azhar,” she said.

The “RINTISAN” exhibition is not designed as a mere row of documents displayed without context. Each archival item will be arranged along a narrative flow that helps visitors understand the connections between one event and another.

Head of the Household Affairs Subdivision at UIN Sunan Kalijaga, Suswini, emphasized that the exhibition marks an important milestone, as it is the first archival exhibition ever held by UIN Sunan Kalijaga. It also stands as the first such exhibition among State Islamic Religious Higher Education Institutions (PTKIN).

Visitors will begin their journey through a timeline presenting key events starting from 1945. From there, the narrative moves toward the history of STI and UII, the founding of PTAIN in 1951, and its development through 1961.

The journey then continues through pages of old newspapers that documented the founding and development of PTAIN. Media coverage from that era will help visitors see how the emergence of an Islamic institution of higher learning was discussed in the public sphere.

Old photographs will then bring back the faces of the institution's founders and the academic atmosphere of its early years. One monumental photograph to be displayed shows President Soekarno delivering a lecture before the PTAIN academic community.

Meanwhile, student magazines will open a window into campus life during that era. Through the articles within them, visitors can read the ideas, concerns, and spirit of the first generation that grew alongside PTAIN.

To complete the archival exhibition, Senior Public Relations Officer at UIN Sunan Kalijaga, Dra. R.T.M. Maharani, proposed that the search for photographs and documents also involve the faculties and senior figures at UIN Sunan Kalijaga. Their involvement is expected to help the team uncover documentation not yet held in the official collection.

Preparations for the exhibition are a collective effort by the Archives Unit of UIN Sunan Kalijaga. Alongside Aning, the team includes Yudhi Risti Purnomo, S.AP., as Deputy Head of the Unit, while Nurul Fatwa Wati, A.Md., serves as Secretary. Archival work is also supported by Muhammad Mahyudin, S.H., M.A., Ahmad Nasif Al Fikri, S.Ag., M.M., Miftakhul Intan Naimah, S.Pd., and Tantri Yuniarti, A.Md., in the Archival Services Division.

The Dynamic Archives Management Division includes Gunadi, S.H., M.H., and Ida Lusi, S.Pd., while the management of static archives is handled by Lusiana, S.E., M.M., together with Banny Suryani, A.Md., KL. The Archival Development Division involves Siti Zainia Faridha, S.Si., M.Si., CTT., CGAM, Anita Sofiyati, S.Ag., and Yuni Sulistyowati, A.Md.

Ultimately, this archival exhibition is not merely an effort to reminisce about the past. Archives serve as a way to understand that UIN Sunan Kalijaga today has grown out of the ideas, courage, work, and long labor of the pioneers of Islamic higher education.

Through yellowed newspapers, preserved speeches, photographs of the first two rectors, and the faces of the earliest generation of students, that journey will be brought back to life, not to dwell in nostalgia, but to connect today's generation with the historical roots of their institution: a pioneering effort whose trace remains indelible. (humassk)