Harian Rakyat was managed by Njoto as a member of the editorial board and Mula Naibaho as editor in chief.

Harian Rakjat was first published on 31 January 1951, and was originally named Soeara Rakyat (lit.

In its heyday, Harian Rakjat was the most popular political newspaper ever published in Indonesia, with average circulation of 23,000 copies in the 1950s and 1960s.

Because its message was considered to have violated the rules imposed by the government of the time, Harian Rakjat was occasionally banned.

Other newspapers, such as Indonesia Raya, Bintang Timur, Pemuda Merdeka, Djiwa Baru, Pedoman, Keng Po, and Java Bode, as well as three news agencies: Antara, PIA, and INPS were banned for the same time period.

[5] After the events of the 30 September Movement in 1965, all dailies published in Jakarta were banned, except the military-owned Angkatan Bersendjata and Berita Yudha.

It was not only disbanded: all the PKI members and activists who supported the newspaper were hunted down, arrested, imprisoned, and even killed.

Its simple, agile, and forthright language style – in accordance with the teachings of Marxism and Leninism – was easily understood by the peasants and workers who were the basis of the PKI support.