Following independence, the Javanese language as a medium was pushed to the background. Still, one of the greatest contemporary Indonesian authors, Pramoedya Ananta Toer was born in 1925 in Blora. He was an author of novels, short stories, essays, polemics, and histories of his homeland and its people. A well-regarded writer in the West, his outspoken and often politically-charged writings faced censorship at home. He faced extrajudicial punishment for opposing the policies of both President Sukarno and Suharto. During imprisonment and house arrest, he became a "cause célèbre" for advocates of freedom of expression and human rights. In his works, he writes much about life and social problems in Java.