JAKARTA, Nov. 17 -- The decision to name Indonesia's former dictator Suharto a national hero has exposed a deep and troubling generational divide in the world's third-largest democracy.

While activists and survivors of his brutal 32-year rule are outraged, many young Indonesians, born after his fall and grappling with a modern cost of living crisis, are responding with indifference or even a dangerous nostalgia for an era they never knew.

Instead of mass protests, the controversial announcement was met with small, muted demonstrations, revealing a new reality in a nation where economic anxiety is eclipsing historical memory, The Guardian reported.

For many young Indonesians struggling with rising inflation and precarious employment, th...