Djarot was born in Rangkasbitung, Banten on 22 July 1950. He attended elementary and junior high school in Yogyakarta, where he became active with the student organization Gerakan Siswa Nasional Indonesia. He then attended senior high school in Belitung, South Sumatra. In 1969, he went to Cologne, West Germany to study Industrial Engineering at the Cologne University of Applied Sciences.
