Nelson Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
Summary
- Nelson Mandela was sworn in as the first black president of South Africa on 10th May 1994.
- The swearing in ceremony took place in the lovely sandstone amphitheater in Pretoria
- He addressed a gathering of dignitaries from all over the world. He wished that freedom in Africa should reign and that never, never, and never again should it be that that beautiful land would experience the oppression of one by another
- The army officials who could have caught have and put him in jail before were saluting him to pay respect to the newly born democracy.
- The two national anthems were sung at the time of his swearing in ceremony.
- He recalls b the history and pays homage to the national martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the sake of their motherland.
- He tells that the martyrs were the men of extraordinary courage and wisdom and generosity.
- The country of South Africa is rich in minerals and gems but the greatest wealth of country is its people.
- He tells no one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion. If people learn to hate, they can be taught to love too.
- He talks about the twin obligations-obligation towards his family & obligation towards his nation. While discharging his duties he found he was not free.
- Hence, he joined African National Congress fought for the freedom of his country.
- He knew that the oppressor must be liberated just as surely as the oppressed.
- The oppressor and oppressed alike are robbed of their humanity.
Comprehension Questions
Answer the following questions in 30-40 words:
1. What promise does Mandela make in the beginning of opening of his oath-taking
speech?
Mandela thanks all the international leaders and guests as he calls it an occasion of joy and victory for justice. He promises that the country shall not again experience the oppression of one by another.
2. What did freedom mean to Mandela in childhood?
During childhood the meaning of freedom for Mandela was quite limited. He considered it to be free to run in the fields, to swim in the clear stream, free to roast mealies and ride the board backs of slow moving bulls.
3. Why did inauguration ceremony take place in the amphitheatre formed by the Union
Building in Pretoria?
It was the first democratic, non-racial government taking oath in South Africa. The ceremony was attended by dignitaries from more than 140 countries around the world and thousands of the people of South Africa of all the races to make the day memorable. So it took place in the amphitheatre formed by the Union Building in Pretoria.
4. What did Nelson Mandela pledge to do for the future of South Africa at his swearing in
ceremony?
Mandela pledged to liberate all the people from poverty, deprivation, suffering, gender and other discriminations in his swearing-in ceremony. Never again would the beautiful land experience the oppression of one by another. The sun would never set on their glorious human achievement.
5. What did Mandela think for oppressor and oppressed?
Mandela always thought that both oppressor and oppressed are deprived of their humanity. The man who takes away another man’s freedom is a prisoner of hatred. He is locked behind bars of prejudice and narrow-mindedness. He is not truly free if he is taking away someone else’s freedom. Both the oppressor and the oppressed need to be liberated.
6. What do you understand by Apartheid’?
‘Apartheid’ is a political system that divides people according to their race. In this system black coloured people in South Africa were not free even to discharge their personal and social obligations of being parents, sons and husbands, etc. 7. Describe the effect of the policy of apartheid on the people of South Africa. The policy of apartheid could not be considered fortunate for the people of South Africa. It created a deep and lasting wound in the country and the people. All of them will spend many tears, if not generations recovering from that hurt. The decades of brutality also had an unintended effect. Many great men like Oliver Tambo, Walttr Sisulu, Yusuf Dadoo, Bram Fischer, etc were produced due to the brutality and oppression. They were men of great character.
8. How is courage related to the brave man according to the author?
The author believes that courage is not the absence of fear, but it is the triumph over it. The brave man is not the one who does not feel fear of any kind but he is the one who has the courage to conquer it.
9. Could everyone fulfill their personal and social obligations in South Africa?
In South Africa, one was not free to fulfill their obligations because of colour of the skin. In South Africa, a man of colour who attempted to live as a human being was punished and isolated for being a rebellion. If a man tried to fulfill his duty to his people, was ripped from his family and forced to live apart.
10. What did Mandela realise about his brothers and sisters?
Mandela realised that his brothers and sisters were not free in their own country due to their colour. The freedom of everyone in his society was curtailed. He joined the African National Congress and fought for the freedom.
11. What transferred Nelson Mandela from a frightened young man to a bold man?
Nelson Mandela was changed into a bold man due to his desire of freedom for his country and his countrymen. He wanted them to live their life with dignity and self respect as he could not enjoy the limited freedom.
12. What, according to Nelson Mandela is the greatest wealth of a nation?
South Africa is a country rich in minerals and gems that lie beneath its surface. But, according to Nelson Mandela a country’s greatest wealth is its people, finer and truer than the purest diamonds.
13. What kept Nelson Mandela going while in prison?
No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin or his background or his religion. If a person can learn to hate then he can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart. During the grimmest times in prison, when Nelson Mandela and his comrades were pushed to their limits, he would see a glimmer of humanity for a second in one of the guards and that would keep him going.
14. How was Mandela overwhelmed with a sense of history?
In the first decade of the twentieth century and before Mandela’s birth, the whites in South Africa had erected a system of racial domination known as ‘apartheid’. In the last decade of the twentieth century, when Mandela was in his eighties, he saw that system crumbling. So, he was overwhelmed with a sense of history.
Answer the following questions in 100-120 words:
1. Describe the views of Mandela for the black people who fought and sacrificed their likes
for the country’s political independence?
Mandela always said that the political freedom was the result of sacrifices of thousands of the black people who fought for that. He said that it could not be repaid. He thought himself as the sum of all of those African patriots. He regretted that he could not thank them. He cursed the policy of apartheid that wounded the people of his country, which would take centuries to heal. He also said that the oppression and brutality of the white people produced great freedom fighters like Oliver Tambo, Walter Sisulu, Luthuli, Dadoo, Fischer, Sobukwe and many more. They were the men of courage, wisdom and large heartedness. They really suffered a lot for the political freedom of the country.
2. How did Mandela’s understanding of freedom change with age and experience?
Mandela had different concepts of freedom at different stages of life. As a boy, he had an illusion about freedom. He thought he was born free. As long he obeyed his elders he had the freedom to run in the fields swim in the stream and ride on the back of bulls. As a student he cared for transitory freedom - freedom to stay out at night, read the books of his choice and go where he liked. When he became a young man he yearned for basic and honourable freedoms of achieving his potential, earning his keep, marrying, having a family and living a lawful life. Slowly his concept of freedom widened especially when he joined the African National Congress. He realized that true freedom is not individual freedom but freedom for all.
3. What did Nelson Mandela learn from his comrades in the struggle for freedom?
Nelson Mandela learnt the meaning of courage from his comrades in struggle. Time and again he had seen the men and women risk and give their lives for an idea. He had seen men and women stand up to attacks and torture without breaking, showing a strength and resilience that defied the imagination He learnt that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he does not feel afraid but he conquers fear. Decades of oppression and brutality had another unintended effect. It produced men of extraordinary courage, wisdom and generosity. The author feels that perhaps it requires such depths of oppression to create such heights of character.
4. Describe the obligations which the author is talking about and also describe his feelings
for them.
The author talks about two obligations for every man. The first obligation is towards his family, parents, his wife and children. The second is towards his community and his country. Being a social person one has to fulfill these obligations. But a coloured person in South Africa was not free to perform his obligations and was ripped apart from his family and home if he tried to do that. As a child the author’s idea of freedom was limited. It changed during boyhood but when he realized that not only he but also his brothers were not free, he joined the African National Congress and he fought for the people and the country to be free.
5. How did Nelson Mandela describe the scene of the inauguration?
The inauguration took place on the bright and clear day, the 10th of May in Sandstone amphitheatre. Many world leaders and great personalities were present there. He had gone there with his daughter Zenani. At first Mr. De Klerk was sworn in as second deputy president on the podium, then the Thabo Mbeki as first deputy president and after that Mandela was sworn in. This ceremony was held to declare Nelson Mandela as the first black president of South Africa. Finally the jets left off smoke of different colours of the new South African flag. The day was symbolised by the playing of two national anthems. Nelson Mandela was over-whelmed.
Questions from the text book.
Oral Comprehension Check
1. Where did the ceremonies take place? Can you name any public buildings in India that
are made of sandstone?
The ceremonies took place in the lovely sandstone amphitheatre formed by the Union Buildings in Pretoria. Parliament House in New Delhi, Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi, Supreme Court of India
in New Delhi and Madras High Court in Chennai are some examples of Indian public buildings that are made of sandstone.
2. Can you say how 10 May is an ‘autumn day’ in South Africa?
10 May is an ‘autumn day’ in South Africa because on this day there was the largest gathering of international leaders on South African soil for the installation of South Africa’s first democratic, non-racial government.
3. At the beginning of his speech, Mandela mentions “an extraordinary human disaster”.
What does he mean by this? What is the “glorious ... human achievement” he speaks of
at the end?
By human disaster Mandela means to say that coloured people have suffered a lot due to discrimination at the hands of whites. He considered it as a great glorious human achievement that a black person became the president of a country where the blacks were not considered as human beings and were treated badly.
4. What does Mandela thank the international leaders for?
Mandela felt privileged to be the host to the nations of the world because not too long ago, the South Africans were considered outlaws. He thus thanked all the international leaders for having come to witness his investiture as President since this event could be considered as a common victory for justice, peace and human dignity.
5. What ideals does he set out for the future of South Africa?
Mandela set out the ideals of liberating all the people from continuing bondage of poverty, deprivation, suffering, gender and other discriminations.
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1. What do the military generals do? How has their attitude changed, and why?
The highest military generals of the South African defence force and police saluted Mandela and pledged their loyalty at the ceremony. Their attitude towards blacks had undergone a great change. Many years before, they would have arrested a black and not saluted him.
2. Why were two national anthems sung?
On the day of the inauguration, two national anthems were sung, one by the whites, and the other by the blacks. This symbolized the equality of blacks and whites.
3. How does Mandela describe the systems of government in his country
(i) in the firstdecade, and (ii) in the final decade, of the twentieth century?
(i) In the first decade of the twentieth century, the white-skinned people of South Africa patched up their differences and erected a system of racial domination against the dark- skinned people of their own land, thus creating the basis of one of the harshest and most inhumane societies the world had ever known.
(ii) In the last decade of the twentieth century, the previous system had been overturned
forever and replaced by one that recognized the rights and freedoms of all peoples,
regardless of the colour of their skin.
4. What does courage mean to Mandela?
For Mandela courage does not mean the absence of fear but a victory over fear.
According to him brave men need not be fearless but should be able to conquer fear.
5. Which does he think is natural, to love or to hate?
For Mandela, love comes more naturally to the human heart than hate.
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1. What ‘twin obligations’ does Mandela mention?
Mandela mentions that every man has twin obligations. The first is to his family, parents,
wife and children; the second obligation is to his people, his community and his country.
2. What did being free mean to Mandela as a boy, and as a student? How does he contrast
these “transitory freedoms” with “the basic and honourable freedoms”?
As a child, freedom to Nelson Mandela meant running around and playing. As a young
man he realized that his freedom had already been taken, hence he began to hunger for
it. These were the transitory freedom he wanted only for himself-of being able to stay
out at night, read what he pleased, go where he chose.
Later as a young man he yearned for the basic and honourable freedom of achieving his
potential, earning his keep, of marrying and having a family - the freedom of not being
obstructed in a lawful life.
3. Does Mandela think the oppressor is free? Why/Why not?
Mandela does not feel that the oppressor is free because according to him an oppressor
is a prisoner of hatred, who is locked behind the bars of prejudice and narrow-
mindedness. He feels that both the oppressor and the oppressed are robbed of their
humanity.
Thinking about the Text
1. Why did such a large number of international leaders attend the inauguration? What did
it signify the triumph of?
The presence of large number of international leaders was a gesture of solidarity from
international community to the idea of the end of apartheid. It signified the triumph of
good over evil, the triumph of the idea of a tolerant society without any discrimination.
2. What does Mandela mean when he says he is “simply the sum of all those African
patriots” who had gone before him?
Mandela wants to pay his tribute to all the people who had sacrificed their lives for the
sake of freedom. He feels that he is the sum of all those African patriots who had gone
before him because those heroes of yester years had paved the path of co-operation
andunity for him. Therefore, he got the support of his people to be able to come to
power to bring equality for his own people.
3. Would you agree that the ‘depths of oppression’ create ‘heights of character’? How does
Mandela illustrate this? Can you add your own examples to this argument?
Yes, I agree that the ‘depths of oppression’ create ‘heights of character’. Nelson Mandela
illustrates this by giving examples of great heroes of South Africa who sacrificed their
lives in the long freedom struggle, and who had extraordinary courage, wisdom and
India is full of such examples. During our freedom struggle there was a galaxy of leaders
of great character. The oppression of the British rule created so many men of immense
courage and strength.
4. How did Mandela’s understanding of freedom change with age and experience?
With age Nelson Mandela realised that he had a lot of responsibilities of his people, his
community and his country. As a boy, Mandela did not have a hunger for freedom
because he thought that he was born free. He believed that as long as he obeyed his
father and abided by the customs of his tribe, he was free in every possible manner. He
had certain needs as a teenager and certain needs as a young man. Gradually, he
realized that he was selfish during his boyhood. He slowly understands that it is not just
his freedom that is being curtailed, but the freedom of all blacks. It is after attaining this
understanding that he develops a hunger for the freedom of his people.
5. How did Mandela’s ‘hunger for freedom’ change his life?
Mandela realized in his youth that it was not just his freedom that was being curtailed,
but the freedom of all blacks. The hunger for his own freedom became the hunger for
the freedom of his people. This desire of a non-racial society transformed him into a
virtuous and self-sacrificing man. Thus, he joined the African National Congress and this
changed him from a frightened young man into a bold man.
PRACTICE QUESTIONS
Q1 Read the extracts given below and answer the following questions.
(a) Only moments before, the highest generals of South African defence force and police,
their chests bedecked with ribbons and medals from days gone by, saluted me and
pledged their loyalty. I was not unmindful of the fact that not so many years before
they would not have saluted but arrested me.
i. Who is referred to as ‘me’? Why were the generals saluting him?
Nelson Mandela is referred to as ‘me’.
The generals were saluting him because he had been sworn in as the president of
South Africa.
ii. What was the significance of the ceremony taking place?
The ceremony taking place was for the installation of South Africa’s first
democratic, non-racial government.
iii. Why were two national anthems played at the ceremony?
On the day of the inauguration, two national anthems were sung, one by the
whites, and the other by the blacks. This symbolized the equality of blacks and
whites.
iv. Find the phrase which means the same as ‘aware’.
not unmindful
(b) As long as I obeyed my father and abided by the customs of my tribe, I was not
troubled by the laws of man or God. It was only when I began to learn that my
boyhood freedom was an illusion, when I discovered as a young man that my freedom
had already been taken from me, that I began to hunger for it.
i. In what ways was Mandela free?
Mandela was free to run in the fields, free to swim in the stream, free to roast
mealies and ride the backs of slow moving bulls.
ii. What kind of freedom did Mandela yearn for as a man?
Mandela yearned for the basic and honourable freedoms of achieving his
potential of earning his life, of marrying and having a family.
iii. Why did Nelson Mandela join the African National Congress?
Nelson Mandela realised that neither he nor his brothers and sisters who liked
him were free. Hence, he joined the African National Congress when the hunger
for his own freedom became the greater hunger for the freedom of my people.
iv. Give the antonym of ‘abided by’.
flouted
(c) For decades this had been the seat of white supremacy, and now it was the site of a
rainbow gathering of different colours and nations for the installation of South Africa’s
first democratic, non-racial government.
i. What is being referred to as the seat of white supremacy?
The lovely sandstone amphitheatre formed by the Union Buildings in Pretoria.
ii. Which ceremony was taking place and when did it take place?
The installation of South Africa’s first democratic, non-racial government was
the ceremony taking place.
The ceremony took place on 10th May.
iii. What is referred to as the ‘rainbow gathering of different colours and nations’? What
was its significance?
Dignitaries and world leaders from different nations attended the ceremony. It
was the largest gathering ever of international leaders on South African soil.
iv. Give the antonym of ‘supremacy’.
inferiority
(d) But in a country like South Africa, it was almost impossible for a man of my birth and
colour to fulfil both of those obligations. In South Africa, a man of colour who
attempted to live as a human being was punished and isolated.
i. What are the obligations that every man has in life?
Every man has two obligations one is to his family and second to his community
and country.
ii. Why was it impossible for a coloured man to discharge his obligations?
In South Africa if a coloured man tried to fulfil his obligations, he was punished
and isolated.
iii. What did Nelson Mandela realise in attempting to serve his people?
In attempting to serve his people, Nelson Mandela realised that he was
prevented from fulfilling his obligations as a son, a brother, a father and a
husband.
iv. Find the synonym of ‘remote’.
isolated
Q2 Answer the following questions in 30-40 words each.
(a) What transferred Nelson Mandela from a frightened young man to a bold man?
Nelson Mandela was changed into a bold man due to his desire of freedom for
his country and his countrymen. He wanted them to live their life with dignity
and self respect as he could not enjoy the limited freedom.
(b) How was Mandela overwhelmed with a sense of history?
In the first decade of the twentieth century and before Mandela’s birth, the
whites in South Africa had erected a system of racial domination known as
‘apartheid’. In the last decade of the twentieth century, when Mandela was in his
eighties, he saw that system crumbling. So, he was overwhelmed with a sense of
history.
(c) What did Nelson Mandela pledge to do for the future of South Africa at his swearing-
in ceremony?
Mandela pledged to liberate all the people from poverty, deprivation, suffering,
gender and other discriminations in his swearing-in ceremony. Never again
would the beautiful land experience the oppression of one by another. The sun
would never set on their glorious human achievement.
(d) What did Mandela think for oppressor and oppressed?
Mandela always thought that both oppressor and oppressed are deprived of
their humanity. The man who takes away another man’s freedom is a prisoner of
hatred. He is locked behind bars of prejudice and narrow-mindedness. He is not
truly free if he is taking away someone else’s freedom. Both the Oppressor and
the oppressed need to be liberated.
Q3 Answer the following questions in 100-120 words each.
(a) How did Nelson Mandela describe the scene of the inauguration?
The inauguration took place on the bright and clear day, the 10th of May in
Sandstone amphitheatre. Many world leaders and great personalities were
present there. He had gone there with his daughter Zenani. At first Mr. De Klerk
was sworn in as second deputy president on the podium, then the Thabo Mbeki
as first deputy president and after that Mandela was sworn in. This ceremony
was held to declare Nelson Mandela as the first black president of South Africa:
Finally the jets left off smoke of different colours of the new South African flag.
The day was symbolised by the playing of two national anthems. Nelson
Mandela was over-whelmed.
(b) What did Nelson Mandela learn from his comrades in the struggle for freedom?
Nelson Mandela learnt the meaning of courage from his comrades in struggle.
Time and again he had seen the men and women risk and give their lives for an
idea. He had seen men and women stand up to attacks and torture without
breaking, showing a strength and resilience that defied the imagination He
learnt that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The
brave man is not he does not feel afraid but he conquers fear.
Decades of oppression and brutality had another unintended effect. It produced
men of extraordinary courage, wisdom and generosity. The author feels that
perhaps it requires such depths of oppression to create such heights of
character.
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