Nelson Mandela-Long Walk to Freedom

                                               Nelson Mandela – Long Walk to Freedom

Page 18

1. Where did the ceremonies take place? Can you name any public buildings in India that are made of sandstone?

Ans:  The ceremonies took place in the lovely sandstone amphitheatre formed by the Union Buildings in Pretoria.

Public buildings in India that are made of sandstone are  Rashtrapati  Bhavan , Parliament House and Supreme Court of India in New Delhi.

2.  Can you say how 10 may is an ‘autumn day’ in South Africa?

Ans:  The inauguration ceremony after the first democratic election  was held amidst the largest gathering ever of international leaders on South African soil. Therefore, 10^th May is regarded as the ‘autumn day’ in south Africa.

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?  

Ans: By ‘an extraordinary human disaster’ Mandela means the exploitation of the Black people by the Whites for decades together leading to untold suffering and multitude of deaths.

‘Glorious human achievement’ refers to the abolishment of the evil practice of apartheid and the birth of democracy where there will be no discrimination of any sort henceforth.

4. What does Mandela thank the international leaders for?

 Mandela  thanked the international leaders  for their indispensable presence  in his investiture ceremony  as the first Black President of South Africa. He  thanked  all distinguished international guests for having come to take possession with the people of their  country of what is, after all, a common victory for  justice, for peace, for human dignity.

5. What ideals does  he set out for the future of South Africa?

Ans He reiterated with unspeakable pride that they  achieved their  political emancipation. He then pledged  to liberate all his  people from the continuing bondage of poverty, deprivation, suffering, gender and other discrimination. He further emphasized that never and never again the beautiful land of South Africa  will again experience the oppression of one by another.

6. What do the military generals do? How has their attitude changed, and why? 

The military generals of the South African Army demonstrated  not only a display of pinpoint precision and military force, but a demonstration of the military’s loyalty to democracy,  to a new government that had been  freely and fairly elected. The highest generals of the South African defence force saluted Mandela  and pledged their loyalty to him.

Their attitude underwent a sea change as instead of arresting Mandela, they pledged their loyalty towards him and saluted him. This is because of the landmark achievement that South Africa achieved in terms of the birth of new democracy. 

7. Why were two national anthems sung? 

Ans:  The national anthems of the blacks and the  whites were sung in order to express their happiness over the birth of new democracy in  South Africa. They jointly displayed their pledge to be together and work towards the  development  of the nation  with  the support of the new government. 

8. How does Mandela describe the systems of government in his country (i) in the first decade, and (ii) in the final decade, of the twentieth century? 

i) In the first decade:  The white-skinned peoples of South Africa patched up their differences and erected a system of racial domination against the dark-skinned peoples of their own land. The structure they created formed the basis of one of the harshest, most inhumane, societies the world has ever known.

ii) In the Final decade :In the last decade of the twentieth century, the system of racial discrimination that the Whites erected  had beenoverturned forever and replaced by one thatrecognized the rights and freedoms of all peoples, regardless of the colour of their skin.

9. What does courage mean to Mandela? 

Ans: Courage, according to Mandela, is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear. 

10. Which does he think is natural, to love or to hate? 
Ans: According to Mandela,No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than hatred. 

11. What “twin obligations” does Mandela mention? 

Ans:  ‘Twin obligations’refers to obligations to one’s  family, to his parents, to his wife and children as well as his  obligation to his people, his community and his country.

12. 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”? 

Ans: Being free to Mandela as a boy refers to the   freedom of being able to stay out at night, read what you pleased and go where you chose. But when he grew up as a student,  he yearns for ‘the basic and honourable freedoms’ of achieving his potential, of earning his keep, of marrying and having a family.


‘Transitory freedoms’ refers to the freedom that we enjoy during our childhood. This is very much transitory in nature as when we grow up, such types of freedom take a back seat. But when we grow up, ‘the basic and honourable freedom’ is what we crave for because it is a kind of freedom that is required for every one of us as adults in a civil society. 

Thinking About the Text ( Page 24) 

1.Why did such a large number of international leaders attend the inauguration? What did it signify the triumph of? 

Ans: A rainbow gathering of different colours and nations attended the inauguration in order to pay their respect  for the installation of South Africa’s first democratic, non-racial government.

It signifies the triumph of the sacrifice of a large multitudes of patriots to liberate South Africa from thralldom of White racial government. In other words, it signifies the victory of democracy over dictatorship. 

2. What does Mandela mean when he says he is “simply the sum of all those African patriots” who had gone before him? 

Ans: Mandela means to say that those countless patriots who fought for liberating their country from the oppression of the Whites are no longer alive to see the fruits of their harvest. Therefore, Mandela is paying tribute to all those patriots as their sacrifices have wrought freedom. He further says that the long chain of legacy  and noble line  of patriots ended with the birth of democracy and will again begin with him another chain of committed people who would take South Africa to a greater heights of excellence and glory. 

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? 

Ans: Yes, of course. The more hardships you face in life, the more mental endurance you develop. Mandela illustrates the concept very aptly when he said that the decades of oppression and brutality inflicted on the Blacks had produced the likes of  Oliver Tambos, the Walter Sisulus, the Chief Luthulis, the Yusuf Dadoos, the Bram Fischers, the Robert Sobukwes of our time. 
 History is replete with examples from India during our freedom struggle. The depths of oppression that people underwent created heights of character like Mahatma Gandhi, Subhash Chandra Bose and many more. 

4. How did Mandela’s understanding of freedom change with age and experience?

Ans: Mandela realized that the chains on anyone of his people were the chains on all of them. Similarly, the chains on all of his people were the chains on him. According to him, one is  not truly free if he is taking away someone else’s freedom, just as he is not free when his freedom is taken away from him.  Therefore, both the oppressor and the oppressed need to be liberated to ensure freedom in the right sense. 

5. How did Mandela’s ‘hunger for freedom’ change his life? 

Ans: As a young man Mandela  saw that it was not just his freedom that was curtailed, but the freedom of everyone in his  Black community. Therefore, he  joined the African National Congress, and then the hunger for his own freedom became the greater hunger for the freedom of his  people. It was this desire for the freedom of his people to live their lives with dignity and self respect that animated his life and he began to work tirelessly for the emancipation of his community from the tyranny of the Whites.

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