Nelson Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
Extra Questions
Q. What did Nelson Mandela remember on the day of the inaugural ceremony? (2020)
Ans. On the day of the inaugural ceremony, Nelson Mandela was overwhelmed with a sense of history. He remembered the birth of their Apartheid, its effect on his people and their long fight for freedom, the racial discrimination dark-skinned people suffered on their own land. He also remembered Answer of Previous Years’ CBSE Board Question the freedom fighters who suffered and sacrificed their lives for freedom. Then he remembered how the system had been over-turned forever and ever and replaced by one that recognised the right and freedom of all people, regardless of the colour of their skin.
Q. What did ‘being free ‘mean to Mandela as a boy and as a student? (2016) OR. What did freedom mean to Mandela in childhood? [CBSE 2015]
Ans. In childhood, the meaning of freedom for Mandela was quite simple. It meant freedom to run in the fields, swim in the clear stream, roast mealies and ride the board backs of slow-moving bulls. As a student-to stay out at night, to read what he pleased and to go wherever he chose was ‘being free’
Q. How did Mandela’s ‘hunger for freedom’ change his life? (2015)
Ans. Mr. Mandela realised in his youth that it was not just his freedom that was being curtailed but the freedom of all blacks. He joined the African National Congress and this transformed the fearful man to a fearless rebel. He sacrificed the comforts of a settled family life to fight for a greater cause to end racial prejudice.
By saying that he is simply the sum of all those African patriots, Mr. Mandela wants to pay his tribute to all the people who have sacrificed their lives for the sake of freedom. He says that he is grateful to those who had gone before him because those heroes of past had paved the path of cooperation and unity for him. Therefore, he could try to come to power to bring equality for his people with their support.
Q. Why is 10th May, 1994 important for South Africa? (2012)
Q. What are the twin obligations Nelson Mandela talks about in his speech? (2012)
Ans. The two obligations that every man has are: one, towards his family, parents, wife and children and the other is towards his people, community, his country.
Long Answer: Mandela remarked that a man has twin obligations first, personal obligation to his family and friends and second, obligation to his community and country. He believed that in a civil society, a man can perform both the obligations but, in his country, a black man like him cannot perform any of them due to discrimination. Mandela was punished and isolated from his family for serving his nation. Thus, he could never fulfil his obligations towards both.
Another Version of Answer: In the chapter, the author has talked 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 fulfil these obligations.
But being a person of colour in South Africa, a man was not free to perform his obligations and got punished if he tried to do that.
Being a child, the author never thought of such obligations but after he did so, he fought for the people and the country to be free so that they are able to enjoy their freedom of performing their personal and social duties.
Q. What is the dream of Nelson Mandela for the future of South Africa? (2012)
Q. What pained Nelson Mandela on becoming the President of South Africa? (2012)
Ans. Nelson Mandela was sad for not able to thank those African patriots who had fought for independence and sacrificed their lives for it. This pained him that they were not able to see what their sacrifices had brought.
Q. Why did Nelson Mandela said, ‘the oppressed and the oppressor alike are robbed of their humanity? ‘ (2012)
Ans. Nelson Mandela believes that freedom is indivisible. His hunger for his own freedom became the greater hunger for the freedom of his people. He couldn’t live his life with dignity and self-respect if his own people were bound in chains. The chains on any one of his people were chains on him. Mandela realized that the oppressor must be liberated as surely as the oppressed. A man who takes away another’s freedom is a prisoner of hatred, prejudice and narrow mindedness. He is not truly free if he is taking away someone else’s freedom. Surely, he is not free when his freedom is taken away from him. Thus, the oppressed and the oppressor alike are robbed of their humanity.
Q. How does Nelson Mandela define the meaning of ‘Courage ‘and ‘the brave men ‘? (2012)
Ans. According to Mandela, courage did not mean the absence of fear but victory over it. He believed that to be a brave man, one does not have to be fearless but should have the capability of conquering the fear.
Q. Why was the apartheid regime in South Africa one of the harshest and most inhuman systems in the
world?
Ans. The apartheid regime was based on the racial discrimination and exploitation of the blacks in South Africa. The basic fundamental rights were only for the whites and the blacks were deprived of these freedoms. Oppression, torture and exploitation of the blacks were common features of the apartheid regime.
Q. “Depths of oppression” create “heights of character.” How does Mandela illustrate this? Can you draw similarities between the freedom struggles of Africa and India?
Ans. “Depths of oppression” certainly creates “heights of character”. Mr. Mandela described that how the decades of brutality and oppression of the white people made African patriots like Oliver Tambo, Walter Sisulu, Luthuli, Dadoo and many more out of ordinary people. They all were the men of courage, wisdom and large heartedness. They suffered a lot for the freedom of the nation and the equal rights of the black people. In our country too, there were many extraordinary patriots like Mahatma Gandhi, Chandra Shekhar Azad, Bhagat Singh, Raj Guru and many more who struggled a lot for the freedom of our country and her people but remained courageous while facing utmost cruelty at the hands of British.
Q. Which ‘extraordinary human disaster’ did Mr. Mandela spoke about at the beginning of his speech?
Ans. The ‘extraordinary human disaster’ Mr. Mandela mentioned at the beginning of his speech, he was referring to apartheid. It was a system prevalent in South Africa, which segregated people based on their race.
Q. What does Mr. Mandela pledge to have for the newly liberated South Africa?
Ans. Mr. Mandela pledged to liberate the people of South Africa from the perpetual bondage of poverty, deprivation, suffering, gender and other forms of discrimination.
Q. How has the attitude of the military generals towards Mr. Mandela changed?
Ans. There is a change in the attitude of the military generals towards Mr. Mandela. They saluted him and pledged their loyalty. This change in their attitude is significant because during apartheid the same military generals would have arrested him instead of saluting him.
Q. What according to Mr. Mandela are the ‘twin obligations’ that every man has?
Ans. The two obligations that every man has are: one, towards his family, parents, wife and children and the other is towards his people, community, his country.
Q. What does Mr. Mandela say about the oppressor?
Ans. About the oppressor, Mr. Mandela says that an oppressor who takes away the freedom of someone else, is not free either. An oppressor is a prisoner of hatred. Such a person is a captive of prejudice and narrow-mindedness. Mr. Mandela feels that the oppressed and the oppressor alike are robbed of their humanity.
Q. Give a character-sketch of Nelson Mandela highlighting his struggle against the apartheid regime for the
human rights of his people.
Ans. Nelson Mandela was the hero of all black heroes who waged a relentless fight against apartheid and the racial-regime in South Africa. He suffered untold sufferings and tortures in prison but led the country to install the first democratically elected government in South Africa. Nelson Mandela was not born with a hunger to be free. Later on, he realized that his boyhood freedom was an illusion. He also realized his concept of freedom in his youth was also ‘transitory’ and was limited to his personal freedom. Only when he joined the African National Congress, his own freedom become the greater hunger for the freedom of his people. Only then, a frightened young lawyer was transformed into a bold ‘criminal’. A family-loving husband was forced to lead a life of a monk in secrecy.
He was grateful in acknowledging the unimaginable sacrifices of thousands of black heroes for the freedom of their people. Modestly, he realized that freedom is indivisible. He realized that he could not lead a free and honourable life if his people were in chains. He had a wider vision of humanity.
