2. Nelson Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom

(ii) South Africa

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

In India, the Red Fort, Rashtrapati Bhavan, the Parliament House and the Supreme Court are made of red sandstone.

South Africa lies in the southern hemisphere. There the seasons are opposite to those in India. So May falls in autumn in South Africa.

The “extraordinary human disaster” is apartheid. Under this system the black people of South Africa were badly treated by the white rulers.

The “glorious human achievement” is the end of apartheid. South Africa now had its first democratic, non-racial government, with a black President.

Mandela thanks them for coming to South Africa for his inauguration. He says they came to share with the people a common victory for justice, peace and human dignity.

Mandela pledges to free all his people from poverty, deprivation, suffering, gender and other discrimination. He says that this land will never again experience the oppression of one by another.

The highest generals of the defence force and police saluted Mandela and pledged their loyalty to him.

Earlier they would have arrested him instead of saluting him. Their attitude changed because apartheid had ended. A new government had been freely and fairly elected, and Mandela was its President.

Two national anthems were sung to show respect for both black and white people. Whites sang ‘Nkosi Sikelel–iAfrika’ and blacks sang ‘Die Stem’. It was a sign of unity in the new nation.

(i) In the first decade, the white people patched up their differences and set up a system of racial domination against the dark-skinned people. It was one of the harshest and most inhuman societies.

(ii) In the final decade, that system was overturned forever. It was replaced by one that recognised the rights and freedoms of all people, whatever the colour of their skin.

To Mandela, courage is not the absence of fear but the triumph over it. A brave man is not one who does not feel afraid, but one who conquers that fear.

He thinks it is natural to love. No one is born hating another person. People learn to hate, so they can also be taught to love.

The first obligation is to his family — his parents, wife and children. The second is to his people, his community and his country.

As a boy, freedom meant running in the fields, swimming in the stream, roasting mealies and riding bulls.

As a student, freedom meant staying out at night, reading what he liked and going where he chose. These were “transitory freedoms”.

Later he wanted “the basic and honourable freedoms” — to achieve his potential, to earn his living, to marry and have a family, and to live a lawful life without obstruction.

No, he does not. He says a man who takes away another man’s freedom is a prisoner of hatred. He is locked behind the bars of prejudice and narrow-mindedness. So the oppressor is not free either.

They came to show their respect and support for the new, democratic South Africa. Earlier, many countries had broken ties with South Africa because of apartheid.

The event signified the triumph of justice, peace, human dignity and equality over racial discrimination.

Mandela means that he is not alone in this victory. Thousands of freedom fighters suffered and sacrificed their lives before him. Their struggle made this day possible. He is only the result of all their efforts.

Yes, I agree. Great suffering often brings out great qualities in people.

Mandela says the long years of oppression produced men like Oliver Tambo, Walter Sisulu, Chief Luthuli, Yusuf Dadoo, Bram Fischer and Robert Sobukwe. They had extraordinary courage, wisdom and generosity.

In India, British rule produced leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Bhagat Singh and Subhas Chandra Bose.

As a boy, Mandela thought he was free to run, swim and play. As a student, he wanted small freedoms for himself, like staying out at night.

As a young man, he wanted to earn a living and have a family. Then he saw that his people were not free either. His hunger for his own freedom became a greater hunger for the freedom of his people.

His hunger for freedom made him join the African National Congress. It turned a frightened young man into a bold one. It made a law-abiding attorney a ‘criminal’. It turned a family-loving husband into a man without a home. It forced a life-loving man to live like a monk.

Martin Luther King’s contribution to our history as an outstanding leader began when he came to the assistance of Rosa Parks, a seamstress who refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white passenger. In those days American Blacks were confined to positions of second class citizenship by restrictive laws and customs. To break these laws would mean subjugation and humiliation by the police and the legal system. Beatings, imprisonment and sometimes death awaited those who defied the System. Martin Luther King’s tactics of protest involved non-violent resistance to racial injustice.

1. Mr Singh regularly invites the Amitabh Bachchans and the Shah Rukh Khans to his parties.

Mr Singh regularly invites famous film stars like Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan to his parties.

2. Many people think that Madhuri Dixit is the Madhubala of our times.

Many people think that Madhuri Dixit is as great and beautiful an actress today as Madhubala was in her time.

3. History is not only the story of the Alexanders, the Napoleons and the Hitlers, but of ordinary people as well.

History is not only about great conquerors and rulers like Alexander, Napoleon and Hitler. It is also about ordinary people.

1. It requires such depths of oppression to create such heights of character.
2. Courage was not the absence of fear but the triumph over it.
3. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid but he who conquers that fear.
4. If people can learn to hate they can be taught to love.
5. I was not born with a hunger to be free. I was born free.

1. For decades the Union Buildings 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. (Signal words: For decades … and now)
2. Only moments before, the highest generals … saluted me and pledged their loyalty. … not so many years before they would not have saluted but arrested me. (Signal words: Only moments before … not so many years before)
3. Although that day neither group knew the lyrics of the anthem …, they would soon know the words by heart. (Signal words: Although … would soon)
4. My country is rich in the minerals and gems that lie beneath its soil, but I have always known that its greatest wealth is its people, finer and truer than the purest diamonds. (Signal word: but)
5. The Air Show was not only a display of pinpoint precision and military force, but a demonstration of the military’s loyalty to democracy. (Signal words: not only … but)
6. It was this desire for the freedom of my people … that transformed a frightened young man into a bold one, that drove a law-abiding attorney to become a criminal, that turned a family-loving husband into a man without a home. (Signal words: transformed … into, drove … to become, turned … into)

(ii) Find the words that describe the two places, and arrange them in two columns.

The poet uses these words to show a sharp contrast. In the wild the tiger is free, strong and powerful. In the zoo he is helpless, angry and lonely in a small cage.

The repetition of ‘quiet’ shows that the tiger walks silently on his soft pads, but inside he is full of anger. His rage is quiet because he cannot do anything.

The repetition of ‘brilliant’ links the tiger’s bright eyes with the bright stars. It shows his longing for freedom. He looks at the stars because he cannot reach his home in the wild.

Zoos help to protect rare animals and to breed them. They also help people, especially children, to see and learn about wild animals.

But animals in zoos lose their freedom and natural life. Better alternatives are national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and reserves. There animals can live freely in their natural home.