Nelson Mandela Long Walk To Freedom Summary: Class 10 English Literature

This class 10th chapter, Nelson Mandela Long Walk to Freedom has been taken from Nelson Mandela’s book which has the same name Nelson Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom. Nelson Mandela was a reformer and he spent around 30 years in prison. There was a strong policy of apartheid which was followed in South Africa. The whites tortured blacks because of their colour. The blacks were treated as inferior by the whites. Nelson Mandela fought against discrimination and brought up reforms in favour of  black people.  Initially, the chapters talk about the oath of President which was taken by Nelson Mandela.

Nelson Mandela became the first Black President of South Africa. Various leaders from different parts of the world gathered there to witness this. The Oath taking ceremony was held in an open building in Pretoria. This was the end of the discrimination on the basis of colour. The blacks of the South African had already faced a lot of torture and exploitation from the whites. It was the beginning of a new era and a new South Africa was to be born. Nelson Mandela’s daughter Zenani was also present in the ceremony. Mr De Klerk took oath as the second deputy president whereas Mr. Thabo Mbeki was sworn in as the first Deputy President of South Africa.

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Nelson Mandela took a pledge to eliminate poverty, ill-health, and deprivation from South Africa. He took a pledge to remove all kinds of discrimination from his country. The power of the military was displayed with the help of fighter airforce jets when Nelson Mandela took the oath as a president. They demonstrated the air power of South Africa. The highest military Generals saluted Nelson Mandela. Nelson Mandela then recalls the past, how he was kept in prison. At the oath-taking ceremony, two different National anthems were sung. Nkosi Sikelel was sung by the white people and the black people sang the national anthem Die Stem. This was a new National Anthem and it marked the end of the oath-taking ceremony.

Apartheid was a very common policy which was followed in South Africa at that time. The White people considered them as superiors and treated the black people as inferiors. Nelson Mandela recalls that those old days of discrimination will become a part of history. He took a pledge that he will strongly oppose such kind discrimination and will completely remove it from the system. He also said that people should be aware of their rights. He always thought that people should be ready to fight for their basic rights.

On the special day of the oath-taking ceremony, he remembers all the freedom fighters who fought for freedom from apartheid. From the very beginning, he considered himself as the leader of the exploited people of the society. Some of the freedom fighters which Nelson Mandela recalls were Oliver, Tambos, Yusuf Dadoo

Nelson Mandela’s life showed him to different meanings of freedom. When he was a child, he always wished to run freely in the fields and to enjoy freedom.  At that time he considered that as the actual meaning of freedom. As he started growing up, he realized that that type of freedom was just virtual. He realized the actual condition of South Africa and came to know that there was discrimination on the basis of colour. Blacks did not have the right to live like humans. They were treated badly and faced Harsh conditions. I am that time the meaning of freedom changed for Nelson Mandela. The actual meaning of freedom became that his brothers and sisters live life freely without any boundations or discrimination. This was the time when he started to fight for the rights of his people.

Ans1. The oath-taking ceremony was organized in an open building in Pretoria.  Dignitaries from around the world took part in that ceremony. Yes, the Rashtrapati Bhawan and the Red Fort in India are the 2 buildings which are made up of the red sandstone.

10 May can be called as the Autumn day in South Africa as it was the only day on which the largest crowd gathered to witness the end of Apartheid policy and the beginning of the democratic nation. A new South Africa was born on this day.

Ans. 3. The policy of Apartheid which was followed before he was sworn in as the President of South Africa has been referred to as the extraordinary human disaster. The conditions were very harsh. The blacks were exploited by the whites, they were not allowed to live and enjoy life like the white people. They were deprived of their basic rights and were beaten. Nelson Mandela himself spent a lot of years in the prison. The glorious human achievement is that he became the first black President of South Africa, the same place where blacks were treated like animals. This was the victory of the rights of the blacks. They overcame their fear and bravely fought for their rights.

Ans. 4. He thanked all the dignitaries from around the world because they came from their countries to witness the victory of the blacks. A new democratic nation was born and the world leaders were very happy with this move. South Africa gained recognition and made a respectable place for itself in the eyes of the leaders from around the globe. It was definitely the victory of good peace and justice over the evil.

Ans5. Nelson Mandela set the idea of setting people free from the bars of poverty, illness, discrimination on the basis of colour and suffering. He believed in creating a nation where there is no suffering and discrimination on the basis of colour.

 Nelson Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom NCERT Solutions

Oral Comprehension Check ( Page 21)

Q.1. What did the military generals do? How did their attitude change and why?

The highest military Generals of S Africa saluted Nelson Mandela.  This was a great moment for the blacks. If it would have been the time when apartheid was prevalent the Generals would have arrested the blacks. A lot of people devoted their life for the freedom of their people. This not changed the thought process of the generals too because they had a lot of value for their nation. They had understood that this move will bring a positive change to the nation’s progress.

Q.2. Why were two national anthems sung?

The two national anthems were sung at the time oath-taking ceremony. This depicted the equality of both blacks and whites. This symbolized that now onwards both are equal and have equal rights.

Q.3. How does Mandela describe the systems of government in his country? (1) in the first decade (ii) in the final decade of the 20th century. 

In the first decade of the 20th century, nothing was done in favour of the blacks. They were considered as inferiors while the whites enjoyed a very good life. They had all the rights and lived a peaceful life. The have launched very harsh policies for the black people of their community. In the final decade of the 20th-century things changed for good. The harsh system started by the whites was thrown away. The blacks came up with victory and Nelson Mandela became the first Black President. The system of racial discrimination came to a halt.