summary of ch2 class 10 NELSON MANDELA LONG WALK TO FREEDOM
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Long Walk to Freedom is the autobiography of former South African President, Nelson Mandela. First published in 1994, it covers Mandela’s life from his youth in Apartheid South Africa, his coming of age and education, his embrace of political activism and his role in the anti-apartheid movement, and his twenty-seven years in prison on the notorious Robben Island, where he was imprisoned as a terrorist for his role as a leader of the then-outlawed African National Congress. The narrative also covers the period after his release, and chronicles the fall of apartheid and his ascension to the Presidency, which he held at the time of the book’s release. Exploring themes of racial equality, political protest, and the ability of the human spirit to overcome great hardship, Long Walk to Freedom is considered one of the most acclaimed and important autobiographies of the late 20th century. The winner of the Alan Paton Award from The Sunday Times in 1995, it has been translated into multiple languages including Afrikaans. Widely read and studied as an essential text on the fall of apartheid in South Africa, it was adapted into a 2013 film titled Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, directed by Justin Chadwick and starring Idris Elba.
Part one of Long Walk to Freedom chronicles Mandela’s upbringing in South Africa. Related to the royal Thembu dynasty, he was given the childhood name Rolihlahla, which is translated as “pulling the branch of a tree”, or troublemaker. This name anticipated his lifelong passion for challenging unjust social orders. He was educated at a Thembu college called Clarkebury, and later at the strict Healdtown school. There, students followed strict routines and obeyed harsh rules, but Mandela always found it hard to obey without questioning. He later went to the University of Fort Hare, where he studied law. He went on to practice at a law firm, which was where he started to become politically aware. He writes, “Democracy meant all men to be heard, and decision was taken together as a people. Majority rule was a foreign notion. A minority was not to be clashed by a majority.”
In the second part of the book, Mandela focuses on the political and social aspects of apartheid in South Africa, and looks at the politicians responsible for implementing it. These include Daniel Francois Malan, the first official leader of the apartheid regime and the man responsible for the harshest enforcement of its policies. Mandela joined the African National Congress in 1950 and describes the methods they used, which included guerrilla tactics and underground organizations that were used to sabotage the regime. Mandela quickly became known as a significant political figure in South Africa, and the apartheid regime became determined to silence him. He was arrested in 1961 and convicted for inciting people to strike, as well as leaving the country without a passport. He was sentenced to five years in prison. However, soon afterwards additional charges of sabotage were brought against him in the notorious “Rivonia Trial”. Although he was facing the death penalty, Justice Dr. Quartus de Wet sentenced him to life imprisonment
Nelson Mandela was a South African political leader, politician, revolutionary, and philanthropist who played a key role in ending the apartheid regime of the 20th century. He served as the country’s first black President from 1994 to 1999, and is considered one of the most significant figures of the 20th century. He was the winner of the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize for his role in bringing the apartheid regime to a peaceful end and laying the foundations for a truly democratic South Africa. He is honored around the world and at home as the founding father of modern South Africa.