Nelson Mandela : Long Walk To freedom

                 Nelson Mandela : Long Walk To freedom

Short Answer Type Questions [2 Marks each]

Question 1.
What promise does Mandela make in the beginning of opening of his oath-taking speech?
Answer:
Mandela thanks all the international leaders and guests as he calls it an occasion of joy and victory for Justice. He promises that the country shall not again experience the oppression of one by another.

Question 2.
What freedom meant to Mandela in childhood? [CBSE 2015]
Answer:
During childhood the meaning of freedom for Mandela was quite limited he considered it to be free to run in the fields, to swim in the clear stream, free to roast mealies and ride the board backs of slow moving bulls.

Question 3.
Why did inauguration ceremony take place in the amphiteatre formed by the Union Building in Pretoria?
Answer:
It was the first democratic, non-racial government taking oath in South Africa. The ceremony was attended by dignitaries from more than 140 countries around the world and thousands of the people of South Africa of all the races to make the day memorable. So, it took place in, the amphiteatre formed by the Union Building in Pretoria.

Question 4.
What are the ideals which Mandela set for the future of South Africa in his swearing- in ceremony?
Answer:
Mandela emphasised to liberate all the people from poverty, deprivation, suffering, gender and other discriminations in his swearing-in ceremony.

Question 5.
What did Mandela think for oppressor and oppressed?     [CBSE 2011]
Answer:
Mandela always thought that both oppressor and oppressed are deprived of their humanity. Oppressor is a prisoner of hatred while oppressed has no confidence in humanity so both of them need to be liberated.

Question 6.
What do you understand by Apartheid’?
Answer:
‘Apartheid’ is a political system that divides people according to their race. In this system black-coloured people in South Africa were not free even to discharge their personal and social obligations of being parents, sons and husbands, etc.

Question 7.
Describe the effect of the policy of apartheid on the people of South Africa.
Answer:
The policy of apartheid could not be considered fortunate for the people of South Africa. It created distance and a deep wound in the country and the people. Many great men like Oliver Tambo, Walttr Sisulu, Yusuf Dadoo, Bram Fischer, etc were produced due to the brutality and oppression. They were men of great character

Question 8.
How is courage related to the brave man according to the author of the lesson?
Answer:
The author believes that courage is not the absence of fear, but it is the triumph over it. The brave man is not the one who does not feel fear of any kind but he is the one who has the courage to conquer it.

Question 9.
Could everyone fulfil the obligations personal or social in South Africa?
Answer:
No, everyone was not free to fulfil their obligations because of colour of the skin. If a persoti tried to fulfil their obligations, they were punished and isolated for being a rebellion.

Question 10.
What did Mandela realise about his brothers and sisters? [CBSE 2012]
Answer:
Mandela realised that his brothers and sisters were not free in their own country due to their colour. The freedom of everyone in his society was curtailed. He joined the African National Congress and fought for the freedom.

Question 11.
Why was Nelson Mandela changed into a bold man?
Answer:
Nelson Mandela was changed into a bold man due to his . desire of the freedom for his country and his countrymen. He wanted to live a life with dignity as he could not enjoy the limited freedom.

Long Answer (Value Based) Type Questions [8 Marks each]

Question 1.
What does Nelson Mandela refer to as “an extraordinary human disaster”?
Answer:
Nelson Mandela refers to the apartheid policy of the white race against the black people as “an extraordinary human disaster”. White people snatched freedom from the coloured people of South Africa to whom the country belonged. The black people were subjected to oppression for long. They were not even allowed to discharge their obligations to their own families, community and their country. White people had no compassion for them and oppressed their own people and put them in prison. If they had some freedom, it was curtailed. The black people lived the life of a slave.

Question 2.
Describe the views of Mandela for the black people who fought and sacrificed their likes for the country’s political independence?
Answer:
Mandela always said that the political freedom was the result of sacrifices of thousands of the black people who fought for that. He said that it could not be repaid. He thought himself as the sum of all of those African patriots. He regretted that he could not thank them. He cursed the policy of apartheid that wounded the people of his country, which would take centuries to heal.
He also said that the oppression and brutality of the white people produced great freedom fighters like Oliver Tambo, Walter Sisulu, Luthuli, Dadoo, Fischer, Sobukwe and many more. They were the men of courage, wisdom and large heartedness. They really suffered a lot for the political freedom of the country.

Question 3.
What does Mandela mean to say that the oppressor and the oppressed alike are robbed of their humanity?
Answer:
Mandela is right in saying that the oppressor and the oppressed alike are robbed of their humanity. Both of them are actually the victim of hatred. Everyone is obliged to discharge their duties whether personal or social but without freedom a man cannot do so. The person who snatches this freedom of a man is really an oppressor and a prisoner of hatred. He has lack of humanity. But this is the same with a person who is oppressed by other.

Question 4.
Describe the obligations which the author is talking about and also describe his feelings for them?
Answer:
In the chapter the author has talked about two obligation 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 black coloured person 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 and enjoy their freedom of performing their duties personal and social.

Question 5.
Describe the value of freedom for the human beings and how it is important for the growth of civilisation and humanism as described in the lesson ‘Nelson Mandela : Long Walk to Freedom’. [CBSE2014]

Answer:
Everybody whether human or other creatures wants to live free as freedom is natural to all living beings. The value of freedom is better known to that human being who has not tasted it till he gets it. A person who is chained with the limits and not allowed to perform his duties freely, values freedom more than anyone else. For instance the value of freedom is known better to Mandela who remained behind the bars most of his life. Think about a bird or animal which is caged as they have the habit of living with full freedom but in the cage they are not free and their conditions are very pitiable. Similarly, life becomes a hell if we are deprived of freedom. There is no growth of civilisation as it grows only when one has freedom. Similarly, humanism grows in the atmosphere of freedom.