Class 10 English Chapter 2 Nelson Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom

Answer:

10
May is an ‘autumn day’ in South Africa because on this
day there was the largest gathering of international leaders on South
African soil for the installation of South
Africa’s first democratic, non-racial government.

Answer:

The ‘extraordinary human disaster’ that Mandela mentioned at the beginning of his speech refers to the inhuman practice of apartheid i.e., the racial discrimination suffered by the blacks at the hands of whites in South Africa. At the end, the ‘glorious human achievement’ that he spoke of refers to the establishment of South Africa’s first democratic, non-racial government.

Answer:

Mandela felt
privileged to be the host to the nations of the world because
not too long ago, the South Africans were considered outlaws. He thus
thanked all the international leaders for having come to witness his
investiture as President since this event could be considered as a
common victory for justice, peace and human dignity.

Answer:

Mandela
had high hopes for the future of South Africa. He pledged to liberate
all South Africans from the continuing bondage of poverty,
deprivation, suffering, gender and other discrimination. He also
stressed that the beautiful land of South
Africa would never ever experience racial discrimination again.

Answer:

The
highest military generals of the South African defence force and
police saluted Mandela and pledged their loyalty. When the military
generals saluted Mandela, he was not unmindful of the fact that not
too many years ago, they would not have saluted him, but arrested
him. This change in attitude was due to the fact that a new,
non-racial government was elected and Mandela was then the President
of South Africa.

Answer:

On the day
of the inauguration, two national anthems were sung, one by the
whites, and the other by the blacks. This symbolized the equality of
blacks and whites.

Answer:

(i) In the first
decade of the twentieth century, the white-skinned people of South
Africa patched up their differences and erected a system of racial
domination against the dark-skinned people of their own land, thus
creating the basis of one of the harshest and most inhumane societies
the world had ever known.

(ii) In the last
decade of the twentieth century, the previous system had been
overturned forever and replaced by one that recognized the rights and
freedoms of all peoples, regardless of the colour of their skin.

Answer:

On seeing men stand
up to attacks and torture without breaking and thus showing strength
and resilience that defied the imagination, Mandela learnt that
courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.

Answer:

For
Mandela, love comes more naturally to the human heart than hate.

Answer:

Before
Nelson Mandela became the President, South Africa was in the grips of
apartheid and was thus declared an outlaw by other nations. When
Mandela became the President, he abolished apartheid and thus
diplomatic relations were rebuilt with many countries. The
inauguration of a new, non-racial government was a historic moment in
South African as well as world history. Thus, several distinguished
international leaders attended this inauguration. It signified the
triumph of justice, peace and human dignity.

Answer:

When Mandela says
that he was ‘simply the sum of all African patriots,’ he
means that he could identify with the unimaginable sacrifices of all
those noble and courageous men who fought for the collective freedom
of the African people. He was pained that he could not thank them and
that they could not see what their sacrifices had wrought.

Answer:

Yes,
I agree that the “depths of
oppression” create “heights of character”. Mandela
thought that the decades of brutality and oppression had an
unintended effect of creating many African patriots with unimaginable
heights of character. Thus, he felt that the greatest wealth of South
Africa is its people. In similar manner, Bhagat Singh remained
courageous while facing utmost cruelty at the hands of British.

Answer:

As a
boy, Mandela did not have a hunger for
freedom because he thought that he was born free. He believed that as
long as he obeyed his father and abided by the customs of his tribe,
he was free in every possible manner. He had certain needs as a
teenager and certain needs as a young man. Gradually, he realized
that he was selfish during his boyhood. He slowly understands that it
is not just his freedom that is being curtailed, but the freedom of
all blacks. It is after attaining this understanding that he develops
a hunger for the freedom of his people.

Answer:

Mandela
realized in his youth that it was not just his freedom that was being
curtailed, but the freedom of all blacks. The hunger for his own
freedom became the hunger for the freedom of his people. This desire
of a non-racial society transformed him into a virtuous and
self-sacrificing man. Thus, he joined the African National Congress
and this changed him from a frightened
young man into a bold man.

Answer:

1.

Noun	Verb
Rebellion	Rebel
Constitution	Constitute
Formation	Form
Government	Govern
Obligation	Oblige
Transformation	Transform
Discrimination	Discriminate
Deprivation	Deprive
Demonstration	Demonstrate
Oppression	Oppress
Imagination	Imagine

2. Martin Luther
King’s contribution
(contribute) to our history as an outstanding leader began when he
came to the assistance
(assist) 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
(subjugate) and humiliation
(humiliate) by the police and the legal system. Beatings,
imprisonment
(imprison) and sometimes death awaited those who defied the System.
Martin Luther King’s tactics of protest involved non-violent
resistance
(resist) to racial injustice.

Answer:

Mandela mentions
that every man has twin obligations. The first is to his family,
parents, wife and children; the second obligation is to his people,
his community and his country.

Answer:

As a boy, Mandela
did not have a hunger to be free as he thought that he was born free.
As long as he obeyed his father and abided by the customs of his
tribe, he was free in every way he knew. As a student, he wanted
certain “transitory freedoms”
only for himself, such as being able to stay out at night, read what
he pleased and go where he chose. He then talks about certain “basic
honourable freedoms” such as achieving his potential of earning
his living and of marrying and having a family. He builds the
contrast between these two freedoms by stating that the transitory
freedoms he wanted were limited to him, whereas the honourable
freedoms had to do more with his and his people’s position in
the society.

Answer:

Mandela
does not feel that the oppressor is free
because according to him an oppressor is a prisoner of hatred, who is
locked behind the bars of prejudice and narrow-mindedness. He feels
that both the oppressor and the oppressed are robbed of their
humanity.

Answer:

1. This means
that Mr Singh regularly invites famous personalities such as Amitabh
Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan to his parties.

2. This means
that Madhuri Dixit is compared to a landmark in acting in the form of
legendary actress Madhubala.

3. This means
that history is not only the story of the great fighters and leaders
such as Alexander, Napoleon and Hitler, but also of ordinary people.

Answer: