CBSE Class 10 English Nelson Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom Worksheet

Nelson Mandela Long Walk to Freedom Notes Class 10 English

Introduction of the chapter:-
Long walk to freedom is an extract from the autobiography of the former South African President Nelson Mandela. The chapter briefly describes the inaugural ceremony and his inaugural address as the newly chosen first black President of South Africa. It is a saga of glorious struggle that the people of South Africa faced against the policy of apartheid to gain freedom.

Gist of the chapter:-
This chapter is an extract from the autobiography of Nelson Mandela (born- 18 July, 1918), the first Black President of South Africa. It begins with the description of their inaugural ceremony which took place on the 10th of May 1994 where the entire nation along with many international leaders embraced the victory of a newly and fairly elected government. It involved speeches by the President and the two Deputy Presidents followed by an impressive air show of fighter jets and helicopters. Long ago, in the first decade of the twentieth century, white supremacy introduced the system of apartheid and made life a living hell for the dark-skinned population. It gave rise to one of the most inhumane societies of the world. Many people have struggled and sacrificed for basic human rights. The author expressed his desire to thank all those freedom fighters who couldn’t live to see this autumn day. He referred to the citizens as the greatest asset of the country. It is these people he gathered his courage from. Mandela believes that courageous is not the man who is fearless, but the man who has overcome fear. He also mentioned the two responsibilities every human has and how in order to fulfill his obligation towards the society, his obligation towards his family was neglected. He became a man of people when he realized that the idea of freedom was an illusion for him and people like him. It was then he joined the African National Congress and fought for his rights till he became the first black President of the nation. According to him, the oppressor is as much a prisoner as the oppressed. As soon as the former robs the oppressed of their freedom he, himself gets robbed of his humanity. Thus, the oppressor too, is not free.

Important Points:-
• 10th of May was, a day of freedom for South Africa and there was huge gathering of international leaders and dignitaries.
• Inauguration ceremony or swearing in ceremony was being held in Union Building in Pretoria and first non-racial government took the charge.
• Nelson Mandela gave speech on the victory for justice, peace and human dignity.
• Mandela pledged to liberate his people from poverty, suffering and discrimination.
• A colourful show by jets and helicopters to show military’s loyalty took place.
• Singing of two national anthems was done-the old ‘Nkosi Sikelel’ by the whites and the new ‘Die stem’ by the blacks.
• A new system that recognized the rights and freedom of all people was formed.
• Mandela remembered and thanked the people who sacrificed their lives for the freedom.
• Salutation to some great freedom fighters – Oliver Tambo, Walter Sisulu, Chief Luthuli, Yusuf Dadoo and others.
• Mandela said in speech that a country is rich because of its people not because of the minerals. Courage is not the absence of fear but the victory over it. People should love others and not hate them due to colour or religion. Love comes naturally not by force, which is the natural goodness.
• He also stated that a man should try to make a balance between his duties – duty to his family and duty to his community and country. A black person was treated badly and not allowed to perform his duties.
• According to Mandela, freedom has many aspects like – for a kid it is to run and play, for an adult it is to fulfill the needs, of his own and his family. Real freedom means equal rights for everyone.
• Nelson Mandela joined the African National Congress (ANC). He desired people to live with dignity and respect. He wanted the oppressor and the oppressed to be liberated.
• Patience and perseverance guided by discipline and system yield the desire result.

PROSE: NELSON MANDELA – LONG WALK TO FREEDOM – Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela

GIST
Nelson Mandela became South Africa’s first Black President after more than three centuries of White rule.
Mandela had spent a life time fight against ‘apartheid’. He had spent thirty years in prison fighting for the democratic rights of the Black and Coloured people of South Africa.
Mr. Mandela’s African National Congress (ANC) party won 252 of the 400 seats in the first democratic elections of South Africa’s history.
In this extract from his autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom, Nelson Mandela speaks about a historic occasion, ‘the inauguration’ on 10th May 1994.
The inauguration ceremony took place in the Union Building’s amphitheater in Pretoria today, attended by politicians and dignitaries from more than 140 countries around the world.

Read the extract given below carefully and answer the questions that follow : 

1. ‘Perhaps it requires such depths of oppression to create such heights of character. 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’. 

Question. What is a country’s greatest wealth ?
a. its economy
b. its infrastructure
c. its people
d. its resources
Answer.c

Question. Mention the synonym of ‘Valuable stones’ in the passage ?
a. Minerals
b. Diamonds
c. Gems
d. Soil
Answer.c

Question. The minerals and gems are compared to whom?
a. Diamonds
b. Wealth
c. Resources
d. People
Answer.d

Question. Whose country is referred to here ?
a. Nelson Mandela
b. George Washington
c. Mahatma Gandhi
d. Martin Luther King
Answer. a

2. “We have at last, achieved our political emancipation”. We pledge ourselves to liberate all our people from the continuing bondage of poverty, deprivation, suffering, gender and other discrimination.

Question. Who is the speaker ?
a. Walter Sisulus
b. Chief Luthulis
c. Oliver Tambos
d. Nelson Mandela
Answer. d

Question. What have they at last achieved?
a. political recognition
b. political name
c. political emancipation
d. political fame
Answer.c

Question. Trace a word from the passage that means “a formal promise”.
a. pledge
b. promise
c. swear
d. agree
Answer.a

Question. Where is the pledge taken by Nelson Mandela?
a. United States of America
b. South Africa
c. Africa
d. United Kingdom
Answer.b

3. The policy of Apartheid created a deep and lasting wound in my country and my people. All of us will spend many years, if not generations, recovering from that profound hurt. But the decades of oppression and brutality had another, unintended effect and that was that it produced Oliver Tambos, Walter Sisulus, Chief Luthulis, etc., men of such extraordinary courage, wisdom and generosity that their like may never be known again.

Question. Whom does ‘my’ refer to in the passage ?
a. Chief Luthulis
b. Nelson Mandela
c. Oliver Tambos
d. Walter Sisulus
Answer.b

Question. Who were the people of extraordinary courage, wisdom and generosity?
a. Oliver Tambos
b. Walter Sisulus
c. Chief Luthulis
d. All of them
Answer.d

Question. From the passage, find one word which means ‘a period of ten years’.
a. apartheid
b. profound
c. unintended
d. decades
Answer.d

Question. What created a lasting wound in Nelson’s country ?
a. Unintended effect
b. Policy of apartheid
c. Oppression
d. Brutality
Answer.b

Read the given extracts to attempt the questions that follow:

TENTH May dawned bright and clear. For the past few days, I had been pleasantly besieged by dignitaries and world leaders who were coming to pay their respects before the inauguration. The inauguration would be the largest gathering ever of international leaders on South African soil. The ceremonies took place in the lovely sandstone amphitheater formed by the Union Buildings in Pretoria. For decades this had been the seat of white supremacy, and now it was the site of a rainbow gathering of different colors and nations for the installation of South Africa’s first democratic, nonracial government.

Question. Why was the inauguration taking place on tenth May?
a. South Africa was recognized as a country.
b. South Africa got a permanent seat in United Nations.
c. Nelson Mandela was about to sworn in as a first black President of South Africa.
d. South Africa got a VETO Power in United Nations.
Answer. c

Question. What is the meaning of phrase “white supremacy” used in above lines?
a. A belief that white people are greater than the people of other races.
b. A belief that black people are greater than people of other races.
c. A belief that refutes the existence of God.
d. A belief that white race was the first human race on Earth.
Answer. a

Question. The ceremony was held at ………………. .
a. House of Parliament, Cape town
b. Rashtrapti Bhavan
c. Supreme Court of South Africa
d. Union buildings, amphitheater, in South Africa
Answer. d

Question. When Nelson Mandela said “ …. installation of South Africa’s first democratic, non-racial government.” He means that Africa is going to be a state where:
a. Head of the state will always be a hereditary monarch.
b. People of the nation will choose the government based on race and skin colour.
c. People of the nation won’t have anything to do with Government.
d. People of the nation will choose the government without any discrimination.
Answer. d

Question. Select the suitable word from the extract to complete the following:
Agreement : Discord :: Open :
a. Besieged
b. Unrestricted
c. Amphitheatre
d. Dignitaries
Answer. a

Read the given extracts to attempt the questions that follow:

That day had come about through the unimaginable sacrifices of thousands of my people, people whose suffering and courage can never be counted or repaid I felt that day, as I have on so many other days, that I was simply the sum of all those African patriots who had gone before me. That long and noble line ended and now began again with me. I was pained that I was not able to thank them and that they were not able to see what their sacrifices had wrought. The policy of apartheid created a deep and lasting wound in my country and my people. All of us will spend many years, if not generations, recovering from that profound hurt.

Question. What was the purpose behind “.... unimaginable sacrifices of thousands of people...”?
(1) People were against high inflation resulting from government policies.
(2) People were against high taxes levied by government.
(3) People were against racial discrimination taking place on their soil.
(4) People wanted Africa to be Theocratic State.
(5) People wanted Africa to be Autocratic Dictatorship.
a. Only (1)
b. (1) and (2)
c. Only (3)
d. (4) and (5)
Answer. c 

Question. Select the most appropriate option for (1) and (2).
(1) Government agreed to reduce taxes on south African people.
(2) Government agreed to increase job vacancies for government seats.
a. (1) is true and (2) is false.
b. (1) is opposite of (2).
c. (1) furthers the meaning of (2).
d. Both (1) and (2) can’t be inferred from the text.
Answer. d 

Question. What can be concluded about Nelson Mandela after reading the above extract?
a. Nelson Mandela denied contribution of other freedom fighters.
b. Nelson Mandela was against the democratic rule.
c. Nelson Mandela was a generous person who acknowledged the sacrifice of others.
d. Nelson Mandela was an extreme revolutionary.
Answer. c

Question. Select an option that displays an example of ‘recovering from that profound hurt’?
a. He is recovering from heart attack.
b. He is recovering from a sport injury.
c. She is trying to recover from the gender-based discrimination she has suffered throughout her life.
d. He is recovering from his financial distress.
Answer. c

Question. What do we get to know about Nelson Mandela when he says:
“I was pained that I was not able to thank them...”.
a. Nelson Mandela is not in good health.
b. Nelson Mandela is thankful for the others who had contributed to the struggle.
c. Nelson Mandela wants to take the credit of winning freedom alone.
d. Nelson Mandela wants to refute the contributions of others.
Answer. b 

Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.

1. ‘Never, never and never again shall it be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by another.
The sun shall never set on so glorious a human achievement’

Question. Which is the beautiful land the speaker refers to here?
Answer.The beautiful land is South Africa

Question. Who is the speaker?
Answer.The speaker is Nelson Mandela

Question. What is the ‘glorious a human achievement’ that the speaker talks about in the extract?
Answer.The freedom that the people of South Africa have attained/ freedom attained after the fight against ‘apartheid’/first democratic non-racial government.

Question. The idiom ‘The sun shall never set’ means:
i) It is always bright in the land
ii) The sun always shines in the land
iii) The people will enjoy the freedom attained forever
iv) It is never dark in the country
Answer.The people will enjoy the freedom attained forever

2. ’It is from these comrades in the struggle that I learned the meaning of courage. Time and again, I have seen men and women risk and give their lives for an idea. I have seen men stand up to attacks and torture without breaking, showing a strength and resilience that defies the imagination. I learnt that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.’

Question. What has he noticed (seen) about the people?
Answer.He has seen men stand up to attacks and torture showing strength and resilience.

Question. What has he seen again and again?
Answer.He has seen men and women risk and give their life for the idea of freedom, again and again 

Question. Who learnt the meaning of courage?
Answer.Nelson Mandela

Question. Define ‘Courage’ as given here?
Answer.Courage doesn’t mean the absence of fear but the triumph over it. It mind to stand up to attacks without breaking, showing strength and resilience. 

Short Answer Questions :

Question. What did Nelson Mandela pledge when he was sworn in as President?
Answer.Nelson Mandela pledged freedom and justice for all the black and coloured people of South Africa.He promised to uphold the constitution of his country and devote himself to liberate his people from the bondage of poverty, deprivation, suffering, gender and other discrimination.

Question. What according to Nelson Mandela is true freedom?
Answer.According to Mandela, true freedom means, not to be obstructed in leading a lawful life.

Long Answer Question :

Question. What were Nelson Mandela’s views on the policy of Apartheid?
Answer. Nelson Mandela says that Apartheid created a deep and lasting wound in his country. It cast a shadow on the people of South Africa - deep wounds that would take many years to heal. The oppression and brutality that the people of the nation had been subjected to had no parallel. From this situation arouse a spirit of aggression in the minds of men and produced men of extraordinary courage, wisdom and generosity. Mandela believed that the greatest wealth of South Africa are the people of the nation. The more the oppression rained on them the more the spirit to fight back was triggered in the minds of the people. In the end victory for the people of South Africa prevailed and they attained Independence on 10th May 1994.

Question. What were the difficulties Nelson Mandela encountered while fighting for freedom
Answer. Nelson Mandela underwent extreme hardships and suffering. He was a true patriot and sacrificed his personal comforts and that of his family’s while demanding freedom and equality for all his countrymen. He and his comrades were oppressed, punished and imprisoned for resisting the white rule. He was imprisoned for almost thirty years. His persistence and sacrifice culminated in the independence of South Africa.