Such a long walk to freedom
7 Dec 2013 12:18 AM GMT
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela – freedom fighter, statesman, South Africa’s symbol of the long struggle against racial oppression and one of the greatest leaders of the 20th century – died Thursday night in Johannesburg. He was 95.
Born on 18 July 1918, he was not just a beacon of the anti-apartheid movement that went on for almost five decades, Mandela was also the first democratically-elected black president of South Africa, after the first racially-inclusive elections were held in the country in 1994. Mandela, who had served 27 years in prison because of his definitive role in the revolutionary movement, was freed in 1990 and soon after the apartheid, which began way back in 1948, was officially dismantled in 1994.
He is widely considered to be amongst the tallest leaders of all time and also one of the greatest followers of Mahatma Gandhi, for whom the recently deceased statesman harboured huge respect.
Mandela was battling health issues in recent years, particularly a lung infection that had resulted in several instances of hospitalisation. Of late, his public appearances had become rare, although news about his health had been a fixture amongst headlines the world over.
Mandela’s death is being mourned by the whole world over, with ever prominent global leader expressing their deepest condolences at the loss. Jacob Zuma, the South African president said, ‘Our nation has lost its greatest son. Our people have lost a father.’
The US president Barack Obama echoed Zuma sentiment in the following words, ‘We have lost one of the most influential, courageous and profoundly good human beings that any of us will share time with on this Earth. He no longer belongs to us – he belongs to the ages.’
Prime minister Manmohan Singh on Friday paid rich tribute to Mandela, describing him as a ‘giant among men’, who was a beacon of hope for those struggling against oppression and injustice. ‘I am deeply saddened at the passing away of President Nelson Mandela. Here and there, and now and then, God makes a giant among men. President Mandela was one such giant amongst men.’ India has declared a five-day state mourning in his memory.
Mandela had transformed the political landscape of South Africa from a white supremacist, minority-ruled racist country to a ‘rainbow nation’ in which people of all colours, religious affiliation and class backgrounds could live freely and fearlessly. ‘Madiba,’ as he was fondly called by his people who belong to the Xhosa tribe, Mandela had a message that underlined political reconciliation and not vendetta. His overt defiance of the racist regime of the Afrikaner-dominated National Party, his prolonged incarceration and his advocacy of peaceful negotiation to end racial segregation have not only been deemed just exemplary, but also forwarded as ‘lessons in political ethics, stratagem and morality.’
Mandela’s five-year presidential term from 1994 to 1999 was also the time when South Africa experienced major political transformations, with implementations of a number of legislations that ushered in racial and demographic equality. Still considered an ideal head of state, Mandela’s steely determination to usher in racial parity in South Africa had already earned him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993, almost a year before he was officially elected to head the democratic and racially-diverse country.
His last high-profile public appearance took place when South Africa hosted the football World Cup in 2010.
Born on 18 July 1918, he was not just a beacon of the anti-apartheid movement that went on for almost five decades, Mandela was also the first democratically-elected black president of South Africa, after the first racially-inclusive elections were held in the country in 1994. Mandela, who had served 27 years in prison because of his definitive role in the revolutionary movement, was freed in 1990 and soon after the apartheid, which began way back in 1948, was officially dismantled in 1994.
He is widely considered to be amongst the tallest leaders of all time and also one of the greatest followers of Mahatma Gandhi, for whom the recently deceased statesman harboured huge respect.
Mandela was battling health issues in recent years, particularly a lung infection that had resulted in several instances of hospitalisation. Of late, his public appearances had become rare, although news about his health had been a fixture amongst headlines the world over.
Mandela’s death is being mourned by the whole world over, with ever prominent global leader expressing their deepest condolences at the loss. Jacob Zuma, the South African president said, ‘Our nation has lost its greatest son. Our people have lost a father.’
The US president Barack Obama echoed Zuma sentiment in the following words, ‘We have lost one of the most influential, courageous and profoundly good human beings that any of us will share time with on this Earth. He no longer belongs to us – he belongs to the ages.’
Prime minister Manmohan Singh on Friday paid rich tribute to Mandela, describing him as a ‘giant among men’, who was a beacon of hope for those struggling against oppression and injustice. ‘I am deeply saddened at the passing away of President Nelson Mandela. Here and there, and now and then, God makes a giant among men. President Mandela was one such giant amongst men.’ India has declared a five-day state mourning in his memory.
Mandela had transformed the political landscape of South Africa from a white supremacist, minority-ruled racist country to a ‘rainbow nation’ in which people of all colours, religious affiliation and class backgrounds could live freely and fearlessly. ‘Madiba,’ as he was fondly called by his people who belong to the Xhosa tribe, Mandela had a message that underlined political reconciliation and not vendetta. His overt defiance of the racist regime of the Afrikaner-dominated National Party, his prolonged incarceration and his advocacy of peaceful negotiation to end racial segregation have not only been deemed just exemplary, but also forwarded as ‘lessons in political ethics, stratagem and morality.’
Mandela’s five-year presidential term from 1994 to 1999 was also the time when South Africa experienced major political transformations, with implementations of a number of legislations that ushered in racial and demographic equality. Still considered an ideal head of state, Mandela’s steely determination to usher in racial parity in South Africa had already earned him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993, almost a year before he was officially elected to head the democratic and racially-diverse country.
His last high-profile public appearance took place when South Africa hosted the football World Cup in 2010.
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