Nelson Mandela: An Inspiring Character
Nelson Mandela - The 1st Black President of South Africa
Nelson Mandela was an influential political leader who spent his whole life annihilating apartheid from his culture. Back in the twentieth century, South Africa had a traditional color-based racism norm, which Mandela strongly opposed. So, to combat this social reality, Mandela spearheaded a number of initiatives for the majority of black people, which eventually gained popularity. On that note, he became the first black president of South Africa in history.
Early Life of Mandela
This tremendous leader was born on July 18, 1918, in Mvezo, one of the small villages in South Africa. Initially, he was called "Rolihlahla," but later on, it shifted to "Madiba," his clan name. Mandela completed his early education through many schools, including missionary, boarding, and a Methodist secondary school. Finally, he started his career in the legal sector in Johannesburg. At an early age, when he began his education, he did not realize the negative impact of European colonization. Instead, he thought it was beneficial because it brought education and several facilities to South Africa. But as time went on, Mandela understood the situation of oppression by European colonies. Gradually, his love for his inherent African culture has increased.
Mandela’s Political Movement
The turning point in Mandela's life was when he realized the fact of racism and joined the ANC (African National Congress). Mandela was against this mentality, where people differentiated or separated themselves from others because of skin tone. Not only were black people isolated from white society, but their fundamental rights were also snatched, and the liberty of political participation was forbidden. These disparities incited Mandela internally and made him work against those who were white people and communists, and eventually against his old friend. In 1944, when the ANCYL (African National Congress Youth League) was formed for local issues, Mandela was a general member of this committee. Mandela was not only opposed to the leaders or rulers who had racism issues or a division mentality, but also fought with his team members who had a double standard and supported both communists and oppressed people. For example, Peter Mda and Ramohanoe, the co-founders of ANCYL and regional presidents of the ANC's branch in the province of Transvaal, agreed to accompany communists and white people. Mandela was firmly against these propositions and wanted to exclude all the communist supporters from the ANCYL. Though it was an unsuccessful attempt, he always tried to be on the side of his black people, who were constantly oppressed by the South African community and government.
In 1948, in the general election of South Africa, black people were not allowed to vote. Even after the election, the selected party imposed more strict legislation for black people, instigating Mandela and his party to protest. Through these protests, the ANC grew daily and became popular in South Africa, posing a threat to the ruling government. Mandela played a leading role in many conventions and inspired the black community to join the ANC against the autocratic government for their fundamental rights. In 1953, Mandela opened a law firm where he worked for black people's fundamental rights, but it was ultimately closed by the pressure of authorities. Through this activity, Mandela became more popular among his black community because this was the first and only law firm owned by Africans.
Mandela’s Ideology towards Apartheid
From the beginning, Mandela believed that caste discrimination was happening to African people, and they alone should confront it. He thought this fight was only for Africans, for African nationalism. He held Lembede's ideology and was the founding president of ANCYL. But as time passed, Mandela gradually understood that this movement towards apartheid was not a single call. So many people and groups wanted to eradicate the oppression of the white minority. In 1950, Africans, Indians, and communists came together as a team against the white people and the government. But Mandela was not a part of this movement as he was against others' inclusion in what Africans wanted. But some of the incidents shifted him from anti-communism to communism. Instead of opposing multi-racial protests, he was persuaded by the involvement of many black people, the influence of friends, and the communist country, the Soviet Union, to support their liberty.
Mandela’s Confinement
Mandela's attachment to the communist people threatened the autocratic government. The authorities strategized to confine him with false allegations to stop their activity. On August 5, 1962, Mandela was arrested for the exciting workers' movement. Later, he was accused of many allegations, including plotting a battle plan against the government. But this was a fake charge because Mandela never planned any anti-nationalism activity. Instead, he planned to pressure the national government to end the Sharpeville genocide, where government forces killed innocent black people. Mandela was so enthusiastic about black people that he declared he would rather die than negotiate with the murderer's government. During his prison time, the authorities tried a few times to convince him to give up all his ANC activities, and in return, they would free him. But Mandela was adamant about his position being in jail because he believed that one day his people would get deliverance from this dictatorial government through his sacrifice. While in Robben Island's prison, he faced many hardships like mental torture, physical labor, and treatment as a D-class prisoner. However, he never lost his determination for black people's emancipation. At one stage, he was shifted from Robben Island to Pollsmoor prison to stay in more strict isolation because on Robben Island. His followers were increasing rapidly. Eventually, his hardships paid off when the president of South Africa was changed in 1989. Frederik D. Clerk, the new president, agreed with his point of view and freed him on February 2, 1990.
Mandela’s Contribution to the Community
The great leader, Mandela, almost gave his whole life to his community. He spent 27 years of his life behind bars for establishing the rights of his black community. He never put himself forward but prioritized his beloved people, who continuously faced disparity and torture by significant white people. That is why he endured all the difficulties behind bars, like isolation, insufficient food, hard labor, and so on. Despite the chance of negotiation with authorities for his bail, he never compromised and remained in jail in the hope of better days. Not only did he work for black people for his whole life, but he also worked to ensure space for the white community when he became president in 1994. After Mandela's extended time of suffering, the apartheid norm ended, and black people got freedom and power. In those circumstances, the white people of South Africa felt insecure, but Mandela took the initiative for both communities’ nationalism. Even though Mandela spent his whole life in favor of the black community, during his presidency, he worked for both to create a great South Africa. He never supported violence or any turmoil. That is why he wanted to coordinate both communities and liberty and rights to diminish the disputes among these groups.
Though the ANC and other black people criticized him, his motive was to create a multi-racial nation where all would be treated equally. Besides this, he did a tremendous job as president because South Africa was growing during his tenure in its economic, education, health, and tourism sectors. He promoted social service, like establishing the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund, where he donated one-third of his annual income. Also, he annihilates the barriers of racial discrimination in inability grants, child fostering grants, and old age allowances. Because of his enormous contribution to the world's harmony through his mentality and activities, people still remember him with great value even after his death on December 5, 2013.
Mandela’s Political Ideology
Mandela's political viewpoint was not centrist. In the beginning, though, he was centric, which is anti-apartheid, against white authority. But overall, if his whole life is counted, he was on both the black and white sides. In his last days, he considered reconciliation with South Africa. He was determined to synthesize the situation because he held the ideology of equality and harmony. Though at some point he supported violence, he justified this as his last option for the survival of his black community. He made decisions based on the situation. He applied whatever he thought appropriate for betterment, whether it was violence or converting to a multi-racial nation. Mandela was criticized for having mixed political ideologies. His own ANC went against him because of his favoritism toward white communities and blacks. Mandela was anti-apartheid but wanted a conflict-free world where everyone would be respected and treated equally. That is why he could not hold an anti-white mentality and forgive all the oppressive people in exchange for peace and rights. Besides this, he also adopted democracy in his political career, but like other aspects here, he was also inconsistent. Sometimes he preferred collective decisions even though he was against them, and sometimes he thought some decisions were only required for the leaders and he alone should handle them.
Mandela - A Selfless Political Leader
Nelson Mandela was a selfless political leader and a great human being. His concern was limited to his community and an expanded boundary where the whole nation would benefit. He did not even have so many chances to spend time with his family because of his long political career and imprisonment. It is considered that he couldn't form a strong bond with his family because of politics. Although he held mixed political ideas, its implementation was beneficial and ethical because it would not be right to prioritize only one community at a time. As a result, a modern political leader can learn a lot from Mandela, such as his unyielding spirit, the elimination of the give-up mentality, anti-violence, forgiveness, and much more. He made himself better in the world.
