Nelson Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom NCERT Solutions Class 10 PDF 2026
Author: Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela | Book: First Flight
📥 Download Notes PDF 📢 Join Telegram📝 Introduction
This chapter is a powerful extract from the autobiography of Nelson Mandela, the first black President of South Africa. It vividly describes the historic inauguration ceremony held on 10 May 1994 in Pretoria, marking the end of more than three centuries of white supremacy and the brutal system of apartheid. Mandela reflects on the immense sacrifices made by thousands of South African patriots who fought against racial discrimination. He redefines courage not as the absence of fear, but the triumph over it, and emphasizes that love comes more naturally to the human heart than hate.
🔑 Key Concepts & Themes
- Apartheid: A political system that legally separated people according to their race. South Africa experienced one of the harshest apartheid regimes in history.
- True Courage: Mandela learned that courage is not the absence of fear, but the ability to conquer it.
- Twin Obligations: Every man has two duties: one to his family and one to his country/community. In an apartheid state, a black man could not fulfill both.
- The Oppressor and the Oppressed: Mandela states that the oppressor must be liberated just as surely as the oppressed, because a man who takes away another man's freedom is a prisoner of hatred.
📚 Part 1: NCERT Solutions
Q1: Where did the ceremonies take place? Can you name any public buildings in India that are made of sandstone?
Ans: The ceremonies took place in the lovely sandstone amphitheatre formed by the Union Buildings in Pretoria, South Africa. In India, public buildings made of red sandstone include the Red Fort, Jama Masjid, and Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Q2: What ideals does he set out for the future of South Africa?
Ans: Mandela sets out the ideals of liberating his people from the continuing bondage of poverty, deprivation, suffering, and gender or racial discrimination. He pledges that the beautiful land will never again experience the oppression of one by another.
Q3: What "twin obligations" does Mandela mention?
Ans: Mandela mentions that every man has twin obligations:
1. Obligations to his family, his parents, his wife, and children.
2. Obligations to his people, his community, and his country.
⚡ Part 2: 15 Extra Practice Questions (PYQ Style)
Short Answer Type Questions
Q1: Why is 10 May 1994 a historic day for South Africa?
Ans: It was the day Nelson Mandela was sworn in as the first black President of South Africa, establishing the country's first democratic, non-racial government after decades of oppressive white rule.
Q2: How does Mandela define 'courage'?
Ans: According to Mandela, courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. A brave man is not someone who does not feel afraid, but someone who conquers that fear.
Q3: What did the display of jets and military salute symbolize?
Ans: The spectacular display of South African jets and helicopters symbolized the military's loyalty to the new democratic government and the newly elected President, showing a peaceful transfer of power.
Q4: Who accompanied Mandela on his inauguration?
Ans: Nelson Mandela was accompanied by his daughter, Zenani, on the day of the historic inauguration.
Q5: Why were two national anthems sung?
Ans: Two national anthems were sung to symbolize equality and the vision of a non-racial society. The whites sang 'Nkosi Sikelel -iAfrika' and the blacks sang 'Die Stem', the old anthem of the Republic.
Q6: What did Mandela learn about love and hate?
Ans: Mandela learned that no one is born hating another person because of their skin color. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart.
Next Chapters
- Ch 3: Two Stories about Flying
- Ch 4: From the Diary of Anne Frank
Long Answer Type Questions
Q7: How did Mandela's understanding of freedom change with age and experience?
Ans: As a boy, Mandela thought he was born free—free to run in the fields and swim in the stream. As a student, he wanted a transitory freedom for himself to read and go where he pleased. However, as a young man in Johannesburg, he yearned for the basic and honorable freedoms of achieving his potential and earning his keep. Finally, he realized that not only was he not free, but his brothers and sisters were not free either. This realization turned his hunger for personal freedom into a greater hunger for the freedom of his entire people.
Q8: Why does Mandela say that the oppressor must be liberated just as surely as the oppressed?
Ans: Mandela firmly believed that freedom is indivisible. A man who takes away another man's freedom is a prisoner himself—he is locked behind the bars of prejudice and narrow-mindedness. The oppressed suffers physically and emotionally, but the oppressor loses his humanity. Therefore, to achieve true freedom and human dignity, both the oppressor and the oppressed must be liberated from the chains of hatred.
Q9: Describe the difficulties a black man faced in South Africa to fulfill his twin obligations.
Ans: Every man has twin obligations: to his family and to his country. In South Africa during apartheid, it was almost impossible for a man of color to fulfill both. If a black man tried to live as a human being and fulfill his duty to his people, he was punished, isolated, and ripped away from his family. He was forced into a life of secrecy and rebellion. Thus, in attempting to serve his people, a black man was prevented from fulfilling his obligations to his family.
Q10: "The decades of oppression and brutality had another, unintended, effect." What was it?
Ans: Mandela notes that the decades of harsh oppression and brutality by the white supremacy produced something extraordinary. The immense suffering created men of unparalleled courage, wisdom, and generosity, such as Oliver Tambo, Walter Sisulu, and Chief Luthuli. Mandela remarks that it requires profound depths of oppression to create such heights of character. These patriots became the true wealth of South Africa, purer than its diamonds.
Competency & Extract Based Questions
Q11: What does the chapter teach us about leadership and sacrifice?
Ans: The chapter teaches that true leadership requires immense personal sacrifice and putting the community before oneself. Mandela spent 27 years in prison, sacrificing his family life for his nation. A true leader does not seek power for personal gain but works to eradicate poverty, discrimination, and suffering to ensure dignity for all people.
Q12: "I was not born with a hunger to be free. I was born free..." When did Mandela's hunger for freedom begin?
Ans: Mandela's hunger for freedom began when he realized as a young man that his boyhood freedom was an illusion. When he discovered that his freedom, and the freedom of everyone who looked like him, had already been taken away by the apartheid regime, he developed a deep hunger for genuine liberation.
Q13: Who was sworn in as the First Deputy President?
Ans: Thabo Mbeki was sworn in as the First Deputy President of South Africa during the inauguration ceremony.
Q14: How did Mandela view the patriots who had died before him?
Ans: Mandela viewed himself as simply the sum of all those African patriots who had gone before him. He felt deeply pained that he was not able to thank them and that they could not see what their sacrifices had achieved.
Q15: What is the greatest wealth of South Africa according to Mandela?
Ans: According to Mandela, while South Africa is rich in minerals and gems, its greatest and truest wealth is its people—finer and truer than the purest diamonds.