Nelson Mandela : A nation-builder on the foundations of non-violence
It’s surprising to note that he had once supported violence as an answer to all issues in South Africa, but later emerged as a nation-builder on the foundations of non-violence. He served as the President of South Africa from 1 994-1999. Mandela was born as Rolihlahla Mandela on 18th July, 1918 in the village of Mvezo in South Africa. ‘Rolihlahla’ literally means ‘pulling the branch of a tree’ or ‘troublemaker’ in the native Xhosa language. He became the first member of his family to attend school. He then enrolled at Fort Hare University for B.A. But he was forced to leave college for leading a student protest against the university’s policies.
He spent 27 years of his life in prison, and that too, in one of the most terrible places in the world. Many people have spent their lives in confinement but to come out of it with your principles intact, is an entirely different story. It is the story of Nelson Mandela.
Mandela’s political journey began with the African National Congress (ANC), after the election of pro-apartheid National Party in 1948. Mandela developed ANC’s Defiance Campaign and Congress of the people in 1955. In 1961, he led ANC’s armed wing. He was arrested in 1962 and sentenced in 1964. He was to spend 27 years in prison and 18 of them in more hostile conditions at Robben Island. He was released in 1990 owing to mounting international pressure.
