Nelson Mandela- A Deathblow to Apartheid

Nelson Mandela- A Deathblow to Apartheid

 

Nelson Mandela was a South African Anti-apartheid revolutionary, Black Nationalist, and the former president of the Republic of South Africa. He was born on 18th July 1918 at the village of Mvezo at Cape Province, South Africa. During his childhood days, he learned Art of Warfare and he also did his education while he rearing the cattle.

Early life and Education

    Nelson Mandela went to the University of fort hare for pursuing his B.A Degree and he also did his law at the University of Witwatersrand. He joined the African National Congress in 1944, a Black nationalist party, and become the leader of the youth wing.

Peaceful Struggle

           Mandela held the leadership positions of the African National Congress due to his hard work and dedication. He worked against Anti-Black laws imposed by the Imperial Government. In 1952 in Johannesburg, with fellow ANC leader Oliver Tambo, Mandela established South Africa’s first black law practice, specializing in cases resulting from the post-1948 apartheid legislation. In 1952, the ANC began preparation for a joint Defiance Campaign against apartheid with Indian and communist groups, founding a National Voluntary Board to recruit volunteers. The campaign was designed to follow the path of nonviolent resistance influenced by Mahatma Gandhi.

                           

 

 Armed Struggle

         In 1960 The African National Congress was banned by the South African Government for treason and Mandela and other leaders were underground and subsequently, there was the massacre of black Africans at Sharpeville. This made Mandela follow Armed struggle and many black peoples were involved in guerilla Warfare.  In 1962 he went to Algeria for training in guerrilla warfare and sabotage, returning to South Africa later that year. On August 5, shortly after his return, Mandela was arrested at a roadblock in Natal; he was subsequently sentenced to five years in prison. Later he was jailed in Robinson island prison and he was still in the prison for 23 years even he did not allow to go when his son died in the accident and he also experienced tuberculosis in the prison. After the long struggle led by the African people, he got released in 1990 by the Government of South Africa. Then he got International Attention from Many countries and got an award from all over the world.

 Life after imprisonment and Legacy

            After the release of Mandela African National Congress got removal of ban and in 1994 Mandela become the president of South Africa. He introduced many reforms to improve the standard of living of the people who live in South Africa especially for Asians and native Africans and he also gave representation to white people without any discrimination. After that Mandela didn’t seek the second term and he got retired from the active politics in 2004 due to his health conditions and he died on 5th December 2013 all over the world mourned for his death.