Class 10 English – Chapter 2: Nelson Mandela – Long Walk to Freedom
Part-1 • Before You Read • Oral Comprehension-I • Original Text + Hindi Meaning + Answers (2025 Edition)
📘 BEFORE YOU READ
Original Text (NCERT):
‘Apartheid’ is a political system that separates people according to their race. Can you say which of the three countries named below had such a political system until very recently?
(i) United States of America (ii) South Africa (iii) Australia
हिन्दी अर्थ: ‘अपार्थाइड’ (Apartheid) एक ऐसी राजनीतिक व्यवस्था थी जो लोगों को उनकी नस्ल (race) के आधार पर अलग करती थी। नीचे दिए देशों में से किस देश में हाल तक यह व्यवस्था थी?
Answer (EN): The correct answer is South Africa.
उत्तर (HI): सही उत्तर है — दक्षिण अफ्रीका।
Original Text (NCERT):
Have you heard of Nelson Mandela? Mandela, and his African National Congress, spent a lifetime fighting against apartheid. Mandela had to spend thirty years in prison. Finally, democratic elections were held in South Africa in 1994, and Mandela became the first black President of a new nation.
हिन्दी अर्थ: क्या आपने नेल्सन मंडेला के बारे में सुना है? मंडेला और उनकी पार्टी “अफ्रीकन नेशनल कांग्रेस” ने रंगभेद के विरुद्ध जीवनभर संघर्ष किया। उन्हें तीस वर्ष जेल में रहना पड़ा। अंततः 1994 में दक्षिण अफ्रीका में लोकतांत्रिक चुनाव हुए और मंडेला देश के पहले अश्वेत राष्ट्रपति बने।
Original Text (NCERT):
In this extract from his autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom, Mandela speaks about a historic occasion, ‘the inauguration’. Can you guess what the occasion might be?
हिन्दी अर्थ: उनकी आत्मकथा “लॉन्ग वॉक टू फ़्रीडम” के इस अंश में मंडेला एक ऐतिहासिक अवसर — ‘शपथ ग्रहण समारोह’ — के बारे में बात करते हैं। क्या आप अनुमान लगा सकते हैं यह अवसर कौन-सा था?
Answer (EN): It was the inauguration of South Africa’s first democratic government on 10 May 1994, when Nelson Mandela became President.
उत्तर (HI): यह दक्षिण अफ्रीका की पहली लोकतांत्रिक सरकार का शपथ ग्रहण समारोह था, जो 10 मई 1994 को हुआ जब नेल्सन मंडेला राष्ट्रपति बने।
🧩 Activity – Column A & Column B (Match the Expressions)
Original Question (NCERT): In Column A are some expressions you will find in the text. Make a guess and match each expression with an appropriate meaning from Column B.
| Column A | Column B (Meaning) |
|---|---|
| (i) A rainbow gathering of different colours and nations | A beautiful coming together of various peoples, like the colours in a rainbow. |
| (ii) The seat of white supremacy | The centre of racial superiority. |
| (iii) Be overwhelmed with a sense of history | Feel deeply emotional, remembering all past events leading to the moment. |
| (iv) Resilience that defies the imagination | Great ability to remain strong and hopeful despite suffering. |
| (v) A glimmer of humanity | A sign of kindness, justice, or goodness. |
| (vi) A twilight existence | A life lived in half-light, between darkness and daylight; secretive life. |
🔹 Oral Comprehension Check – I
Q1. Where did the ceremonies take place? Can you name any public buildings in India that are made of sandstone?
प्रश्न का हिन्दी अर्थ: समारोह कहाँ हुआ? भारत में ऐसी कौन-सी सार्वजनिक इमारतें हैं जो बलुआ पत्थर (sandstone) से बनी हैं?
Answer (EN): The ceremonies took place in the Union Buildings amphitheatre in Pretoria. In India, buildings like the Red Fort and Rashtrapati Bhavan are made of sandstone.
उत्तर (HI): समारोह प्रिटोरिया के “यूनियन बिल्डिंग्स” के एम्फीथिएटर में हुआ। भारत में लाल किला और राष्ट्रपति भवन जैसी इमारतें बलुआ पत्थर से बनी हैं।
Q2. Can you say how 10 May is an ‘autumn day’ in South Africa?
प्रश्न का हिन्दी अर्थ: 10 मई को दक्षिण अफ्रीका में ‘पतझड़ का दिन’ (autumn day) क्यों कहा गया?
Answer (EN): Because South Africa lies in the Southern Hemisphere, where May falls in the autumn season.
उत्तर (HI): क्योंकि दक्षिण अफ्रीका दक्षिणी गोलार्ध में स्थित है, जहाँ मई का महीना पतझड़ का मौसम होता है।
Q3. At the beginning of his speech, Mandela mentions “an extraordinary human disaster.” What does he mean by this? What is the “glorious … human achievement” he speaks of at the end?
प्रश्न का हिन्दी अर्थ: अपने भाषण की शुरुआत में मंडेला “असाधारण मानव आपदा” की बात करते हैं। उनका क्या तात्पर्य है? और अंत में “महान मानव उपलब्धि” से वे क्या मतलब रखते हैं?
Answer (EN): The “extraordinary human disaster” refers to apartheid and racial oppression. The “glorious human achievement” is the triumph of freedom and democracy in South Africa.
उत्तर (HI): “असाधारण मानव आपदा” से उनका मतलब रंगभेद और नस्लीय अत्याचार से है। “महान मानव उपलब्धि” का अर्थ है स्वतंत्रता और लोकतंत्र की विजय।
Q4. What does Mandela thank the international leaders for?
प्रश्न का हिन्दी अर्थ: मंडेला अंतरराष्ट्रीय नेताओं का धन्यवाद क्यों करते हैं?
Answer (EN): He thanks them for coming to celebrate the common victory of justice, peace, and human dignity with South Africans.
उत्तर (HI): वे उन्हें इस बात के लिए धन्यवाद देते हैं कि वे दक्षिण अफ्रीकियों के साथ न्याय, शांति और मानव गरिमा की साझा विजय मनाने आए।
Q5. What ideals does he set out for the future of South Africa?
प्रश्न का हिन्दी अर्थ: मंडेला ने दक्षिण अफ्रीका के भविष्य के लिए कौन-से आदर्श निर्धारित किए?
Answer (EN): He pledges to liberate all people from poverty, suffering, and discrimination, and to ensure equality for all.
उत्तर (HI): वे प्रतिज्ञा करते हैं कि सभी लोगों को गरीबी, कष्ट और भेदभाव से मुक्त कर समानता सुनिश्चित की जाएगी।
Nelson Mandela – Long Walk to Freedom (Part-2)
Oral Comprehension II + III • Thinking About the Text • Bilingual Answers (2025 Edition)
🔹 Oral Comprehension Check – II
Q1. What do the military generals do? How has their attitude changed, and why?
प्रश्न का हिन्दी अर्थ: सैन्य अधिकारियों ने क्या किया? उनका रवैया कैसे बदला और क्यों?
Answer (EN): They saluted Mandela and pledged loyalty to the new democratic government. Earlier they would have arrested him because of apartheid.
उत्तर (HI): उन्होंने मंडेला को सलामी दी और नई लोकतांत्रिक सरकार के प्रति निष्ठा की प्रतिज्ञा की। पहले वे रंगभेद के कारण उन्हें गिरफ्तार कर सकते थे।
Q2. Why were two national anthems sung?
प्रश्न का हिन्दी अर्थ: दो राष्ट्रीय गान क्यों गाए गए?
Answer (EN): To represent unity of whites and blacks — ‘Nkosi Sikelel iAfrika’ for blacks and ‘Die Stem’ for whites.
उत्तर (HI): श्वेत और अश्वेत लोगों की एकता दिखाने के लिए दोनों राष्ट्रीय गीत गाए गए — ‘Nkosi Sikelel iAfrika’ अश्वेतों का और ‘Die Stem’ श्वेतों का।
Q3. How does Mandela describe the systems of government in his country (i) in the first decade, and (ii) in the final decade of the twentieth century?
प्रश्न का हिन्दी अर्थ: मंडेला अपने देश की सरकारी प्रणाली को बीसवीं सदी (क) के पहले और (ख) के अंतिम दशक में कैसे बताते हैं?
Answer (EN): ( i ) In the first decade it was based on racial domination by whites. ( ii ) In the final decade it was replaced by a democratic government of equality for all.
उत्तर (HI): (क) पहले दशक में यह श्वेतों की नस्लीय सत्ता पर आधारित थी। (ख) अंतिम दशक में इसे लोकतांत्रिक सरकार से बदल दिया गया जो सभी को समानता देती थी।
Q4. What does courage mean to Mandela?
प्रश्न का हिन्दी अर्थ: मंडेला के लिए साहस का क्या अर्थ है?
Answer (EN): Courage is not the absence of fear but the triumph over it. A brave man is one who conquers his fear.
उत्तर (HI): साहस का मतलब डर का न होना नहीं, बल्कि उस पर विजय पाना है। साहसी वह है जो अपने डर को जीत लेता है।
Q5. Which does he think is natural — to love or to hate?
प्रश्न का हिन्दी अर्थ: मंडेला के अनुसार प्राकृतिक क्या है — प्रेम या घृणा?
Answer (EN): He believes love comes more naturally to the human heart than hate.
उत्तर (HI): उनके अनुसार मनुष्य के हृदय में प्रेम घृणा से अधिक स्वाभाविक रूप से उपजता है।
🔹 Oral Comprehension Check – III
Q1. What “twin obligations” does Mandela mention?
प्रश्न का हिन्दी अर्थ: मंडेला कौन-सी ‘दोहरी जिम्मेदारियों’ का ज़िक्र करते हैं?
Answer (EN): He mentions obligations to his family and to his people and country.
उत्तर (HI): वे अपने परिवार के प्रति और अपने देशवासियों के प्रति कर्तव्यों की बात करते हैं।
Q2. What did being free mean to Mandela as a boy and as a student? How does he contrast these “transitory freedoms” with the “basic and honourable freedoms”?
प्रश्न का हिन्दी अर्थ: बचपन और विद्यार्थी जीवन में मंडेला के लिए स्वतंत्रता का क्या अर्थ था? वे इन “क्षणिक स्वतंत्रताओं” की तुलना “मौलिक और सम्मानजनक स्वतंत्रताओं” से कैसे करते हैं?
Answer (EN): As a boy it meant to run and play freely; as a student, to study and go out late. Later he realised true freedom means to live with dignity and rights for all.
उत्तर (HI): बचपन में स्वतंत्रता का मतलब था दौड़ना-खेलना, विद्यार्थी रूप में रात तक बाहर रह पाना; लेकिन बाद में समझ आया कि असली स्वतंत्रता गरिमा और समान अधिकारों में है।
Q3. Does Mandela think the oppressor is free? Why/Why not?
प्रश्न का हिन्दी अर्थ: क्या मंडेला मानते हैं कि उत्पीड़क (जो दूसरों को दबाता है) स्वतंत्र होता है? क्यों/क्यों नहीं?
Answer (EN): No. Both the oppressed and the oppressor are not free; the oppressor is a prisoner of hatred and narrow-mindedness.
उत्तर (HI): नहीं। उत्पीड़ित और उत्पीड़क दोनों स्वतंत्र नहीं हैं; उत्पीड़क घृणा और संकीर्णता का कैदी है।
💬 Thinking About the Text – Original NCERT Questions
Q1. Why did such a large number of international leaders attend the inauguration? What did it signify the triumph of?
Answer (EN): It signified the victory of human dignity, freedom and democracy over apartheid.
उत्तर (HI): यह मानव गरिमा, स्वतंत्रता और लोकतंत्र की विजय का प्रतीक था।
Q2. What does Mandela mean when he says he is “simply the sum of all those African patriots” who had gone before him?
Answer (EN): He means his personality is shaped by the sacrifices and values of thousands of freedom fighters before him.
उत्तर (HI): उनका मतलब है कि उनका चरित्र उन सभी देशभक्तों के त्याग और मूल्यों से बना है जो उनसे पहले संघर्ष कर चुके थे।
Q3. Would you agree that the “depths of oppression” create “heights of character”? How does Mandela illustrate this?
Answer (EN): Yes. Oppression created heroes like Oliver Tambo and Walter Sisulu whose courage rose from suffering.
उत्तर (HI): हाँ। दमन ने ऑलिवर टैम्बो और वाल्टर सिसुलु जैसे वीरों को जन्म दिया जिनका साहस कष्टों से उठा।
Q4. How did Mandela’s understanding of freedom change with age and experience?
Answer (EN): As a child freedom meant personal liberty; later he realised real freedom means equal rights for everyone.
उत्तर (HI): बचपन में स्वतंत्रता उनके लिए व्यक्तिगत आजादी थी, लेकिन बाद में उन्होंने समझा कि सच्ची स्वतंत्रता सभी के लिए समान अधिकार है।
Q5. How did Mandela’s “hunger for freedom” change his life?
Answer (EN): It turned him from a law-abiding citizen to a freedom fighter who sacrificed his family and comfort for his people.
उत्तर (HI): इसने उन्हें एक साधारण नागरिक से स्वतंत्रता सेनानी बना दिया जिसने अपने परिवार और सुख-सुविधा का बलिदान दिया।
Nelson Mandela – Long Walk to Freedom (Part-3 • Final)
Working with Language • Idioms • Contrasts • Opinion Writing • SEO (Authentic NCERT + Hindi)
📝 Working with Language (NCERT – Original Text + Answers)
I. There are nouns in the text (formation, government) which are formed from the corresponding verbs (form, govern) by suffixing -(at)ion or -ment. There may be a change in the spelling of some verb–noun pairs: such as rebel, rebellion; constitute, constitution.
1. Make a list of such pairs of nouns and verbs in the text.
प्रश्न का हिन्दी अर्थ: पाठ में दिए गए क्रियाओं से बने संज्ञा-रूपों (जैसे form→formation) की जोड़ी बनाइए।
| Verb | Noun | Verb | Noun |
|---|---|---|---|
| form | formation | govern | government |
| constitute | constitution | elect | election |
| discriminate | discrimination | deprive | deprivation |
| emancipate | emancipation | oppress | oppression |
| dominate | domination | achieve | achievement |
| liberate | liberation | assist | assistance |
| resist | resistance | imprison | imprisonment |
| subjugate | subjugation | humiliate | humiliation |
2. Read the paragraph below. Fill in the blanks with the noun forms of the verbs in brackets.
प्रश्न का हिन्दी अर्थ: कोष्ठक में दी गई क्रियाओं के संज्ञा रूप भरिए।
Completed Paragraph (EN):
Martin Luther King’s contribution to our history as an outstanding leader began when he came to the assistance of Rosa Parks, a seamstress who refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white passenger. In those days American Blacks were confined to positions of second class citizenship by restrictive laws and customs. To break these laws would mean subjugation and humiliation by the police and the legal system. Beatings, imprisonment and sometimes death awaited those who defied the System. Martin Luther King’s tactics of protest involved non-violent resistance to racial injustice.
हिन्दी संकेत: contribution (योगदान), assistance (सहायता), subjugation (अधीनता), humiliation (अपमान), imprisonment (कैद), resistance (विरोध)।
II. Using the Definite Article with Names
Original NCERT Note: “… produced the Oliver Tambos, the Walter Sisulus…” — used like this, a proper noun means “many people of that type”.
- Answer/Explanation (EN): In these sentences, the + proper name (plural idea) means “many persons like X”.
- उत्तर (HI): यहाँ the + व्यक्तिवाचक संज्ञा का अर्थ “उस जैसे अनेक लोग” है।
Examples from NCERT prompts:
- Mr Singh regularly invites the Amitabh Bachchans and the Shah Rukh Khans to his parties. — many celebrities like them.
- Many people think that Madhuri Dixit is the Madhubala of our times. — the modern equivalent like Madhubala.
- History is not only the story of the Alexanders, the Napoleons and the Hitlers… — great conquerors like them.
III. Idiomatic Expressions — Match Column A with Column B
Original NCERT (A/B): Match the italicised phrases in Column A with the nearest meaning in Column B.
| A (from the text) | Nearest meaning in B |
|---|---|
| 1. I was not unmindful of the fact | (i) had not forgotten; was aware of the fact |
| 2. when my comrades and I were pushed to our limits | (iii) felt that we could not endure the suffering any longer |
| 3. to reassure me and keep me going | (ii) help me continue to live in hope in this very difficult situation |
| 4. the basic and honourable freedoms of… earning my keep… | (i) earning enough money to live on |
Use the following phrases to complete the sentences below.
Original NCERT Phrases: (i) they can be taught to love. (ii) I was born free. (iii) but the triumph over it. (iv) but he who conquers that fear. (v) to create such heights of character.
- It requires such depths of oppression to create such heights of character.
- Courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.
- The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.
- If people can learn to hate, they can be taught to love.
- I was born free. I was not born with a hunger to be free.
⚖️ Looking at Contrasts — Complete the Sentences (NCERT)
Original Instruction: Find in the text the second part of the contrast, and complete each item.
- For decades the Union Buildings had been the seat of white supremacy, and now it was the site of a rainbow gathering for installing a democratic, non-racial government.
- Only moments before, the highest generals … saluted me and pledged their loyalty, whereas not so many years before they would not have saluted but arrested me.
- Although that day neither group knew the lyrics of the anthem, they would soon know the words by heart.
- My country is rich in the minerals and gems that lie beneath its soil, but its greatest wealth is its people — finer and truer than the purest diamonds.
- The Air Show was not only a display of pinpoint precision and military force, but also a demonstration of loyalty to democracy.
- It was this desire for the freedom of my people that transformed a frightened young man into a bold one, drove a law-abiding attorney to become a ‘criminal’, and turned a family-loving husband into a man without a home.
🗣️ Expressing Your Opinion — Sample Paragraph (100–150 words)
Original NCERT Topic: True liberty is freedom from poverty, deprivation and all forms of discrimination.
Sample Answer (EN): True liberty goes beyond political rights; it means freedom from poverty, deprivation and every kind of discrimination. Poverty persists because of unequal access to quality education, healthcare and fair jobs. We can overcome it through public investment in schools, skill training, social security and equal opportunity laws. Discrimination based on gender, caste, class or religion denies dignity and violates constitutional rights. Strict enforcement of the law must be combined with social awareness and inclusion. When every person can learn, work and live without fear or hunger, freedom becomes real.
नमूना उत्तर (HI): सच्ची स्वतंत्रता केवल राजनीतिक अधिकार नहीं, बल्कि गरीबी, वंचना और हर प्रकार के भेदभाव से मुक्ति है। शिक्षा-स्वास्थ्य-रोज़गार में समान अवसर और क़ानून का सख़्त पालन, साथ ही सामाजिक जागरूकता और सहभागिता आवश्यक है। तभी हर व्यक्ति सम्मान, सुरक्षा और अवसरों के साथ जी सकेगा और स्वतंत्रता सार्थक होगी।