Class 10 English Chapter 1 Question Answers - First Flight

Q1: How was Mandela’s concept of freedom was different in boyhood and youth than what it was in his mature age? How were ‘transitory freedoms’ changed into his hunger for the freedom of his people?

Ans: Nelson Mandela was not born with a hunger to be free. In his boyhood, he felt free until he obeyed his father and tribe. The concept of freedom was limited only to run in fields, swim in the local stream and ride on the slow-moving bulls. When he was a youth, he realised that his boyhood freedom was an illusion. His freedom had already taken away from him. He yearned to enjoy ‘transitory freedoms’ like staying out at night, reading and going anywhere as he pleased. When he joined the African National Congress, only then his own freedom became the greater hunger for his people. He desired that his people should live their lives with dignity and self-respect. This hunger for freedom forced him to be a rebel and live in secrecy away from his family.

Q2: What were the difficulties faced by Nelson Mandela in achieving freedom for his people?

Ans: In his endeavour to get freedom for his countrymen from the rule of Apartheid, Nelson Mandela had to undergo many hardships and suffered a lot. This great patriot had to sacrifice the comfort of his home and loving family. He was declared an outlaw for demanding equality for all his fellow black Africans. He was punished, isolated and put into jail. He and his comrades were oppressed and tortured beyond tolerance. He suffered hunger, oppression and injustice but kept the flame of independence burning in his heart. His undaunted courage, persistent struggle and unparallel sacrifice bore fruit and South Africa got freedom from the rule of Apartheid on 10 May 1994.

Q3: Give the character-sketch of Nelson Mandela.

Ans: Nelson Mandela was the greatest of all the black heroes who relentlessly fought against the racial regime in South Africa. He endured immense suffering and torture in prison but ultimately led the country to establish its first democratically elected government. Mandela wasn’t born with a hunger for freedom; as a child, he believed he was free, but later realized that his boyhood freedom was an illusion. He also understood that his concept of freedom in youth was limited to personal liberty.It was only after joining the African National Congress that Mandela’s personal desire for freedom evolved into a greater hunger for the freedom of all his people. This transformation turned a once frightened young lawyer into a bold fighter. As a family-loving husband, Mandela was forced to live the life of a monk, constantly in secrecy. He acknowledged with gratitude the unimaginable sacrifices made by thousands of black heroes in the fight for freedom.Humbly, Mandela recognized that freedom is indivisible. He realized he could not truly be free while his people remained in chains. His vision of humanity was broad—he believed freedom was a comprehensive right that couldn’t be divided. It was a mark of his greatness that he believed both the oppressor and the oppressed needed liberation, as both were robbed of their humanity.

Q4: The inauguration ceremony symbolised a common victory for justice, for peace, for human dignity against the most hated apartheid regime based on racial discrimination. Comment.

Ans: The inauguration ceremony of the installation of a democratically elected government in South Africa was of great historical importance. After the Boer war, the white ‘peoples’, patched up their differences. They imposed the domination of the whites through the apartheid based on racial discrimination. The inauguration ceremony attracted worldwide recognition. International leaders and dignitaries from more than 140 countries assembled at the amphitheatre in the Union Buildings in Pretoria. The whole world hailed it as a common victory for justice, for peace, for human dignity. The grand struggle of the black patriots against the most hated regime of apartheid succeeded. There was a spectacular display of jets and the salute by the bedecked generals with ribbons to President Mandela. It showed the military’s loyalty to democracy. The playing of the two national anthems symbolised a new regime based on equality irrespective of race and colour.

Q5: Why was Nelson Mandela overwhelmed with a sense of history? Give the birth and finally the burial of the apartheid regime in South Africa.

Ans: On the day of the inauguration of the Republic, Nelson Mandela was overwhelmed with a sense of history. It was quite natural for a man who taught against the hated regime for decades. After the Boer war, the white groups patched up their differences. They imposed the domination of the whites over the majority population of South Africa. The birth of the apartheid was the birth of one of the harshest and inhumane regimes in the world. It was based on racial discrimination and oppression. Deep oppression and atrocities produced thousands of black patriots who were ready to sacrifice their lives for the freedom of their fellow men. The determined struggle of these black heroes ended in their victory. A democratically elected government headed by President Nelson Mandela was installed on the 10th of May, 1994.

Q6: Which twin obligations does Nelson Mandela mention in the lesson? Why were he and the rest of blacks able to fulfil those obligations?

Ans: Nelson Mandela that every man has twin obligations in life. The first obligation of a man is to his family, to his parents, to his wife and children. He has another obligation also. He has an obligation to his people, his community and his country. Every man is to do his duty according to his situation and strength. But in South Africa, it was impossible for a man like Mandela or other blacks to fulfil those obligations. If a man tried to live as a human being, he was punished and isolated. If any person in South Africa tried to do his duty to his people, he was forcefully separated from his family and his home. He was forced to lead a life of secrecy and rebellion. Nelson Mandela placed his people above his family. In attempting to serve his people, he was prevented from fulfilling his obligations as a son, a brother, a father and a husband.

Q7: Nelson Mandela in his inaugural speech used these two words ‘an extraordinary human disaster’ and so ‘glorious human achievement’. What did he mean by that?

Ans: The extraordinary disaster was the rule of Apartheid in South Africa. This disaster of racial discrimination brought oppression, deprivation, cruelty, and suffering for the black people of South Africa.Blacks were not allowed to visit the places reserved for the whites. They led a life of humiliation. On 10 May 1994, after more than three centuries of white rule, Nelson Mandela’s African National Congress Party won the elections.Nelson Mandela became the first black President of South Africa. The coming into power of a non-racial government was a glorious human achievement.

Q8: Why does Mandela say that freedom is indivisible? How are the oppressed and the oppressor alike are robbed of their humanity?

Ans: Nelson Mandela believes that freedom is indivisible. His hunger for his own freedom became the greater hunger for the freedom of his people. He couldn’t live his life with dignity and self-respect if his own people were bound in chains. The chains on any one of his people were the chains on all of them. The chains on all of his people were the chains on him. Mandela realised that the oppressor must be liberated as surely as the oppressed. A man who takes away another’s freedom is a prisoner of hatred, prejudice and narrow mindedness. He is not truly free if he is taking away someone else’s freedom. Surely, he is not free when his freedom is taken away from him. Thus the oppressed and the oppressor alike are robbed of their humanity.