By Dr. Bikkar Singh Lalli
LINK COLUMNIST
On Dec.10, over 95,000 people gatheredin Johannesburg’s FNB stadium, andmillions of people in the world, watchedthe funeral of Nelson Mandela, one ofthe greatest icons of his0try. On Dec. 5,.the South African President Jacob Zumaannounced to the nation, that Mandela,“the founding president of our democraticnation, has departed,- our nationhas lost its greatest son. our people havelost a father”.Over 100 world dignitaries gatheredin the stadium to pay homage to a manwho had refused to hate because he wasconvinced that love can do a better job.In his address President Obama said that”Nelson Mandela was a man of history, wewill not see the likes of Mandela gain. Hiscommitment to transfer power and reconcilewith those who jailed him set anexample that all humanity should aspireto”. President Pranab Mukherji of India,in his address, described him an icon whonever diminished his commitment to hiskind of satyagraha. .Other dignitaries whospoke at the funeral included Fidel Castro,Desmond Tutu, and UN secretary generalMr. Moon. He announced that UNgeneral assembly has designated July 18as a ‘Mandela International Day’ PrimeMinister Stephen Harper, accompanied byJean Chretien, Kim Campbell and BrianMulroney, also participated in the funeralceremony. President Zuma, on behalf ofhis nation, thanked the foreign dignitariesfor honoring a “giant”, who showedto the world what a human being can dowhen he is guided by his hopes and notby his fears.The anti-apartheid leader will be buriedon Sunday, Dec. 15 at his rural homein Qunu. “The Mahatma of our times isforever free”. “A giant among men – inspiredby Gandhi he prevented his nationfrom tripping into a racial convulsion afterthe end of white rule”, says Dr. ManmohanSingh. Through his fierce dignity andunbending will to sacrifice his own freedomfor the freedom of others, Madiba(Mandela’s clan name) transformed SouthAfrica. The last great liberator of 20thcentury, Mandela understood the ties thatbind the human spirit. “There is a word inSouth Africa – Ubuntu – that describes hisgreatest gift: his recognition that we are allbound together in ways that can be invisibleto the eye”,(Obama). The day Mandeladied, on the streets of Soweto, large,mixed groups sang and danced spontaneously.There were protest songs and gospelsongs and, every now and then, theSouth African national anthem. Madibawas the central theme, It was in Sowetowhere, in the 1950s, more black peoplewere relocated there, from black neighbourhoodsin inner city Johannesburg,and reserved the spots for white people.It was Soweto rebellion in 1976 thatbroadened the struggle to end apartheidin South Africa. The Soweto Uprising wasprecipitated by the requirement that Blackstudents be taught Afrikaans, the languageof their oppressors. This portion of theBantu Education Act had never been carriedout before. On June 16, 1976, an estimatedtwenty thousand students marchedin protest of apartheid and instruction inthe Afrikaner language..Nelson Mandela (1918-2013) was aprisoner who became the President of thecountry in which he was imprisoned for27 years. At his 1964 trial, Mandela choseto make a speech rather than testify. Theseare the closing words: “During my lifetimeI have dedicated myself to this struggle ofthe African people. I have fought againstwhite domination, and I have foughtagainst black domination. I have cherishedthe ideal of a democratic and freesociety in which all persons live togetherin harmony and with equal opportunities.It is an ideal which I hope to live for andto achieve. But if needs be, it is an idealfor which I am prepared to die”. He didaccomplished, his ideal, after becoming,in 1994, the first black president of SouthAfrica.We must credit Gandhi for inspiringMandela, and for vitalising his extraordinaryachievements. In his presidentialinaugural address, in 1994, he said: Thetime for the healing of the wounds hascome. The moment to bridge the chasmsthat divide us. We have, at last, achievedour political emancipation. We pledge ourselves to liberateall our people from thecontinuing bondage of poverty,deprivation, suffering, genderand other discrimination”. Mr.Mandela had led a party thathad fought an armed insurgencyagainst the apartheid government,yet when he emergedfrom prison he preached forgivenessand harmony. He accomplisheda political miracle,transforming their country intoa multi-racial democracy withoutthe civil war that so many hadfeared.. In 1993.India conferred upon himBharat Ratn, the UK gave himthe Order of Merit; the US,Presidential Medal of Freedom;the Soviet Union conferred onhim the Order of Lenin. Butit was the adulation that he receivedfrom the millions all overthe world that truly representedwhat Mandela stood for “Yousimply cannot be free withoutforgiveness, let us forget the pastand concentrate on the presentand the future” – this is whathe taught me, says Bill Clinton.“One of the brightest lights ofour world has gone out,” saidDavid Cameron of UK. Mr. F.W. de Klerk, who shared NoblePeace Prize with Mandela in1993 and who became Mandela’deputy in 1994, hails Mandela’sremarkable lack of bitterness.“He was a remarkable man. Hisbiggest legacy will be his emphasison reconciliation, and hedidn’t only talk about reconciliation,he lived for reconciliation:says De Klerk.Mr. Mandela was reveredall around the globe for his visionand courage, and for theenormous personal sacrifices hemade to right the wrongs thatplagued his country. His contributionto the cause of freedom,justice and integrity will remainetched in everyone’s memories.By the time he walked out ofprison in 1990, the country hadbeen ravaged by massacres andmass detentions, its economy intatters from international sanctions.After decades of forcedseparation, discrimination, relocations,torture and imprisonment,there seemed no way toheal the wounds that had rippedthrough South Africa. No way,that is, except one: To free MandelaMandela always saw in Canadaan ally that he trusted.It was Mulroney who brokeranks with other western leaders,in the 1980s to lead the fightagainst the apartheid regimethat included strict economicsanctions. Mulroney stood tallagainst the “Iron Lady”, whowas advocating simply a friendlypersuasion and notsanctions.“With Mandela’s passing a preciouslight has gone out in theworld, but his spirit would liveforever,” Mulroney said in astatement. This is what Harpersaid in the parliament: Despitehis long years of captivity, Mr.Mandela left prison with a heartclosed to calls for a settling ofscores. Instead, he was filled bya longing for truth and reconciliation,and for an understandingbetween all peoples.It is ironic that Gandhi’slegacy of non-violence and acceptance,inspired many worldstalwarts but it does not makeany dent in the degree of hatred,racial-nality in Indian polity. Letus hope that there is a spirit ofacceptance, and tolerance, andthere are no more tragic episodeslike anti-Sikh pogrom of1984 in which even police was anindifferent spectator, mindlessGodhra riots, and fake encountersin Gujrat and ,especially inPunjab in 80’.s. Let us pray thatIndian leaders follow the modelcreated by Mandela whose legacyof forgiveness is being celebratedall over the world.Dr. Lalli is a Surrey-basedEducationist and Member ofUBC Senate.
