Nelson Mandela, a colossus in his lifetime who dismantled the apartheid regime and served as South Africa’s first black president, died at his home in Johannesburg on Friday at the age of 95 after a protracted illness. Placed on par with civil rights icons Abraham lincoln and Martin luther King and often called the “Gandhi of South Africa”, Mandela was hailed by leaders across the world as a towering personality and a beacon of hope.
Meanwhile, the UPA Government at the Centre announced a five-day state mourning as a mark of respect to Nelson Mandela. A decision to this effect was taken at a special meeting of the Union Cabinet, which condoled the death of the anti-apartheid icon. “Our beloved Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, the founding President of our democratic nation, has departed,” South African President Jacob Zuma, clad in black, said in a televised address to the nation as he announced the demise of the Nobel laureate.
South Africa declared ten days of mourning while the US announced it flags would fly at half-mast as a mark of respect. Born four years after Mahatma Gandhi’s two-decade-long civil rights campaign in South Africa ended in 1914, Mandela was deeply affected by the incident in which the young Gandhi was thrown off a train at Pietermaritzburg.
Mandela was inspired by Gandhi in his long struggle and often turned to his ideals in his bid to defeat the oppressive apartheid regime. A recipient of the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian award in 1990, Mandela was getting medical care at his home in the suburb of Houghton here since September, after three months in a Pretoria hospital for a recurrent lung ailment.
“Our nation has lost its greatest son. Our people have lost a father,” Zuma said. “What made Nelson Mandela great was precisely what made him human. We saw in him what we seek in ourselves.” Zuma announced a state funeral for the elder statesman, who spearheaded the African National Congress’ (ANC) campaign to throw off the yoke of white minority rule and went on to serve as the first black President during 1994-99.
The funeral will be held on December 15 and Zuma asked South Africans to observe a day of prayer on December 8. All flags will fly at half-mast till the funeral. Mandela’s body was taken to a military hospital as preparations began for the burial. Winnie, his wife during the time he was incarcerated, and Mandela divorced in the mid-1990s. His first wife Evelyn Mase bore him four children. His third wife was Graça Machel, the widow of Mozambican President Samora Machel.
Head of almost all countries across the world mourned the demise of the apartheid icon. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh describing Mandela as a “giant among men” who was a beacon of hope for those struggling against oppression and injustice. US President Barack Obama said, “I am one of the countless millions who drew inspiration from Nelson Mandela’s life. My very first political action -- the first thing I ever did that involved an issue or a policy or politics was a protest against apartheid.”
“I would study his words and his writings. The day he was released from prison it gave me a sense of what human beings can do when they’re guided by their hopes and not by their fears. like so many around the globe, I cannot fully imagine my own life without the example that Nelson Mandela set. And so long as I live, I will do what I can to learn from him,” Obama said in a moving tribute.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Security Council too mourned the death of Nelson Mandela, saying the South African leader was a “giant for justice” and a human inspiration who made great personal sacrifices in his lifelong fight against racial oppression. “Nelson Mandela was a singular figure on the global stage - a man of quiet dignity and towering achievement, a giant for justice and a down-to-earth human inspiration. I am profoundly saddened by his passing,” Ban said in his condolence message.
Bangladesh has declared a three-day national mourning period starting tomorrow to pay homage to Mandela. Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif expressed shock at the demise of Mandela, saying the world had been deprived of a beacon of hope for oppressed people. “Nelson Mandela is a symbol of unflinching resolve and struggle against tyranny and injustice. His honesty of purpose and commitment to a very noble cause would be remembered for all times to come,” Sharif said in a statement.
Russian President Vladimir Putin hailed Nelson Mandela as “one of the greatest politicians in modern times”, saying, “Mandela, having gone through the most difficult ordeals, was committed to the end of his days to the ideals of humanism and justice.”