CBSE Class 10 English Nelson Mandela Long Walk to Freedom Important Questions Set 04

Long Answer Questions

Question 1. Do you think there is a discrimination based on caste and colour of skin in our country? If yes, suggest ways to eradicate it.
Answer: Yes, there is a discrimination in our country based not only on caste and colour of the skin but also on gender. Caste system is an age-old practice put in place in the ancient society demarcating the people on the basis of the work they did. Since ages, people of low-caste have been treated without dignity and compassion. Often, the treatment meted out to low caste humans was worse than the treatment of animals. Though in modern times, this has decreased considerably, people still harbour feelings of caste supremacy. Gender discrimination is also prevalent and so is the difference in treatment based on our skin colour. All these can be eradicated by education. Higher rates of literacy will ensure no discrimination in our society. There will be dignity of labours and all people will be treated equally as our constitution has prescribed.

Question 2. ‘The oppressed and the oppressor alike are robbed of their humanity.’ Discuss in the context of the essay ‘Long Walk to Freedom’.
Answer: Nelson Mandela in his essay, writes that according to him, like the oppressed, the oppressor too is not free. He says that oppressed don’t have basic rights; there is no dignity of life, only subjugation, cruelty and slavery. However, even the oppressor is not free. He says that the oppressor is also a slave of his hatred. When a person does something he himself does not want to do but is pressurised due to his beliefs, he is a slave to those beliefs. He is not free as well. A man who takes away another man’s freedom is a prisoner of hatred; he is locked behind the bars of prejudice and narrow-mindedness. He says that one is not truly free if one takes away someone else’s freedom, just as surely as one is not free when one’s freedom is taken away.