Nelson Mandela was the great leader, who fought for ending apartheid, a system that separated whites from non-whites in South Africa.
Mandela travelled throughout South Africa, and encouraged people to take part in non-violent demonstrations against the racial segregation policies of the government. He was arrested for anti government activities and eventually, sentenced to life in prison in 1964. Protests against this were held not only in South Africa, but around the world. On February 11th 1990, South African president F.W. de Klerk released Mandela from prison, and the two worked together to end apartheid. Later, they won the Nobel Prize for their efforts.
In 1994, for the first time in history, non-whites were allowed to vote in the elections. In that election, Mandela was elected President by a huge majority.
Mandela was a true follower of Gandhian philosophy. He grew up in the land where Satyagraha was born, and Gandhi’s legacy was still very strong there. In short, there were many parallels between the life of Gandhiji and Mandela. Mandela was no doubt an ‘African Gandhi’.
