Seven surprising facts you didn’t know about Nelson Mandela

Let’s know more about one of the beloved personality and apartheid revolutionary, Nelson Mandela.

We all know Nelson Mandela as South African president, a revolutionary in the movement against apartheid. But more than that, Mandela influenced the world with his wisdom and eventful life. His lifelong struggle against racial discrimination and segregation led to the end of the wile practice of apartheid. He received more than 250 honours from all around the world. South African place him on a very high stature and call him “Father of the nation”.  He breathed his last in 2013, leaving behind the legacy of his ideological vision. Let’s look at some of the facts about Nelson Mandela you didn’t know about.

  1. Mandela’s full name is Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela. Nelson was the name given to him by his school teacher as it was customary for local African children to have European names as they were easy to pronounce. His name Rolihlahla means a trouble maker, according to his native Xhosa tribe.
  2. He studied law and became one of the earliest black lawyer in South Africa, something which was unheard of in those days. He was elected leader for the youth wing of African National Congress or ANC liberation movement.
  3. Government banned the African National Congress because of the racial segregation in 1960. Nelson Mandela laid low and organized a secret movement. Though initially he was influenced by Gandhian principle of Non-Violence, later after seeing the violence inflicted on him and his comrades, he supported an armed military movement.
  4. Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 28 years from 1962 to 1990 on the charges of conspiring against the ruling government and revolting. He was originally sentenced for life, but later as ANC came back to power, he was released.
  5. The reason Nelson Mandela is known as “Father of the Nation” was that he broke the shackles of racism and was instrumental in abolishing apartheid and overthrowing an oppressive regime.
  6. For his work in abolishing racial segregation and overthrowing of the corrupt and oppressive regime, he was awarded Nobel Prize in the year 1993.
  7. During his term as President of South Africa, he encouraged countries like Palestine and Israel and India and Pakistan to establish a dialogue between them. He advocated the theory of reconciliation with peaceful measures.
In the year 2009, the UN declared 27th April as Mandela Day. This day is meant for people to fight against poverty, promoting peace and harmony, something Mandela always stood for.