History: Mandela was Not Gandhi

When Nelson Mandela died, a lot of media houses said and people repeated “This is the end of Gandhi of SOUTH AFRICA”

When I read him being called Gandhi of SA, I wonder. Because even India’s Gandhi was born in SA and in fact South Africa had made Gandhiji out of young barrister Mohandas Gandhi.

The differences between Gandhi and Mandela are many. For example, Gandhiji never took any position; Mandela became President of SA. Gandhiji fought for freedom of a country; he fought for freedom of a race. Mandela had supported violence while Gandhiji never supported violence but his was Satyagrah.

I think Mandela should be more appropriately called Dr. BR Ambedkar of SA. Though the difference being that Mandela was born into a royal family and even founded a militant org as I read about him. I think it is fair to compare Mandela (who fought for rights of a race) with Ambedkar (who fought for rights of a category/castes). Gandhiji had a universal vision. What is Mandela’s vision – do you know?

Fighting for rights of race is a limited vision, is not it so? Whereas Gandhiji had universal vision. When he was in South Africa, he started agitation there against racial discrimination. Gandhiji would have stood for rights of Blacks, or even Whites if discriminated against in a land dominated by Blacks, whoever was downtrodden.

I am reading this from wikipedia’s assembled article on Mandela:

“Inspired by Fidel Castro’s 26th of July Movement in the Cuban Revolution, in 1961 Mandela co-founded Umkhonto we Sizwe (“Spear of the Nation”, abbreviated MK) with Sisulu and the communist Joe Slovo. Becoming chairman of the militant group, he gained ideas from illegal literature on guerilla warfare by Mao and Che Guevara. Officially separate from the ANC, in later years MK became the group’s armed wing. Operating through a cell structure, the MK agreed to acts of sabotage to exert maximum pressure on the government with minimum casualties, bombing military installations, power plants, telephone lines and transport links at night, when civilians were not present. Mandela noted that should these tactics fail, MK would resort to “guerilla warfare and terrorism.”

“After the conference, he travelled to Cairo, Egypt, admiring the political reforms of President Gamal Abdel Nasser, and then went to Tunis, Tunisia, where President Habib Bourguiba gave him £5000 for weaponry. He proceeded to Morocco, Mali, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Senegal, receiving funds from Liberian President William Tubman and Guinean President Ahmed Sékou Touré.[107] Leaving Africa for London, England, he met anti-apartheid activists, reporters and prominent leftist politicians.[108] Returning to Ethiopia, he began a six-month course in guerrilla warfare, but completed only two months before being recalled to South Africa.[109]“

I think calling Mandela Gandhi of SA is insult of Gandhiji who gave up his life for non-violence. Mandela sounds more influenced by second-hand ideas like communism and ran a militant organization running around bombing places.

I think apartheid was very bad. Mandela fought against it, that is very good. I am sure Blacks never cared about the “means”, all they cared about was the “goal”. But Gandhiji was class apart. He cared for means as much as for the goal. As I read, Mandela’s popularity gained after his release from the jail. He would have got all the credit for anti-apartheid movement. People conveniently forgot his methods and violent means in his younger days. He went into the jail being called terrorist (as I read about him) but came out of the jail as a saint. It is fine, in totality he achieved something which was good. But he was not all white but his life appears more of grey. I somehow don’t like his comparison with Gandhiji; in fact no mortal can be compared with Gandhiji who was a real saint… he was real superman; something which we can be but are not…

Gandhiji’s goal was not limited to freedom of India; it was for universal freedom from misery through non-violent methods. That is why he fought for non-white’s rights in South Africa; he fought for rights of Pakistan after division of India also. But Mandela was not fighting for freedom of any nation, he was fighting for rights of a race, and that also using violent means. Where is his international role or universal idea; apart from going around the globe collecting funds for militants to buy more guns? And it is true that Gandhiji was not the only person responsible for India’s freedom. I think Gandhiji himself would never have taken that credit. It is more of a Congress party’s propaganda to make Indians do hero-worship. But similarly, a huge credit for end of apartheid goes to de Klerk government in SA. And for roles of US/UN and the whole world who funded Mandela’s party with money. I read even Gaddaffi of Libya gave him some money (Mandela and Gaddafi were personal friends). Mandela was given Nobel Prize; Gandhi never; Mandela enjoyed being President of the country; Gandhiji seeked no position. These are entirely different personalities with entirely different vision. But since the whole world wanted Mandela to become a saint from being a terrorist; they perhaps used Gandhiji’s brand name to do the magic; and they have succeeded.

Note the differences in tastes between these two great men: “Very conscious of his image, throughout his life Mandela sought fine quality clothes, carrying himself in a “regal style” stemming from his childhood in the Thembu royal house, and during his presidency was often compared to a constitutional monarch. Considered a “master of imagery and performance”, he excelled at presenting himself well in press photographs and producing soundbites.”

Mandela was married three times, fathered six children, had 17 grandchildren[339] and a growing number of great-grandchildren.[340] He could be stern and demanding of his children, although he was more affectionate with his grandchildren.[341] Mandela’s first marriage was to Evelyn Ntoko Mase, who was also from the Transkei, although they met in Johannesburg before being married in October 1944.[54] The couple broke up in 1957 after 13 years, divorcing under the multiple strains of his adultery and constant absences, devotion to revolutionary agitation, and the fact that she was a member of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, a religion requiring political neutrality.[86] The couple had two sons, Madiba “Thembi” Thembekile (1946–1969) and Makgatho Mandela (1950–2005), and two daughters, both named Makaziwe Mandela (known as Maki; born 1947 and 1953). Their first daughter died aged nine months, and they named their second daughter in her honour.[citation needed] Mase died in 2004, and Mandela attended her funeral.[342] Makgatho’s son, Mandla Mandela, became chief of the Mvezo tribal council in 2007.[343] Mandela’s second wife, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, also came from the Transkei area, although they, too, met in Johannesburg, where she was the city’s first black social worker.[344] They had two daughters, Zenani (Zeni), born 4 February 1958, and Zindziswa (Zindzi) Mandela-Hlongwane, born 1960.[344] Zindzi was only 18 months old when her father was sent to Robben island. Later, Winnie would be deeply torn by family discord which mirrored the country’s political strife; separation (April 1992) and divorce (March 1996), fueled by political estrangement.[345] Mandela was still in prison when his daughter Zenani was married in 1973 to Prince Thumbumuzi Dlamini, a brother of both King Mswati III of Swaziland[346] and of Queen Mantfombi of the Zulus.[347] Although she had vivid memories of her father, from the age of four up until sixteen, South African authorities did not permit her to visit him.[348] In July 2012, Zenani was appointed ambassador to Argentina, becoming the first of Mandela’s three remaining children to enter public life.[349]

Mandela remarried on his 80th birthday in 1998, to his third wife, Graça Machel (née Simbine), widow of Samora Machel, the former Mozambican president and ANC ally who was killed in an air crash 12 years earlier.[350]

A grandson of Nelson Mandela is named Gadaffi.