Nelason Mandela

Nelson Mandela is called Madiba in South Africa. The name “Madiba” is an honorary title adopted by older male members of the Mandela clan. For South Africans though, there is only one Madiba: Nelson Mandela.


On 10 May 1994, he was inaugurated as South Africa’s first democratically elected State President, and in June 1999 he stepped down from the political arena intending to lead a peaceful life in his birth place of Qunu in the Eastern Province of South Africa. It was not to be: too many countries relied on him to help them in their peace talks, and too many famous people needed to meet him. South Africa’s sports’ teams know that whenever he attends an international game, they are sure to win, because Madiba is South Africa’s very own lucky charm, the man with the “Madiba Magic”. He is South Africa’s very own super star.

He has a charismatic charm about him that has won over even his staunchest enemies. You just cannot resist this man with the shining eyes and loving and forgiving nature. It is remarkable that he is able to forgive so many, after spending almost thirty years in jail - not for committing a crime, but for standing up for his rights.


Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was born in Qunu, a village near Umtata, in the Transkei (now part of Eastern Cape) on 18 July 1918. His father held an important post as the principal councillor to the Acting Paramount Chief of Thembuland. When his father died, Nelson was earmarked to follow in his father’s footsteps, but he had other ideas - he wanted to be a lawyer so that he could contribute to the freedom of his people.


He spent his early school years at a nearby mission school and completed his schooling at Headtown, a Wesleyan secondary school. After school he attended the University College of Fort Hare and studied for the Bachelor of Arts Degree. At that young age, he was already making a name for himself and was soon elected onto the Student’s Representative Council. He took part in a protest and was suspended from the college. He completed his Bachelor of Arts by means of a correspondence course, took articles of clerkship and started to study for his law degree. It was in 1942, while he was studying for his law degree, that he joined the ANC (African National Congress).


During the latter years of World War II, Nelson Mandela and a group of other prolific young men, all members of the ANC, started to devise plans to transform the previously staid and politically polite ANC movement into a rolling mass movement. Among the young men were Walter Sisulu, Oliver Tambo and the leader at the time, Anton Lembede. They spread the message of liberation to the people living in townships and in the rural areas. These young men formed the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) in 1944 and three years later, Nelson was elected tot he Secretaryship of the league. He rose quickly and steadily in the ranks and spearheaded many active campaigns to peacefully bring about an end to racism and compulsory education for all children.


Nelson Mandela was arrested and brought to trial for his role in one of the campaigns, in 1952 and was given a suspended prison sentence and confined to Johannesburg for six months. He wrote the attorneys admission exams during this time of confinement and was admitted to the profession.


Oliver Tambo and Nelson Mandela opened a legal practice in Johannesburg. By the end of 1952, he became a deputy president of the ANC. The government at the time did everything in their power to disperse any “known troublemakers” and tried to enforce the unjust apartheid laws to ensure that Tambo and Mandela could not operate from the hustle and bustle of South Africa’s largest city. They were instructed to move to a deserted place, but the two refused and defied the order.


Nelson Mandela continued the struggle for his people during the fifties and was banned, arrested and imprisoned for his beliefs. After the Sharpeville Massacre in 1960, the ANC was outlawed and Mandela still on trial (the infamous Treason Trial), was detail. The Treason Trial collapsed in 1961 when South Africa became a republic constitution.


The ANC continued to operate, but secretly and Nelson Mandela emerged as the leading figure within the ANC hierarchy. He was forced to live apart from his family - his wife, Winnie and their children - and had to be constantly on the move to evade the police as they continued to track him. It was during this time that he earned the title of “The Black Pimpernel” as he adopted many disguises to escape the clutches of the police. In June 1961, the military wing of the ANC, Umkhonto we Sizwe (spearhead of the nation) was formed with Nelson Mandela as it’s commander-in-chief. The ANC had come to realise that time for peace talks and preaching non-violence was getting them nowhere.


IN 1962, Nelson Mandela travelled to Ethiopia (unlawfully, as he was not permitted to travel outside of certain areas within South Africa) and formed long lasting friendships with senior political leaders in several countries. He also arranged for guerrilla training for the members of Umkhonto we Sizwe. On his return to South Africa, he was arrested and charged will illegal exit from the country. He conducted his own defence. He was convicted and sentenced to five years of imprisonment. During this time he was charged, in the Rivonia Trial, with sabotage.

He ended his statement from the docks of the Rivonia trial with the following words:“I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die."


He was sentenced to life imprisonment and was sent to the then notorious Robben Island Prison, a maximum security prison on a small island near Cape Town. He was transferred to Pollsmoor Prison in 1984 and in 1988, was transferred to the Victor Verster Prison. He was released on 11 February 1990 to the sheer delight of millions of people.


During his years in prison, he rejected offers made to him to reduce his prison sentence in return for his accepting the apartheid policy and agreeing to settle in the Transkei. He never gave up his ideals and remained an icon for those fighting against racial domination the world over. In South Africa any referenece to the ANC and Nelson Mandela was banned and if any South Africans were caught talking about him, they were jailed for treason. For years, many people did not even know about his existence. Newspapers were not allowed to print anything remotely connected to Nelson Mandela and many saw what he looked like for the first time when he was released from prison in 1990.


In 1991, he was elected President of the ANC and his friend, Oliver Tambo became the ANC’s National Chairperson. In 1993, he deservedly accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of all South Africans who had suffered in the struggle to bring peace to his country.

He continued to fight, peacefully, for his ideals and in 1994, the ANC won the first ever democratic election by a landslide.


This man, this Nelson Mandela is a hero to the people of South Africa - not only to the very people that he fought for, but also to the people whose eyes were blinded by the apartheid era. Nelson shocked them by adopting a reconciliatory air and forgaving many sins. He even took time to visit the widow of Hendriek Verwoerd, an ex-President of South Africa and one of the main perpetrators of apartheid.


On the downside, his marriage to Winnie Mandela resumed after his release, but could not survive the many years of separation. They divorced during his term of office as President of South Africa. He married the enigmatic Graca Machel, a widow of Samora Machel, on his birthday in 1998. Their marriage was a private affair- although there was much media speculation about the possibility of a wedding. That evening, at a public function to celebrate his birthday, Nelson Mandela, to the delight of the audience, introduced his new bride.

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14th Dalai Lama

A Brief Biography

His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, is both the head of state and the spiritual leader of Tibet. He was born on 6 July 1935, to a farming family, in a small hamlet located in Taktser, Amdo, northeastern Tibet.  At the age of two the child, who was named Lhamo Dhondup at that time was recognized as the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama, Thubten Gyatso.  The Dalai Lamas are believed to be manifestations of Avalokiteshvara or Chenrezig, the Bodhisattva of Compassion and patron saint of Tibet.  Bodhisattvas are enlightened beings who have postponed their own nirvana and chosen to take rebirth in order to serve humanity.

Education in Tibet
His Holiness began his monastic education at the age of six.  The curriculum consisted of five major and five minor subjects.  The major subjects were logic, Tibetan art and culture, Sanskrit, medicine, and Buddhist philosophy which was further divided into a further five categories: Prajnaparimita, the perfection of wisdom; Madhyamika, the philosophy of the middle Way; Vinaya, the canon of monastic discipline; Abidharma, metaphysics; and Pramana, logic and epistemology.  The five minor subjects were poetry, music and drama, astrology, motre and phrasing, and synonyms.  At 23 he sat for his final examination in the Jokhang Temple, Lhasa, during the annual Monlam (prayer) Festival in 1959.  He passed with honours and was awarded the Geshe Lharampa degree, the highest-level degree equivalent to a doctorate of Buddhist philosophy. Leadership Responsibilities

In 1950 His Holiness was called upon to assume full political power after China's invasion of Tibet in 1949.  In 1954, he went to Beijing for peace talks with Mao Zedong and other Chinese leaders, including Deng Xiaoping and Chou Enlai.  But finally, in 1959, with the brutal suppression of the Tibetan national uprising in Lhasa by Chinese troops, His Holiness was forced to escape into exile.  Since then he has been living in Dharamsala, northern India, the seat of the Tibetan political administration in exile.

Since the Chinese invasion, His Holiness has appealed to the United Nations on the question of Tibet. The General Assembly adopted three resolutions on Tibet in 1959, 1961 and 1965.

Democratisation Process
In 1963 His Holiness presented a draft democratic constitution for Tibet that was followed by a number of reforms to democratise our administrative set-up.  The new democratic constitution promulgated as a result of this reform was named "The Charter of Tibetans in Exile".  The charter enshrines freedom of speech, belief, assembly and movement.  It also provides detailed guidelines on the functioning of the Tibetan government with respect to those living in exile.

In 1992 His Holiness issued guidelines for the constitution of a future, free Tibet.  He announced that when Tibet becomes free the immediate task would be to set up an interim government whose first responsibility will be to elect a constitutional assembly to frame and adopt Tibet's democratic constitution.  On that day His Holiness would transfer all his historical and political authority to the Interim President and live as an ordinary citizen.  His Holiness also stated that he hoped that Tibet, comprising of the three traditional provinces of U-Tsang, Amdo and Kham, would be federal and democratic.

In May 1990, the reforms called for by His Holiness saw the realisation of a truly democratic administration in exile for the Tibetan community.  The Tibetan Cabinet (Kashag), which till then had been appointed by His Holiness, was dissolved along with the Tenth Assembly of Tibetan People's Deputies (Tibetan parliament in exile).  In the same year, exile Tibetans on the Indian sub-continent and in more than 33 other countries elected 46 members to the expanded Eleventh Tibetan Assembly on a one-man one-vote basis.  The Assembly, in its turn, elected the new members of the cabinet.  In September 2001, a further major step in democratisation was taken when the Tibetan electorate directly elected the Kalon Tripa, the senior-most minister of the Cabinet.  The Kalon Tripa in turn appointed his own cabinet who had to be approved by the Tibetan Assembly.  In Tibet's long history, this was the first time that the people elected the political leadership of Tibet.

Peace Initiatives
In September 1987 His Holiness proposed the Five Point Peace Plan for Tibet as the first step towards a peaceful solution to the worsening situation in Tibet.  He envisaged that Tibet would become a sanctuary; a zone of peace at the heart of Asia, where all sentient beings can exist in harmony and the delicate environment can be preserved. China has so far failed to respond positively to the various peace proposals put forward by His Holiness

The Five Point Peace Plan
In his address to members of the United States Congress in Washington, D.C. on 21 September 1987, His Holiness proposed the following peace plan, which contains five basic components: 

1. Transformation of the whole of Tibet into a zone of peace.
2. Abandonment of China's population transfer policy that threatens the very existence of the Tibetans as a people.
3. Respect for the Tibetan people's fundamental human rights and democratic freedoms.
4. Restoration and protection of Tibet's natural environment and the abandonment of China's use of Tibet for the production of nuclear weapons and dumping of nuclear waste.
5. Commencement of earnest negotiations on the future status of Tibet and of relations between the Tibetan and Chinese peoples.

Strasbourg Proposal
In his address to members of the European Parliament in Strasbourg on 15 June 1988, His Holiness made another detailed proposal elaborating on the last point of the Five Point Peace Plan.  He proposed talks between the Chinese and Tibetans leading to a self-governing democratic political entity for all three provinces of Tibet.  This entity would be in association with the People's Republic of China and the Chinese Government would continue to remain responsible for Tibet's foreign policy and defence. 

Universal Recognition
His Holiness the Dalai Lama is a man of peace.  In 1989 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his non-violent struggle for the liberation of Tibet.  He has consistently advocated policies of non-violence, even in the face of extreme aggression. He also became the first Nobel Laureate to be recognized for his concern for global environmental problems.

His Holiness has travelled to more than 62 countries spanning 6 continents.  He has met with presidents, prime ministers and crowned rulers of major nations.  He has held dialogues with the heads of different religions and many well-known scientists.

Since 1959 His Holiness has received over 84 awards, honorary doctorates, prizes, etc., in recognition of his message of peace, non-violence, inter-religious understanding, universal responsibility and compassion.  His Holiness has also authored more than 72 books.

His Holiness describes himself as a simple Buddhist monk.

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Shaheed Bhagat Singh

Born: September 27, 1907Martyrdom: March 23, 1931Achievements: Gave a new direction to revolutionary movement in India, formed 'Naujavan Bharat Sabha' to spread the message of revolution in Punjab, formed 'Hindustan Samajvadi Prajatantra Sangha' along with Chandrasekhar Azad to establish a republic in India, assassinated police official Saunders to avenge the death of Lala Lajpat Rai, dropped bomb in Central Legislative Assembly along with Batukeshwar Dutt.

Bhagat Singh was one of the most prominent faces of Indian freedom struggle. He was a revolutionary ahead of his times. By Revolution he meant that the present order of things, which is based on manifest injustice must change. Bhagat Singh studied the European revolutionary movement and was greatly attracted towards socialism. He realised that the overthrow of British rule should be accompanied by the socialist reconstruction of Indian society and for this political power must be seized by the workers.

Though portrayed as a terrorist by the British, Sardar Bhagat Singh was critical of the individual terrorism which was prevalent among the revolutionary youth of his time and called for mass mobilization. Bhagat Singh gave a new direction to the revolutionary movement in India. He differed from his predecessors on two counts. Firstly, he accepted the logic of atheism and publicly proclaimed it. Secondly, until then revolutionaries had no conception of post-independence society. Their immediate goal was destruction of the British Empire and they had no inclination to work out a political alternative. Bhagat Singh, because of his interest in studying and his keen sense of history gave revolutionary movement a goal beyond the elimination of the British. A clarity of vision and determination of purpose distinguished Bhagat Singh from other leaders of the National Movement. He emerged as the only alternative to Gandhi and the Indian National Congress, especially for the youth.

Bhagat Singh was born in a Sikh family in village Banga in Layalpur district of Punjab (now in Pakistan). He was the third son of Sardar Kishan Singh and Vidyavati. Bhagat Singh's family was actively involved in freedom struggle. His father Kishan Singh and uncle Ajit Singh were members of Ghadr Party founded in the U.S to oust British rule from India. Family atmosphere had a great effect on the mind of young Bhagat Singh and patriotism flowed in his veins from childhood.

While studying at the local D.A.V. School in Lahore, in 1916, young Bhagat Singh came into contact with some well-known political leaders like Lala Lajpat Rai and Ras Bihari Bose. Punjab was politically very charged in those days. In 1919, when Jalianwala Bagh massacre took place, Bhagat Singh was only 12 years old. The massacre deeply disturbed him. On the next day of massacre Bhagat Singh went to Jalianwala Bagh and collected soil from the spot and kept it as a memento for the rest of his life. The massacre strengthened his resolve to drive British out from India.

In response to Mahatma Gandhi's call for non-cooperation against British rule in 1921, Bhagat Singh left his school and actively participated in the movement. In 1922, when Mahatma Gandhi suspended Non-cooperation movement against violence at Chauri-chaura in Gorakhpur, Bhagat was greatly disappointed. His faith in non violence weakened and he came to the conclusion that armed revolution was the only practical way of winning freedom. To continue his studies, Bhagat Singh joined the National College in Lahore, founded by Lala Lajpat Rai. At this college, which was a centre of revolutionary activities, he came into contact with revolutionaries such as Bhagwati Charan, Sukhdev and others.

To avoid early marriage, Bhagat Singh ran away from home and went to Kanpur. Here, he came into contact with a revolutionary named Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi, and learnt his first lessons as revolutionary. On hearing that his grandmother was ill, Bhagat Singh returned home. He continued his revolutionary activities from his village. He went to Lahore and formed a union of revolutionaries by name 'Naujavan Bharat Sabha'. He started spreading the message of revolution in Punjab. In 1928 he attended a meeting of revolutionaries in Delhi and came into contact with Chandrasekhar Azad. The two formed 'Hindustan Samajvadi Prajatantra Sangha'. Its aim was to establish a republic in India by means of an armed revolution.

In February 1928, a committee from England, called Simon Commission visited India. The purpose of its visit was to decide how much freedom and responsibility could be given to the people of India. But there was no Indian on the committee. This angered Indians and they decided to boycott Simon Commission. While protesting against Simon Commission in Lahore, Lala Lajpat Rai was brutally Lathicharged and later on succumbed to injuries. Bhagat Singh was determined to avenge Lajpat Rai's death by shooting the British official responsible for the killing, Deputy Inspector General Scott. He shot down Assistant Superintendent Saunders instead, mistaking him for Scott. Bhagat Singh had to flee from Lahore to escape death punishment.

Instead of finding the root cause of discontent of Indians, the British government took to more repressive measures. Under the Defense of India Act, it gave more power to the police to arrest persons to stop processions with suspicious movements and actions. The Act brought in the Central Legislative Assembly was defeated by one vote. Even then it was to be passed in the form of an ordinance in the "interest of the public." Bhagat Singh who was in hiding all this while, volunteered to throw a bomb in the Central Legislative Assembly where the meeting to pass the ordinance was being held. It was a carefully laid out plot, not to cause death or injury but to draw the attention of the government, that the modes of its suppression could no more be tolerated. It was decided that Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt would court arrest after throwing the bomb.

On April 8, 1929 Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt threw bombs in the Central Assembly Hall while the Assembly was in session. The bombs did not hurt anyone. After throwing the bombs, Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt, deliberately courted arrest by refusing to run away from the scene. During his trial, Bhagat Singh refused to employ any defence counsel. In jail, he went on hunger strike to protest the inhuman treatment of fellow-political prisoners by jail authorities. On October 7, 1930 Bhagat Singh, Sukh Dev and Raj Guru were awarded death sentence by a special tribunal. Despite great popular pressure and numerous appeals by political leaders of India, Bhagat Singh and his associates were hanged in the early hours of March 23, 1931.

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Indira Gandhi

Born: November 19, 1917Martyrdom: October 31, 1984Achievements: Became President of Indian National Congress in 1959; was Minister of Information and Broadcasting in Lal Bahadur Shastri's government; became Prime Minister in 1966; nationalized major banks in 1969; gave the slogan of Garibi Hatao during 1971 general elections; led India to a decisive war against Pakistan in 1971.

Indira Gandhi, one of the best-known women of the 20th century, was Prime Minister of India, and daughter of former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. Also known as Indira Nehru Gandhi, she was born on November 19, 1917 in Allahabad. She was born in a family that was at the centre of Indian freedom movement. Her father Jawaharlal Nehru and grandfather Motilal Nehru were at the forefront of Indian freedom struggle. Her mother Kamla Nehru, although less involved politically, was subject to political arrest by the British. Indira Gandhi had a lonely childhood, with some of her most vivid remembrances being the entry into her home of British policemen. As her parents did not want to send her to any of the British schools in India, Indira Gandhi's education took place at a series of Indian schools and at non-British schools in Europe, with a number of private tutorials interspersed between periods at school.

Indira Gandhi married a Parsi named Feroze Gandhi in 1942. The marriage was opposed by orthodox Hindus because it was an intercommunal love marriage not arranged by her parents. Jawaharlal Nehru too opposed the marriage on grounds that the couple were somewhat incompatible because both possessed fiery tempers. Publicly, however, both Jawaharlal Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi strenuously defended the marriage. Shortly after their marriage both Indira Gandhi and Feroze Gandhi were arrested and jailed for nationalist activities. Indira Gandhi was released after eight months and Feroze Gandhi after an year. After the release Feroze Gandhi became editor of The National Herald, a newspaper founded by Jawaharlal Nehru, and Mrs. Indira Gandhi became the principal confidant and assistant of her father during the period of Nehru's prime ministership (1947-1965). The couple separated for a number of years during the 1950s as Feroze Gandhi launched his own political career in Parliament and was often at odds with Jawaharlal Nehru's policies and style. In 1959 Indira Gandhi became President of the Indian National Congress and in 1964 she was elected to the parliament. Meanwhile, the death of Feroze Gandhi (from a heart attack) in 1960, and the subsequent death of her father in 1964, caused Indira Gandhi to withdraw into a shell and limit herself to her immediate family.

After the death of Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri became Prime Minister and Indira Gandhi was the minister of Information and Broadcasting in his government. After Lal Bahadur Shastri's untimely death in 1966, she was selected as prime minister by party bosses within the Congress Party as a compromise candidate. Her candidature was opposed by Morarji Desai, a veteran nationalist and prime ministerial aspirant himself. The Congress bosses were apparently looking for a leading figure acceptable to the masses, who could not only command general support during the next general election but who would also acquiesce to their guidance. In her initial days as Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi encountered numerous problems such as Mizo tribal uprisings in the northeast; famine, labour unrest,and misery among the poor in the wake of rupee devaluation; and agitation in Punjab for linguistic and religious separatism.

In the fourth general elections held in 1967, Congress suffered a major setback. Congress majority was greatly reduced in parliament and non-Congress ministries were established in Bihar, Kerala, Orissa, Madras, Punjab, and West Bengal. This forced Mrs. Indira Gandhi to become assertive and opt for a series of choices that pitted her directly against the Congress Party high command, which had previously been built up by her father. Seeking to eradicate poverty, Mrs. Gandhi pursued a vigorous policy in 1969 of land reform and placed a ceiling on personal income, private property, and corporate profits. She also nationalized the major banks, a bold step amidst a growing rift between herself and the party elders. The Congress expelled her for "indiscipline" on November 12, 1969, an action that split the party into two factions: the Congress (O)-for Organisation-led by Morarji Desai, and the Congress (I)--for Indira-led by Indira Gandhi.

Indira Gandhi campaigned fiercely on the slogan of "Garibi Hatao" (eliminate poverty) during the fifth general elections in March 1971 and won an unprecedented two-third majority. Her leadership qualities came to the fore during India-Pakistan war in 1971 that resulted in liberation of Bangladesh. India achieved decisive victory over Pakistan in the face of diplomatic opposition from both China and the United States and a lack of international support from almost every other nation except the Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc countries. Indian victory over Pakistan led to a great surge in Indira Gandhi's popularity and she was compared to Goddess Durga by ordinary Indians.

Expectations raised by the garibi hatao campaign and India's victory over Pakistan in 1971 led to great disappointment and political difficulties in the mid-1970s. Enormous economic cost of 1971 war, increase in world oil prices and, drop in industrial output added to the economic hardships. During this time J.P.Narayan initiated a civil disobedience movement against Indira Gandhi. In June 1975, amidst all this crises Allahabad High Court invalidated her 1971 election on the grounds of electoral malpractices. Instead of resigning, Indira Gandhi declared an Emergency in the country and jailed al her political opponents. The Emergency lasted till March 1977 and in the general election held afterwards she was defeated by a coalition of parties called Janta Morcha.

Factionalism among coalition partners led to the collapse of Janta government and Indira Gandhi came back to the power once again in 1980. But her second innings was beset with difficulties and personal tragedies. Her younger son Sanjay Gandhi died in an air crash. Her government was confronted with serious challenges to its ability to maintain law and order as conflicts between religious and ethnic groups broke out in different parts of the country. After the army had invaded the Golden Temple in Amritsar, the chief shrine of the Sikhs, which had been held as an armed camp by a group of militant Sikhs, she became the target for Sikh anger and on 31 October 1984 she was assassinated by her own Sikh bodyguard.

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