LIWA

Nelson Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom

CBSE Class 10 · English · Chapter 2

Past board exam questions

CBSE 2026 board paper · 5 marks

Read the given extract and answer the questions given below : We have, at last, achieved our political emancipation. We pledge ourselves to liberate all our people from the continuing bondage of poverty, deprivation, suffering, gender and other discrimination. Never, never, and never again shall it be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by another. The sun shall never set on so glorious a human achievement. (Nelson Mandela – Long Walk to Freedom) I. What is the tone Nelson Mandela is UNLIKELY to have used in his speech ? (1) (A) inspirational (B) assertive (C) conflicted (D) direct II. According to Mandela, emancipation is not merely political. Elaborate. (2) III. Fill in the blank with the correct word from the bracket : (1) Mandela’s speech swings between references to the past and a _______ (bleak/promising) future. IV. With reference to the extract explain the sentence, “The sun shall never set on so glorious a human achievement.” (1)

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I. (C) conflicted II. (Any two) For Mandela, freedom does not end with political emancipation. It also means emancipation from poverty and deprivation, freedom from suffering, and freedom from gender and other discrimination – liberating all the people from the continuing bondage of these. III. promising IV. (Any one) It means that this glorious achievement – the installation of a non-racial democratic government – will last forever: South Africa shall never again experience the oppression of one by another, and democracy shall forever prevail.

CBSE 2026 board paper · 5 marks

Read the following extract and answer the questions : Out of the experience of an extraordinary human disaster that lasted too long, must be born a society of which all humanity will be proud. We, who were outlaws not so long ago, have today been given the rare privilege to be host to the nations of the world on our own soil. We thank all of our distinguished international guests for having come to take possession with the people of our country of what is, after all, a common victory for justice, for peace, for human dignity. (Nelson Mandela : Long Walk to Freedom) (i) Which of the following options justifies the statement made by Mandela, “We, who were outlaws …” ? (1) (A) The international leaders who came to attend the ceremony (B) Due to Apartheid, many countries broke diplomatic relations with South Africa (C) The Commonwealth countries and their people (D) The people who fought in the Anglo-Boer War (ii) Complete the sentence appropriately : (1) Mandela thanked all the distinguished international guests because ____________. (iii) In the above lines, Mandela mentions ‘extraordinary human disaster’. What is the significance of this phrase in his speech ? (2) (iv) The tone of Mandela in the above excerpt is : (1) 1. unifying 2. determined 3. aggressive 4. pessimistic 5. hopeless Select the correct option : (A) 1, 2 and 4 (B) 2 and 4 (C) 1 and 2 (D) 4 and 5

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(i) (B) Due to Apartheid, many countries broke diplomatic relations with South Africa (ii) they had come to take possession, with the people of South Africa, of a common victory for justice, peace and human dignity – they had supported the struggle against apartheid and had joined the ceremony. (iii) (Any two) The phrase refers to apartheid, the racial discrimination that lasted too long; the black people suffered oppression and were denied basic rights and freedom; it is an emphatic statement that draws attention to that ‘disaster’, out of which a new society must be born of which all humanity will be proud. (iv) (C) 1 and 2

CBSE 2026 board paper · 5 marks

Read the following extract and answer the questions : We, who were outlaws not so long ago, have today been given the rare privilege to be host to the nations of the world on our own soil. We thank all of our distinguished international guests for having come to take possession with the people of our country of what is, after all, a common victory for justice, for peace, for human dignity. (Nelson Mandela – Long Walk to Freedom) (i) Which one of the following is the main message conveyed by the speaker in the passage ? (1) (A) The country is hosting a sporting event for the first time. (B) Former outlaws have become international criminals. (C) The transformation from oppression to freedom is a shared global victory. (D) Justice has been achieved only for the people of one nation. (ii) What does the phrase “were outlaws not so long ago”, signify with reference to the given context ? Answer in not more than 40 words. (2) (iii) Complete the sentence by choosing the right phrase. (1) Today, we have been granted the _________ (regular obligation / extraordinary honour) of welcoming the nations of the world to our own land. (iv) What does the speaker mean by calling the event “a common victory for justice, for peace, for human dignity” ? (1)

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(i) (C) The transformation from oppression to freedom is a shared global victory. (ii) (Any two) The black people who formed the government on 10 May 1994 were once treated as outlaws/criminals; it highlights their dramatic transformation from being marginalised to being internationally recognised and respected – former ‘outlaws’ are now legitimate leaders shaping a new, inclusive future; many countries had branded South Africa an outlaw for practising apartheid and cut diplomatic ties, but that day they had all gathered to celebrate its freedom from apartheid. (iii) extraordinary honour (iv) (Any one) Freedom from discrimination is an achievement shared by all humanity, not just one …

CBSE 2026 board paper · 5 marks

Read the following extract and answer the questions : It is from these comrades in the struggle that I learned the meaning of courage. Time and again I have seen men and women risk their lives for an idea. I have seen men stand up to attack and torture without breaking, showing a strength and resilience that defies the imagination. I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid but he who conquers that fear. (Nelson Mandela : A Long Walk to Freedom) (i) Who taught the real meaning of courage to Nelson Mandela ? (1) (ii) According to the speaker, the men and women risk and sacrifice their lives for _______. (1) (iii) Choose the most suitable option. (2) What does courage mean to Mandela ? (A) fearlessness (B) patriotism (C) strength (D) diligence (iv) Fill in the blank with the correct word from the bracket. (1) The use of the phrase ‘stand up to attack’ describes the _______ (resilience/resignation) of the people.

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(i) His comrades who were fighting in the freedom struggle. (ii) an idea / freedom (iii) (C) strength (iv) resilience

CBSE 2026 board paper · 3 marks

After achieving political emancipation, what does Mandela want to do in South Africa ? (Nelson Mandela : Long Walk to Freedom) (Answer in about 40-50 words.)

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(Content 2 – any two points; Expression 1) Having achieved political emancipation, Mandela pledged to liberate all South Africans from the continuing bondage of poverty, deprivation, suffering, gender and other discrimination. He wanted to build a non-racial society of equality, justice and human dignity, where Black and White live in harmony with self-respect, and both the oppressed and the oppressor are freed – a nation united through reconciliation and nation building.

CBSE 2026 board paper · 3 marks

Although Mandela cherished the illusion of freedom during his boyhood, when he realized the harsh reality, it ignited the spark for a broader and more meaningful freedom for his people. Justify. (Nelson Mandela : Long Walk to Freedom) (Answer in about 40-50 words.)

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(Content 2 – at least two value points; Expression 1) As a boy, Mandela believed he was born free – free to run in the fields and swim in the stream – as long as he obeyed his father. As a young man he realised this boyhood freedom was an illusion: the harsh reality of racial discrimination denied him and his people the basic, honourable freedoms of dignity, equality and justice. His hunger for his own freedom thus became a greater hunger for the freedom of his people, and later he saw that even the oppressor is imprisoned by hatred and prejudice – freedom became a broader, moral ideal.

CBSE 2026 board paper · 3 marks

Mandela emphasizes the need to liberate the oppressor. Illustrate. (Nelson Mandela : Long Walk to Freedom) (Answer in about 40-50 words.)

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(Content 2 – at least two value points; Expression 1) Mandela says the oppressor must be liberated just as surely as the oppressed. A man who takes away another man’s freedom is a prisoner of hatred, locked behind the bars of prejudice and narrow-mindedness. By denying humanity to others he destroys his own dignity and is never secure. Without the liberation of both, the cycle of hatred continues and neither is truly free.

CBSE 2026 board paper · 3 marks

What are Mandela’s views of freedom as described in his autobiography ? (Answer in about 40-50 words.)

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(Content 2 – any two points; Expression 1) As a child, Mandela thought freedom meant running and playing freely; as a young man, it meant basic rights and dignity, such as earning a living and marrying. Later he realised that both the oppressed and the oppressor are not free. True freedom means equality, justice and human dignity for all, and it is indivisible and collective, not individual.