Speakers were at a loss for words on how to describe Nelson Mandela to future generations during the Nelson Mandela 8th Annual Lecture, held in India, on Friday. 

The lecture was organised by the India International Centre, South African High Commission and the Working Group on Alternative Strategies. The Nelson Mandela International Day 2025 was celebrated under the theme: It’s still in our hands to combat poverty and inequity.

Sedula Mamabolo, Counsellor at the South African High Commission in New Delhi, said the theme is a call to action that reminds us that Mandela’s legacy is not confined to history. 

“It is a living challenge to each one of us. Mandela was not only a statesman but a symbol of ethical resistance. A man who taught us that reconciliation is not weakness but wisdom,” Mamabolo stated. 

Suhas Borker, Convener of the Working Group on Alternative Strategies, said Mandela was a role model for people in India because he was rooted in his actions, character, and impact. Borker said that Mandela’s humility and service-oriented leadership inspired ethical governance

“His perseverance inspires us to face adversity with strength. He was committed to racial equality and justice in his leadership role in dismantling institutionalised racism. He prioritised unity over revenge, establishing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to heal the nation’s wounds,” Borker said. 

Anand Grover, senior advocate at the Supreme Court of India and human rights activist addressed how Mandela viewed violence and whether it was justifiable ethically by the oppressed people of South Africa.

“In India, we’ve had a rich history of how violence has been used and treated, whether it is justified, ethical, or otherwise. Mandela, being a pragmatic politician, used nonviolence as a tactic, not a principle. He was always conscious of what would happen after they succeeded and that is very important because it did not involve loss of life,” Grover said. 

Speaking of Mandela’s imprisonment and the things he had to endure, Grover said: “I want to know whether Indian politicians would ever think of doing it. He was asked to clean the old-style toilets. He was asked to clean the bucket of another prisoner. I challenge you, not one politician in India will do it, whichever party, because of our caste system. It’s a sad reflection but that is the greatness of Mandela,” he said. 

Cedric Crowley, acting High Commissioner for the South African Embassy in India, said that after the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we are now moving backwards.

“The promises of the Sustainable Development Goals, which were a promissory note that no one shall be left behind, that governments will make every effort to ensure that poverty is eradicated, at least half, that there will be health care, that the population, the climate will be taken care of.

“We are reversing those advances we made. What we have decided to do is to increase our defense spending to prepare for war instead of fighting the war against poverty and inequality.  Mandela, today, would have been very disappointed to live in this period in this time where people are oppressed and robbed of their inalienable right to dignity and development,” he added. 

Crowley said that Mohandas Gandhi came to South Africa suffering the same consequences of discriminatory laws, and that propelled him to become an activist. He said Gandhi created a political party and his theories on Satyagraha were developed.

“When he returned to India, our country contributed to your independence because he successfully engaged in liberating India from British colonial oppression. So I think we’ve contributed to India in some small measure because of that experience of injustice,” Crowley said. 

Crowley said he could not answer a student on how do we ensure that there are more Mandela’s in this world and what characteristics should one exhibit, have and possess to become great like him.

“I think if we try to develop theoretical frameworks of understanding Mandela, we will be at a loss because he is too complex. He is too layered as an individual. But there’s one thing I think that could explain it, potentially and that is that Mandela loved deeply,” he lamented. 

zainul.dawood@inl.co.za

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