Madiba's Rainbow nation policy

The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.

-          Mahatma Gandhi

During the bloody partition, Gandhi advocated forgiveness policy to Indians to save lives from Hindu/Sikhs-Muslim riots. With recent riots in UP, it appears that bitter rivalry between the communities still exists in patches and Indians haven’t accepted fully what Gandhi preached them long back. People of South Africa too exposed to same ‘1947’ situation in 1994 when the Apartheid regime ended. When Mandela was released in 1992, country was in bad shape. Power struggle within African National Congress was visible on the streets of Durban with unabated violent incidents. Sensing the loopholes, apartheid nationalists secretly armed the trouble mongers with guns and money. With the country spiraling into civil war, Mandela gave a pacification speech in front of agitated 100,000 ANC supporters.

“Take your knives, and your guns  ... and your pangas.

… and throw them into sea”

After massive win of ANC in 1994, Whites feared a lot believing the blacks may be in retributive mood to avenge the sufferings they consumed during apartheid rule. Under Apartheid regime, blacks were superimposed with separateness policy. Education, healthcare, public transportation, even voting right appeared taboo for them. With land acquisition policy start happening in countries like Zimbabwe, Angola, Mozambique, whites argued among themselves that they too will get same treatment.  But with election of Mandela as president, has saved the whites and the new concept called “Rainbow Nation “ had been introduced to fellow South Africans. Mandela himself an Enthusiastic follower of Gandhi, taught the beautiful topic of forgiveness and reconciliation to blacks. The racial bloodbath feared by many had been averted with this concept.

In his first speech as president, below were the words from him in building a nation which was racially disturbed for decades.

"We enter into a covenant that we shall build the society in which all South Africans, both black and white - will be able to walk tall. A Rainbow Nation at peace with itself and the world."

With fellow blacks, questioning Mandela that “How to reconcile with same persons who beaten them, tortured them, grabbed their fundamental rights?”.Mandela replied that

 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.

Following the footsteps of ‘Abraham Lincoln’, Mandela concentrated more on reconciliation policy than on nation’s crime control,currency crisis issues at that time. Two of his finest moments as a reconciler came when he had tea with the widow of apartheid architect Hendrik Verwoerd and when he donned the Springbok rugby jersey to congratulate the mainly white team's victory in the 1995 Rugby World Cup.

In reality after nearly two decades from independence, blacks haven’t achieved the socio-economic status to the expected extent. Yet white South Africans, who account for 8.7 percent of the population of 53 million, on average earn six times more than their black counterparts and still have access to better education, medical care and housing. Still whites own the land farms and blacks work in these farms with very less wages. With death of Mandela, few white scaremongers started to believe that whites will be threatened, rainbow nation policy will be nullified and nation would be returned to dogs. 

Though “rainbow nation” is far from complete, with opportunities for the black majority still limited,  people of south Africa had defied the stereotypes, negative expectations by gradually built their nation in last few decades. With every passing years, generations among whites and blacks are coming closer and closer. It is heartening to see blacks and whites have been singing and dancing together in honor of Mandela in Pretoria streets, which is never seen two decades back. Lets hope that the nation will set example for the people of other nations about reconciliation after decades of conflict.

Remembering the wonderful words of Mandela 

Never, never and never again shall it be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by another and suffer the indignity of being the skunk of the world.