Democratic Constitution in South Africa - Concepts - Chapter 2 Class 9 Political Science - Constitutional Design - Political Science

• Nelson Mandela was tried for treason against the white South African government .
• In 1964, he along with seven other leaders was sentenced to life imprisonment for daring to oppose the apartheid regime in his country.
• He spent 28 years of his life in Robben Island , South Africa's most notorious jail .

Struggle against apartheid

• Apartheid was the system of racial discrimination in South Africa imposed by white Europeans .
• During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the trading companies from Europe occupied South Africa with arms and force , in the way they occupied India.
• But unlike India, many “whites” settled in South Africa and became local rulers .
• This system of apartheid divided people and labelled them based on their skin colour .
• The native people of South Africa were black and were three-fourths of the total population and were called “ blacks ” .
• There were people of mixed races too who were called “ coloured ” and people who migrated from India .
• The white rulers treated all non-whites as inferiors . The non-white did not have voting rights .
• Apartheid was especially oppressive for blacks .
• They were prohibited from living in white areas .
• They were allowed to work in white areas only if they have permits .

• Trains , buses, taxis, hotels , hospitals, schools and colleges , libraries, cinema halls , theatres, beaches , swimming pools, and public toilets were all separate for whites and blacks . This was called segregation .
• They were not allowed to enter the churches where white people worshipped .
• Blacks were not allowed to create associations or protest against the terrible treatment .
• Since 1950 , many blacks , coloured and Indians have fought against the apartheid system .
• They launched protest marches and strikes .
• African National Congress (ANC) became the umbrella organisation that led the struggles against segregation policies .
• This included workers' unions and the communist party .
• Many sensitive whites joined the ANC to oppose the apartheid and played a leading role in this struggle .
• Several countries denounced the apartheid system as racist and unjust but the white government continued to rule by detaining , torturing and killing thousands of black and coloured people .

Towards a new Constitution,

• As the protests and struggles increased , the government realised that they could no longer keep the blacks under their rule through repression , so they changed their policies .
• As a result, discriminatory laws were repealed , and bans on political parties and restrictions were lifted .
• After 28 years of imprisonment , Nelson Mandela walked out of the prison as a free man .
• On 26 April 1994 midnight , the new national flag of the Republic of South Africa was unfurled marking the newly born democracy in the world.
• As a result, the apartheid government came to an end , paving the way for a multi-racial government .
• After the emergence of the new democratic South Africa , the black leaders appealed to fellow blacks to forgive whites for the atrocities that they committed while in power .
• They wanted to build a new South Africa based on equality of all races and men and women , democratic values , social justice and human rights .
• The party that ruled through oppression and brutal killings and the party that led the freedom struggle sat together to create a common constitution .
• After two years of discussion and debate, they came out with the finest constitution in the world.
• Their constitution gave the most extensive rights to its citizens , available in any country.
• They together decided that in search of a solution to the problem , no one should be excluded or treated as a demon .
• They agreed that everyone should become part of the solution , doesn’t matter what they have represented or have done in the past .
• The Preamble of the South African Constitution sums up this spirit .

• The South African Constitution inspires democrats from all over the world .
• A state condemned by the entire world till 1994 as the most undemocratic state is now seen as the model of democracy .
• This change was made possible because of the determination of the people of South Africa to work together to transform bitter experiences into the binding glue of a rainbow nation .