Mandela Day is a tribute not just to Nelson Mandela’s life, but to the enduring ideals he championed
Nelson Mandela, the South African leader, has a lot in common with Mahatma Gandhi. Both fought against the tyranny of the racial superiority propagated by the Whites, but still had a benevolent and non-violent approach towards the perpetrators and yet found their way to liberty and freedom. In India, Mandela has long been revered as a “Gandhi of Africa”, and rightly so, for he was inspired by Gandhi and his approach was akin to Gandhi.
Every year on July 18, the world celebrates Nelson Mandela International Day, not just to honour the life of South Africa’s first Black president, but to carry forward the ideals he stood for — freedom, equality, reconciliation, and justice. As the world grapples with deepening divisions, political extremism, and social injustice, Mandela’s life and message feel more relevant than ever. What’s less known, but deeply significant, is how Mahatma Gandhi’s philosophy of non-violence profoundly shaped Mandela’s moral and political compass — linking two of the greatest icons of the 20th century across continents and struggles. Mandela in Today’s Fractured World In an era marked by rising authoritarianism, racial injustice, refugee crises and cultural polarisation, Mandela’s example offers more than historical inspiration — it offers a blueprint for healing. He led South Africa through its darkest chapters of apartheid, not with revenge, but with restraint, vision and moral courage. Today, as democracies fray at the edges and social trust is eroded, Mandela’s approach — deep listening, bridge-building, and holding firm to human dignity — remains not just admirable, but urgently necessary. His legacy teaches us that true leadership is not about dominance, but about dialogue; not about personal power, but about collective freedom. Mandela Day isn’t just a celebration. It’s a call to action.
The United Nations has designated it as a day for people to spend 67 minutes in service of others — each minute representing a year of Mandela’s public service. It reminds us that every citizen has the power to uplift, to dismantle systems of inequality and to participate in the unfinished work of justice. The Gandhian Thread in Mandela’s Mind Although separated by geography and time, Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela were united by purpose and history. Gandhi’s early political life was forged in South Africa, where he spent 21 formative years fighting racial discrimination through Satyagraha (truth-force), the philosophy of non-violent resistance.
Decades later, Mandela, facing the brutal apartheid regime, drew deeply from Gandhi’s teachings. Mandela saw in Gandhi not just a fellow freedom fighter, but a moral architect — one who taught the world that power need not be violent and that resistance can be rooted in love. Even though the African National Congress (ANC), under Mandela, eventually took up armed resistance after years of peaceful protest were met with state violence, the spirit of reconciliation, dignity and non-retaliation that Gandhi championed remained central to Mandela’s worldview. Both men believed that real change must begin with the inner transformation of the individual. Both believed in forgiving the oppressor without surrendering the struggle for justice. In this, Mandela mirrored Gandhi’s most enduring legacy — the belief that courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.
