"I am the First Accused."

I hold a Bachelor's Degree in Arts and practised as an attorney in Johannesburg for a number of years in partnership with Oliver Tambo. I am a convicted prisoner serving five years for leaving the country without a permit and for inciting people to go on strike at the end of May 1961. At the outset, I want to say that the suggestion made by the State in its opening that the struggle in South Africa is under the influence of foreigners or communists is wholly incorrect. I have done whatever I did, both as an individual and as a leader of my people, because of my experience in South Africa and my own proudly felt African background and not because of what any outsider might have said. In my youth in the Transkei I listened to the elders of my tribe telling stories of the old days. Amongst the tales they related to me were those of wars fought by our ancestors in defence of the fatherland. The names of Dingane and Bambata, Hintsa and Makana, Squngthi and Dalasile, Moshoeshoe and Sekhukhuni, were praised as the glory of the entire African nation. I hoped then that life might offer me the opportunity to serve any people and make my own humble contribution to their freedom struggle. This is what has motivated me in all that I have done in relation to the charges made against me in this case. In the statement which I am about to make I shall correct certain false impressions which have been created by the State witnesses. The African National Congress was formed in 1912 to defend the rights of the African people which had been seriously curtailed by the South Africa Act, and which were then being threatened by the Native Land Act. For thirty-seven years that is until 1949 it adhered strictly to a constitutional struggle. It put forward demands and resolutions; it sent delegations to the Government in the belief that African grievances could be settled through peaceful discussion and that Africans could advance gradually to full political rights.

১.

Choose the best answer from alternatives.

(a) Nelson Mandela introduces himself as "the First Accused" mainly to —.
(i) show his academic background (ii) establish his identity before the court (iii) challenge the judge's authority (iv) criticize his co-accused

(b) Mandela mentions his partnership with Oliver Tambo to emphasize —.
(i) his legal success (ii) his connection with foreign influences (iii) his professional work as an attorney (iv) his separation from political activism

(c) Mandela rejects the State's claim that the struggle in South Africa was influenced by —.
(i) tribal leaders (ii) African elders (iii) foreign powers and communists (iv) lawyers and intellectuals

(d) According to Mandela, his actions were motivated mainly by —.
(i) advice from outsiders (ii) personal ambition (iii) his African background and lived experience (iv) economic benefit

(e) The stories Mandela heard in his youth mainly inspired him with —
(i) fear of colonial power (ii) hatred for other races (iii) pride in African resistance and history (iv) interest in military leadership

উত্তর

(a) (ii) establish his identity before the court

(b) (iii) his professional work as an attorney

(c) (iii) foreign powers and communists

(d) (iii) his African background and lived experience

(e) (iii) pride in African resistance and history

"I am the First Accused."

I hold a Bachelor's Degree in Arts and practised as an attorney in Johannesburg for a number of years in partnership with Oliver Tambo. I am a convicted prisoner serving five years for leaving the country without a permit and for inciting people to go on strike at the end of May 1961. At the outset, I want to say that the suggestion made by the State in its opening that the struggle in South Africa is under the influence of foreigners or communists is wholly incorrect. I have done whatever I did, both as an individual and as a leader of my people, because of my experience in South Africa and my own proudly felt African background and not because of what any outsider might have said. In my youth in the Transkei I listened to the elders of my tribe telling stories of the old days. Amongst the tales they related to me were those of wars fought by our ancestors in defence of the fatherland. The names of Dingane and Bambata, Hintsa and Makana, Squngthi and Dalasile, Moshoeshoe and Sekhukhuni, were praised as the glory of the entire African nation. I hoped then that life might offer me the opportunity to serve any people and make my own humble contribution to their freedom struggle. This is what has motivated me in all that I have done in relation to the charges made against me in this case. In the statement which I am about to make I shall correct certain false impressions which have been created by the State witnesses. The African National Congress was formed in 1912 to defend the rights of the African people which had been seriously curtailed by the South Africa Act, and which were then being threatened by the Native Land Act. For thirty-seven years that is until 1949 it adhered strictly to a constitutional struggle. It put forward demands and resolutions; it sent delegations to the Government in the belief that African grievances could be settled through peaceful discussion and that Africans could advance gradually to full political rights.

২. Answer the following questions.
(a) Why does Mandela strongly deny the allegation that foreigners or communists influenced the struggle in South Africa?
(b) How did Mandela's childhood experiences shape his political motivation?
(c) What role did historical African leaders play in Mandela's development of national consciousness?
(d) How does Mandela describe the early approach of the African National Congress to political struggle?
(e) Why does Mandela believe he is justified in the actions related to the charges against him?

উত্তর

(a) He says that his actions arose from his own experience in South Africa and his African background, not from outsiders’ instructions.

(b) In his youth, he heard elders recount how African ancestors fought to defend their homeland. These stories inspired him to serve his people and contribute to their freedom.

(c) The celebrated African leaders gave him examples of resistance and service to the homeland. Their stories helped connect his personal ambitions with the struggle for freedom.

(d) From 1912 to 1949, the ANC followed constitutional methods. It made demands, passed resolutions and sent delegations to the government, hoping that peaceful discussions would lead to full political rights.

(e) He explains that his conduct was motivated by his people’s experience and his wish to contribute to their freedom. He intends to correct the false impressions created by State witnesses.

The orphanage is high in the Carolina mountains. Sometimes in winter the snowdrifts are so deep that the institution is cut off from the village below, from all the world. Fog hides the mountain peaks, the snow swirls down the valleys, and a wind blows so bitterly that the orphanage boys who take the milk twice daily to the baby cottage reach the door with fingers stiff in an agony of numbness. "Or when we carry trays from the cookhouse for the ones that are sick," Jerry said, "we get our faces frostbit, because we can't put our hands over them. I have gloves," he added "Some of the boys don't have any." He liked the late spring, he said. The rhododendron was in bloom, a carpet of color, across the mountain sides, soft as the May winds that stirred the hemlocks. He called it laurel. "It's pretty when the laurel blooms," he said. "Some of it's pink and some of it's white." I was there in the autumn. I wanted quiet, isolation, to do some troublesome writing. I wanted mountain air to blow out the malaria from too long a time in the subtropics. I was homesick too, for the flaming of maples in October, and for corn shocks and pumpkins and black-walnut trees and the lift of hills. I found them all, living in a cabin that belonged to the orphanage, half a mile beyond the orphanage farm. When I took the cabin, I asked for a boy or man to come and chop wood for the fireplace. The first few days were warm, I found what wood I needed about the cabin, no one came, and I forgot the order. I looked up from my typewriter one late afternoon, a little startled. A boy stood at the door, and my pointer dog, my companion, was at his side and had not barked to warn me. The boy was probably twelve years old, but undersized. He wore overalls and a torn shirt, and was barefooted.

৩.

Read the passage carefully and complete the flow chart below showing the condition of the boys in winter. (No. 1 is done for you.)

Box	Content
1	Winter brings extreme cold and deep snow in the mountains
2	______
3	______
4	______
5	______
6	______

উত্তর

Box	Content
1	Winter brings extreme cold and deep snow in the mountains
2	Boys have to take milk twice daily to baby cottage in bitter cold
3	They carry trays from cookhouse for the sick ones
4	Some boys have no gloves to protect their hands
5	Boys get their fingers stiff and numbed
6	They get their faces frostbitten

I could hear very faint voices as if coming from the other side of the world. The time was about 4:00 in the morning and the date September 22, 1961. I was feeling tired and exhausted and was encountering stiff opposition from the strong tide. I looked towards my accompanying motorboat carrying my manager Quazi Mohammad Ali, skipper Len Hutchinson and the official observer, Mr. J. U. Wood. They were all pointing towards the Kent shore. As I looked up, I could see flashes. I realized I was very close to the shore.
I asked what the time was and how far I had still to go. They told me that if I put the last ounce of energy into my swimming. I would set a new world record for France to England swim. This electrified me. The goal for which I had been striving for the past four years could be mine. The aim, which goaded me to swim the Channel six times, each time risking my life and reputation. was so close. Yet it could be far....

৪. Write a summary of the following passage.

উত্তর

Near the end of a difficult Channel swim on 22 September 1961, the exhausted narrator struggles against a strong tide. The accompanying team points towards the Kent shore and explains that a final effort could produce a new France-to-England record. This renews the swimmer’s energy and hope. After four years of effort and repeated crossings, the desired achievement seems very close, although the excerpt does not confirm the final result.

ক্যান্টনমেন্ট পাবলিক স্কুল অ্যান্ড কলেজ, রংপুর ২০২৬

ক্যান্টনমেন্ট পাবলিক স্কুল অ্যান্ড কলেজ, রংপুর ২০২৬ আনলক করো