As the protesters’ chosen interim prime minister took over on Saturday, the families of those slain in Nepal’s anti-corruption protests expressed their hope that the deaths would not be in vain.
At least 51 people were killed in two days of pandemonium this week, including 30-year-old Santosh Bishwakarma. This was the greatest upheaval since the end of a ten-year civil war and the fall of the monarchy in 2008.
Amika, his widow, who is also thirty, recalled his “ultimate dream” to “die having contributed to the nation” with tearful eyes.
During Monday’s initial protest wave, which was spearheaded by the youth-led “Gen Z” movement, Santosh was shot dead.