'Demands unmet' Gen Z's lightning revolt gives way to frustration in Nepal

Prakash Bohora was one of the first of Nepal's gen Z protesters to feel the pain of a police bullet. Like thousands of young people, he had taken to the streets of the capital last month to protest against corruption and a social media ban.

- Gaurav Pokharel Kathmandu Hannah Ellis-Petersen Delhi

He had no idea that day in Kathmandu that the protest would escalate into what is now called Nepal's gen Z revolution, which led to the toppling of the government within a day, the dissolution of parliament and a new interim prime minister, the anti-corruption hardliner Sushila Karki, within a week.

Bohora was outside the parliament building in Kathmandu on the morning of 8 September when he heard the sound of gunfire and felt pain in his left leg. As his friend carried him to hospital, his bloodied trainer was left behind. A photograph of the shoe later went viral, a symbol of the deadliest day of protest in Nepal's history, with 19 protesters killed.

One month on, Bohora is still in hospital as doctors fight to save his leg. Sitting in the trauma ward, he expressed frustration at what he saw as the slow pace of reform for Nepal since the uprising, for which he has paid a heavy price. He was among those calling for the former prime minister KP Sharma Oli and former home minister Ramesh Lekhak to be arrested for corruption and their role in the police shooting of protesters. "It's been a month since the movement began, yet many of our demands remain unmet," said Bohora.

Like many young people in Nepal, Bohora was driven to protest by anger at a system that seemed to be making the politicians and their children wildly rich, while he faced unemployment and exploitation.