Prakash Bohra from Dailekh, who had gone to Russia looking for work after paying a consultancy of Rs 1 million, joined the Russia-Ukraine war for 18 months. He returned to Nepal after his son was born, but due to unemployment, he thought of going abroad again. He came to Kathmandu last Bhadra, intending to go to Qatar.

At that time, the Gen-G movement took place. Prakash, who was participating in the movement, was shot, and his white shoes, stained with blood, were lying on the street. A picture of the shoes had broken the hearts of the countrymen. After five months of treatment, he was recently 'discharged'. An edited excerpt of the feelings expressed by the same Prakash at the 'Kantipur Conclave 2026' that began on Monday:

I, Prakash Bohara, grew up in an ordinary village in Dailekh Narayan Municipality-8 of Karnali Province. Despite the mountainous geography, our place is connected to the Terai. My childhood was spent in the village. At home, there are father, mother, brother, sister-in-law, wife and a 19-month-old son. The story I am trying to tell today is not just about a shoe, it is also the story of misrule, unemployment and the helplessness of the state that my generation is currently experiencing.

Since childhood, I was more interested in becoming an 'army' than in studies. My dream was to join the Indian Army and raise a family. My father wanted me to become a general practitioner (health assistant). To please my father, I finished school from Dailekh and moved to Nepalgunj. My financial situation was not good. However, in 2073 BS, I completed my ‘HA’.

In the midst of my studies, I also tried to get recruited into the Indian Army, but failed. At that time, I got a big shock. I did not pay much attention to my studies. I had to study four subjects in the first year and three in the second year. But when the door to join the army was closed, I realized that my last option was now studies. When I reached the final year, I passed the exams in 14 subjects at once. I was the hope and trust of my family. Even being the youngest son, everyone had expectations from me. 

In 2074 BS, I came to Kathmandu for the first time with a big dream. I started preparing for the public service but my name did not come out. Then there was talk of health adjustment. But for three years, no advertisement for public service was published in the health sector. In the meantime, I got a job in some projects. Then two years were eaten by Covid. The speed at which I was trying to run to do something, five years of my life were wasted due to the weakness of the state. I was confused. My path was blocked.

I worked on a contract in Dailekh prison for some time, but when a permanent employee came there too, I was fired. Then I felt that there was no point in staying in this country anymore. I decided to go abroad.

At that time, a war was going on between Russia and Ukraine. I had an old desire to join the army again. I did a lot of research on YouTube and social media. I also heard about how many Nepalis had died in the war or been taken hostage, but my situation forced me to go there. Without telling anyone at home, I paid 1 million rupees for a 'student visa' and reached Russia. Even the consultancy did not know that I was going to join the army in Russia. It took me three months to reach Russia.

Within five days of reaching Russia, I reached the recruitment center and joined the army. After just seven days of training, I was sent to the Russian-Ukrainian border. There I learned to shoot, attack bunkers, and dodge grenades. We, a team of 300, traveled deep into Ukraine for 18 hours.

The 18 months there were the most terrifying times of my life. I saw my friends die before my eyes. Missiles were flying overhead. Some friends would message me on WhatsApp, ‘I’m going to the frontline, it’s okay if I come back, otherwise let me know at home.’ When a team of 30 people went to the frontline, only 5-10 people would return after 10-15 days. Many Nepalis have died. My friends too.

I watched death closely every day and night for 18 months. But surprisingly, I didn’t lose a single nail during my 18 months in the world’s largest battlefield, I didn’t feel even a single flaw.

My son was born in Nepal while I was at war. After seeing my son's face, I wanted to return home as soon as possible. I returned to Nepal from Russia with honor after 18 months. After coming to Nepal, I stayed in Dailekh for some time, but was unemployed again! Since nothing would happen in Nepal, I started worrying about where to go again. Some of my friends had become Qatari police. Then I came to Kathmandu to join the Qatari police.

While I was arranging documents in Kathmandu, I saw videos of the Gen-G movement on TikTok. At first, I didn't understand, but when I looked at it later, I felt that this was the fight of my generation. Who called me to the movement? Who is the leader? I didn't know anything. However, I knew that our previous generation did not speak out, so we must speak out against this misrule and corruption. I reached Maitighar on 23 Bhadau so that my son and the coming generation would have an environment to live in this country.

On the morning of 23 Bhadau, I reached Maitighar from Baneshwor with my brother-in-law Biplav Thapa. From Maitighar, we headed towards Baneshwor in a large group. We had taken to the streets to ask the government some questions. I thought that in our own country, people don't get shot when they ask questions. But, just before Baneshwor Chowk, when we reached the Parliament building, I was suddenly shot in the left leg.

As soon as I was shot, I fell to the ground. In those two-three seconds, I looked at my leg, it was already damaged. I fell down saying, "Oh my God!" At that moment, I knew that I had been shot. I saw that my leg was swollen as soon as I was shot. My leg was in a state of paralysis. I was rescued quickly. My shoes were completely covered in blood. While putting me in the ambulance, my friends took off the white shoes covered in blood and threw them there. I had bought those shoes for 1500 rupees in a shop in Nepalgunj some time ago. I really liked those shoes, but those shoes later became a symbol of the movement.

I was taken to the National Trauma Center. The situation there was even more terrible. Some were shot somewhere, some were shot somewhere, the beds were all full. I had a 12-hour long operation and I regained consciousness after about 24-26 hours.

When I regained consciousness, the nurse in the ICU read me the Prime Minister's (Sushila Karki) statement. She had called it a 'mass murder' and demanded action against the culprits. My body shuddered when I heard that. We had high hopes that something would change now, but this government could not fulfill that expectation. 76 friends lost their lives, more than 2600 were injured. I, a person who had returned safely from that war in Russia, had to be shot by the state while asking questions on the street against misrule and corruption in my own country.