Gen Z movement cuts short Deepak’s dreams

KATHMANDU: Baitadi’s Shivanath Rural Municipality–2 resident, 18-year-old Deepak Bahadur Saud, had come to Kathmandu to study Korean with dreams of improving his family’s financial situation.

Those dreams were tragically cut short during the Gen Z movement.

On Sept 9 (Bhadra 24), Deepak was injured by a police bullet in Kalimati, Kathmandu.

The bullet damaged his eye and affected his brain, ultimately leaving him brain-dead and resulting in his death.

Deepak’s mother, Laxmi Saud, recalls the last conversation with her son on the first day of the movement, September 8 (Bhadra 23). Even now, she struggles to come to terms with the loss, unable to compose herself despite visits from neighbors and relatives.

Before the movement began, upon hearing news of other young deaths in Kathmandu (17) and Sunsari (2), Laxmi had advised Deepak to stay home or return. “If he had listened, he might still have been with us,” she recalls. But Deepak, driven by the desire to support his peers and protest corruption, told his mother: “If my friends go, I will go too. Don’t stop me, mother. Joining the protest doesn’t mean I’ll die.”

Deepak had been staying in Kirtipur, Kathmandu, with two friends. His in-law, Saraswati Saud, said they lost contact with him on the evening of Sept 9.

Friends later informed the family that he had been hospitalized after being injured, but on the morning of Sept 10, the family received the devastating news of his death. “The news shattered our hopes and trust,” Saraswati said.

An exceptionally diligent student, Deepak had completed the 12th grade in one go, despite also preparing for Korean language exams, skipping local school classes. Among five brothers, two continue schooling in their village, while the eldest two work in Mumbai, India. Upon hearing of Deepak’s death, his elder brother, Birendra, arrived in Kathmandu on Sept 13. Doctors confirmed that Deepak had been shot in the eye and was brain-dead. “By the time we arrived, his body was at the Trauma Center. The X-ray showed a bullet in one eye,” Birendra said.

Birendra emphasized that while nothing can bring his brother back, the government must fulfill the demands of the youths who sacrificed their lives.

Villagers remember Deepak as an honest and helpful young man. Shivanath’s Madagai village has lost a bright and promising youth.

The government has declared 45 youths who died during the Sept 8–9 Gen Z movement as martyrs, including Deepak.

His family insists that mere recognition is not enough; fulfilling the demands they raised requires the collective will of the government, political parties, and civil society.