Khula Manch, the victory rally

Khula Manch, the victory rally

Author: BBC World Service April 9, 2026 Duration: 10:12

On 9 April 1990, people gathered at Khula Manch, an open stage in Kathmandu. They were celebrating the end of Nepal’s party-less Panchayat system and the beginning of multi-party democracy.

Among the crowd was Durga Thapa, who had spent weeks organising and coordinating the protests.

A photo of her in a sea of men, leaping up and giving the peace sign, her hands covered in red paint, came to mark the movement.

She speaks to Ribika Moktan about that day and her role in Nepal’s 1990 democracy movement.

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(Photo: Durga Thapa celebrating in Khula Manch on the 9th of April 1990. Credit: Min Ratna Bajracharya)


Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by and curious about the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more. Recent episodes explore everything from how the Excel spreadsheet was developed, the creation of cartoon rabbit Miffy and how the sound barrier was broken.We look at the lives of some of the most...
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