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Josy Joseph in Kathmandu
Outraged and confused by the slaughter of their royal family, Nepalese citizens are staging protests against almost everyone.
A day after the funeral of King Birendra, Queen Aishwarya, Prince Niranjan and Princess Shruti, protestors took to the streets in Kathmandu, shouting slogans against the new king Dipendra, who had killed his own family. Protests were also staged against the Girija Prasad Koirala government and India.
Small crowds of a few hundred people gathered outside the royal palace and on other city street corners, shouting slogans, wailing, sometimes silent.
Several groups of protestors marched outside the palace opposing the appointment of Dipendra as king. They shouted slogans against the appointment of a man who had killed the royal family.
Protests were also staged in the city against Koirala's government. Yesterday, during the funeral procession, some people had stoned Koirala's car and heckled some of his ministerial colleagues.
But what surprised Indian observers on Sunday was the sudden protest in the New Road area. New Road has several shops owned by Indians and is a booming market for electronic goods, cosmetics and readymade clothes.
On Sunday afternoon, after Indian newspapers reached the city, protestors began pelting stones at establishments on New Road, angered by a file picture of King Dipendra inspecting a gun.
Last December, protestors had attacked several Indian shops in the area after the local media had reported, falsely as it turned out, that Bollywood heart-throb Hrithik Roshan had made some anti-Nepal statements.
"We do not yet know if the attacks were pre-planned," an Indian official in Kathmandu said.
Reports of protests are also pouring in from other parts of Nepal. The common people looked upon the monarchy as a saving grace in a country that is struggling with its nascent democracy. After almost a decade of parliamentary democracy, Nepal is struggling through a period of political instability, corruption and stymied growth.
It is among the world's poorest countries, with a high rate of illiteracy and poverty. An armed Maoist movement virtually rules 10 districts, where murders of policemen are a daily affair.
The decade of democracy has further disillusioned the people, who see no good in most political leaders. "What has been seen is the outrage of the crowd against the political leaders. They blame them for even this massacre," a Nepalese official commented.
But the attacks on establishments owned by Indians and anti-India demonstrations have worried several people. "We hope vested interests won't take advantage of the present development," the official added.
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