Nepal

1 October 2006Feature

In April, Tom Daly was in Kathmandu during the massive pro-democracy uprising. Here he reflects on the nonviolent movement that achieved victory, despite a stark lack of international solidarity.

I was in Kathmandu on the eve of the final show down this April between the king and the huge and inspiring pro-democracy movement. And I wasn't sure if I wanted to be.

The next day was starting to look more and more ominous. The leaders of the movement had called for a massive protest. They said they expected two million people to come from miles around and march on the palace to demand the end of royal rule. Some said they would storm the palace and throw the king out by force, but…