Birth: 1969, Gulmi
Death: 29 June 2021, Rupandehi

Shankar Bhandari was always among the top students in his class while he was in school and later in college. Raised in a well-to-do family, he never had to struggle financially in his life.

As his elder brother Chandra was into politics Shankar also got interested in trying to understand his country and society better.   

In his college days Bhandari had for a while been involved in student politics. He was even appointed chair of Nepal Student Union, the Nepali Congress student wing. But he would later pursue an academic career.

Bhandari wanted to inspire the young generation and he thought the best way to do so would be by teaching in schools, which he started doing in his high-school days. He wanted to learn as much as he could and then impart that knowledge on the next generation.

His keen interest in society later resulted in a PhD in sociology.

Bhandari invested his knowledge and skills in Nepal’s oldest university, Tribhuvan University, where he served in multiple capacities, including seven years as an assistant head at Tri Chandra Campus, four years as co-controller of the Office of the Controller of Examinations, and deputy director of Tribhuvan University Monitoring Directorate. Most recently, he was the director of the Student Welfare and Sports Directorate.

As the head of the Student Welfare Directorate, he worked directly with university students, who in turn remember him as a decent and progressive administrator and someone concerned about their wellbeing.

During his time at Tri Chandra, Bhandari worked restlessly with student unions for the improvement in the quality of education on offer.

Bhandari was recently in Butwal for his father’s first death anniversary. On the night of June 29, his car veered off the road and into the Charange River. Bhandari was rushed to a hospital nearby but succumbed to his wounds. He was 52.