Gen-Z anger in India's neighbourhood brims over: Nepal follows Bangladesh, Sri Lanka
Nepal protests sparked by a social media ban have led to PM's resignation as Gen-Z demands extensive reforms, taking cue from similar movements in South Asia
The protests in Nepal were initially seen by many, including the country's political leadership, as just young people upset at not being able to use Instagram or something. It escalated quickly. And Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli's resignation now marks another major upset caused by young citizens' frustrations in India's neighbourhood.
Demonstrations, peaceful at first, were triggered by a since-revoked social media ban, but the Gen-Z groups leading the agitation demanded wholesale change of regime on the issue of corruption as the movement turned violent.
They drew cues from within the South Asian subcontinent and much beyond. Many cited the protests in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka among inspirations; and movements against entrenched politicians and their “nepo kids” in the Philippines, for instance.
Also read | Anger over 'Nepo Kids' fueled Nepal Gen-Z rage: How protesters gathered amid ban
On TikTok, which was not banned at present, viral videos contrasted the lives of ordinary Nepali youth wit those of children of politicians. Trends and hashtags #NepoKid, #NepoBabies, #PoliticiansNepoBabyNepal became tools to question corruption. A recent inquiry report into purchase of planes by the national carrier became a reference point too.
The government stuck to the more apparent issue of social media. It said new rules for registration were “protecting the national interest” by seeking revenue and more control from the mostly foreign-owned social media companies.
{{/usCountry}}The government stuck to the more apparent issue of social media. It said new rules for registration were “protecting the national interest” by seeking revenue and more control from the mostly foreign-owned social media companies.
{{/usCountry}}Analysts differed. “Protests over the social media ban were just a catalyst. Frustrations over how the country is being run have long been simmering under the surface,” said Prateek Pradhan, editor of a local independent news website.
{{/usCountry}}Analysts differed. “Protests over the social media ban were just a catalyst. Frustrations over how the country is being run have long been simmering under the surface,” said Prateek Pradhan, editor of a local independent news website.
{{/usCountry}}Gen-Z and many others framed it as a free-speech issue, yet PM KP Sharma Oli called the protesters “mere puppets”.
Year after Bangladesh upheaval
{{/usCountry}}Gen-Z and many others framed it as a free-speech issue, yet PM KP Sharma Oli called the protesters “mere puppets”.
Year after Bangladesh upheaval
{{/usCountry}}Oli's resignation means Nepal is at least the third country in India's neighbourhood since 2022 to see a major change after anti-government protests by younger people, most of them from ‘Generation Z’ or ‘Gen-Z’, born around the turn of the millennium and waking up to activism in their 20s.
{{/usCountry}}Oli's resignation means Nepal is at least the third country in India's neighbourhood since 2022 to see a major change after anti-government protests by younger people, most of them from ‘Generation Z’ or ‘Gen-Z’, born around the turn of the millennium and waking up to activism in their 20s.
{{/usCountry}}Similar anger was seen in Bangladesh. In July 2024, student-led protests in Dhaka began as peaceful demonstrations against a controversial quota system in government jobs for descendants of freedom fighters from 1971, when the country was hived off from Pakistan with India's help.
The protesters saw the quota as a means by Sheikh Hasina — daughter of independence movement leader Sheikh Mujibur Rehman — to perpetuate her rule using patronage.
Also read | Kathmandu airport shut, several Indian flights rerouted, cancelled
Sheikh Hasina escaped to India, where she's been since. Bangladesh awaits elections after the largely fragmented youth leadership and the army called upon Nobel-winning economist Muhammad Yunus to lead an interim regime as its chief adviser.
There were reports of communal violence against the minority Hindus in the Muslim-majority country during the unrest, yet the prime issues remained corruption and the younger generation's frustration with the status quo.
When Sri Lanka youth rose against old guard
Down south in the subcontinent, the year 2022 saw major protests in Sri Lankan against the government on the issue of corruption again. The protest leadership was young but not drawn from existing outfits or systems.
Mismanagement of the economy became a central issue as inflation led to food and fuel shortages, and an overall crisis involving daily power outages.
Eventually, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and others in ruling positions from the family had to quit.
The government tried to impose a social media ban there too, but the hashtags such as #GoHomeGota had already gone viral.
With the old guard all but gone, elections were held in 2024, in which a left-wing coalition led by Anura Kumara Dissanayake came to power.
Not suprisingly, the age-group composition of the protests was reflected in the results — a record number of women, and the highest number of first-time MPs.
What next for Nepal?
In Nepal, the way forward may be complicated as the protesters, much as in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, profess to being apolitical in terms of party affiliations.
This was apparent in how the houses of opposition leaders, including the once-radical Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal known as ‘Prachanda’ or “the ferocious one”, were attacked too.
Prachanda, who's been PM thrice so far, was once the face of a Maoist insurgency to topple the monarchy. This next wave of change sees him differently.
India, meanwhile, condemned the violence and the killing of protesters. It has heightened the vigil on its mostly open border with Nepal, but officials said they do not see any reason for a spillover of the protest into India.
A former ambassador of India to Nepal, Manjeev Singh Puri, commented: “These protests show that democracy is alive in a very interesting sense of the term, and people can take things into their own hands because the politicians are not listening.”
He said there were signs already in Nepal when a former rapper, Balendra Shah, won the mayoral elections in Kathmandu.
“Politicians in democracies need to remember: you need to keep a finger on the pulse of the people,” he added.
(Inputs from agencies)
