Nepal’s Gen Z

A week ago, I was writing the first draft for a research report on growing inequality in Asia and its link to increasing state repression of civic freedoms. Amidst the largely desolate landscape of state crackdowns and draconian laws across the region, I sought islands of hope. One destination that came to mind quickly was Nepal.

The country had adopted a rather inclusive and radical constitution in 2015. Subsequent law reforms included giving civil society a formal role in developmental planning. The Local Government Operation Act of 2017 was a landmark law requiring local governments to ensure inclusive and participatory planning. Ward committees, social audits, public hearings, and citizen scorecards were regularly used to engage the public and civil society organizations in municipal budgeting, project selection, and oversight.

Civil society groups also participated in performance audits with the Office of the Auditor General, directly monitoring public service delivery and corruption, and publicly reporting their findings. Even Freedom House, which rated the country as partly free, noted with satisfaction Nepal’s real progress in media freedom, local protest rights, and inclusive development.

That optimism, however, evaporated overnight.

News broke that 19 protesters had been killed after young demonstrators—self-identifying as Gen Z—took to the streets against a sweeping social media ban. WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram—the virtual lifelines of a generation—were suddenly blocked.

Things unraveled quickly thereafter, leading to a virtual uprising across the country: mass-scale arson and the destruction of public institutions, including the Parliament, Supreme Court, five-star hotels, private residences of the rich and famous, and politicians’ homes across party lines. Anarchy had been unleashed.

Even as the army finally took charge of the streets, by the time things settled more than 70 people were dead; senior politicians had been publicly beaten; and the government was gone.

Several facts stand out. It took the killing of just 19 people to topple a government—the 14th to fall since 2008, when a long-reigning monarchy was dismantled. The outgoing prime minister, KP Oli, was sworn in thrice. As governments changed, there was a perception that the political parties were merely playing musical chairs.

Despite all the so-called progressive reforms mentioned earlier, Nepal was spiraling deeper into a debt crisis similar to Sri Lanka and Pakistan. The country, which once had a social protection budget among the highest in the region (around 6 percent of GDP), was forced to cut welfare allocations to meet its debt obligations. Per capita income remained among the lowest in Asia.

Nepal is one of the youngest countries in Asia. More than a fifth of its youth are unemployed. The young protesters didn’t trust the so-called independent media institutions and accused those calling them corrupt.

They emphasized that their protest was not just about the social media ban but also about rampant corruption and “nepo-kids” flaunting ostentatious lifestyles. The social media ban symbolized not only censorship but also the denial of the last tool young people had to organize against nepotism, corruption, and elite privilege.

So, how do we look at the bigger picture in South Asia?

Nepal is the third country in the region to witness a youth-led mass uprising. We have already seen live-streamed, viral video takeovers of the palatial residences of virtual monarchs like Rajapaksa in Sri Lanka and Sheikh Hasina in Bangladesh.

In all these cases, the uprisings coincided with the decline of macroeconomic indicators.

Sri Lanka, for the first time, defaulted on a sovereign debt payment, and there were massive welfare cuts. The youth movement organized itself around the “Aragalaya” (Struggle) against economic collapse and government corruption. The protest site at Galle Face Green, called “Gota Go Gama,” became a symbol of democratic resistance, uniting people across ethnic and religious divides.

The uprising in Bangladesh began over a disputed job quota. In 2023, 40 percent of youth aged 15–29 were classified as NEET (not in employment, education, or training). It was estimated that about 18 million young people were out of work.

Now, consider two of the region’s largest countries.

Pakistan — long troubled by its debt burden — has suppressed mass political protests in recent years. Its principal opposition leader remains in jail.

India, on the other hand, has seen Prime Minister Modi’s iron hand crushing political opposition, while channeling the frustration of its youth into targeting minorities and promoting aggressive Hindutva nationalism.

Across these diverse local contexts, common threads emerge: economic precarity, youth anger, distrust of political elites, and a pervasive sense that the system is irredeemably corrupt.

Yet the outcomes remain uncertain.

There are ongoing challenges, as Bangladesh’s and Sri Lanka’s examples show. Under IMF pressure, the elected government in Sri Lanka has not altered its grim debt trajectory. The political situation remains far from settled in Bangladesh, where an ageing Nobel Laureate is holding the fort as elections are yet to take place. Nepal has followed Dhaka’s lead by appointing a retired Supreme Court judge to head its caretaker government.

The larger question is: how will these battered societies rebuild trust in their political classes?

History is often rewritten in hindsight.

Nepal’s abrupt turn from a model of participation to a theatre of upheaval is a sobering reminder of how quickly hope can collapse.

Needless to say, I had to go back to my first draft and rewrite the entire section.
https://www.thenews.com.pk/tns/detail/1345075-nepals-gen-z

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