The Gen Z’s coup in Kathmandu

 

The Gen-Z coup in Kathmandu

Nepal, mired in graft and abuse of power, is on the boil. It has been plagued by political instability. It has had six constitutions since 1950. There have been 19 prime ministers since 2000. And since the new constitution came into force in 2015, nine prime ministers were sworn in. The terms were divided between 12 individuals; Sher Bahadur Deuba of the Nepali Congress was in office on four occasions, and K.P. Sharma Oli of the Communist Party of Nepal -Unified Marxist-Leninist (CPN-UML) on three occasions.

 

After the abolition of the monarchy in 2008, though the Marxists emerged as the largest group in the constituent assembly elections, they failed to consolidate their grip on power and deliver a smooth constitutional transition. The Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ became the Prime Minister in August that year. Since then, no election had thrown up a single party majority in Nepal, resulting in political instability due to frequent changes in government. The CPM-UML of Oli had just78 seats in a 285-member House of Representatives – the lower house of the parliament.

 

It may be recalled that Pranab Mukherjee in his autobiography says that in 1951, King Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah had proposed to merge Nepal with India.  Prime Minister Nehru rejected the offer on the ground that Nepal was an independent nation and must remain so, and instead he wanted Nepal to establish a close relationship with India.  

 

What sounded like a spontaneous protest on September 8,12025 in Kathmandu by the youth, mainly comprising of teenagers and  the youth between the age group of 18-25 years, called the ‘Generation Z’ or ‘Gen Z’, against the banning of 26 social media platforms turned out to be a violent mob fury the next day, resulting in a large scale violence and vandalism, following the killing of some 30 people, most of whom were children in school uniforms, and more than 1000 injured in the police firing  at peaceful protesters from point-blank range, forcing the Prime Minister Oli to resign. The police brutality shocked the nation and enraged the youth.

 

In Nepal, out of 29 million population, 9 million people live outside the country. The social media platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, X and YouTube are the means of communication with relatives and expatriates by the youth, with 50 per cent of the population falling within the 25 years age group. The social media platforms are also a source of job opportunities and remittances. The remittances constitute a whopping quarter of Nepal’s GDP.  More than 48% of the youth in Nepal use the social media - higher than the global average. In India, approximately 38% of young people are active on social media platforms.

 

The ‘Gen Z’ protesters, enraged by the repressive actions of the Oli regime, went on rampage, set fire to the government buildings, parliament house, supreme court, the seat of power, Sangha Durbar, the President’s Office and the symbols of power, and the houses and the offices of top political functionaries, including ex-prime ministers and ministers. The mob frenzy was such that it set the house of ex-prime Minister Jhala Nath Khanal on fire; his wife trapped inside succumbing to the burns. The ministers on run were chased, caught and stripped and paraded by the angry mob. The military helicopters were used to shift the ministers to safer places – the army barracks.

 

The anger against corruption, unemployment and misgovernance is pulpable across the country.  The young people, teens and those in their 20s, expressed their anger and frustration at the corrupt political system – and the immunity that politicians who have run Nepal by turns since the republic was established in 2008, have given themselves from investigation and accountability. The protesters targeted the extravagant lifestyles of the children and wards of those in power, contrast with the economic hardships of ordinary people; expressions like ‘Nepo Babies’ and ‘Nepo Kids’ trending online.

 

Discontent has been simmering for years. The ban on social media was the tipping point. The digital ban took away the primary avenue that Gen Z was using to vent, comment, and seek solidarity among themselves, and greatly aggravated their anger. The youth were already denied jobs and opportunities.  And now the government had taken away their space to connect and express themselves. The ban was seen as an attempt to stifle the criticism of the government and the free speech.

 

The Gen Z sought an end to corruption, social inequality, and the lack of job opportunities. The unemployment among the youth in the age group of 15-24 years is 21%. The per capita income is approximately USD 1400 dollars per year. They are also frustrated with crumbling health and education systems. According to a World Bank report, 82% of the work force remains in the unorganized sector, far above the global and regional averages. Nepal's inequality problem is serious. As per the World Inequality Database, the top 1% of its population pockets 13.4% of income, while the bottom half lives on 18.5%. Wealth inequality is much worse - the top 1% holds 25%, the bottom half only 4%. 

Added to this, the power has continued to circulate among the same ageing oligarchy, colluding leaders through shifting alliances of convenience – the recycling of political leadership - in what has become a cartelisation of politics. The power is concentrated and abused. 

 

Jay Nishant, chairman of the think tank Nepal Democracy Foundation, says that with the resignation of Prime Minister Oli, several ministers and even the President Ram Candra Poudel, the government, for all practical purposes, has vanished. Nobody knows whether Oli has fled to Dubai or elsewhere, as his whereabouts are not known. The uprising is not a sudden implosion, but the result of years of frustration.

 

The Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML, despite being the largest political parties, and coalition partners, have failed to provide a stable government and good governance. The leaders of the mainstream political parties - Nepali Congress, CPN-UML and CPN-Maoist Centre prioritized unethical alliances over electoral mandates to say in power.

 

According to Nishant, “The key to power lay with Prachanda’s Maoists. Without his support, no government could survive. Oli and his party, hungry for power, forged an alliance with him. That was the start of a dangerous game. Musical chair followed – leaders switched sides – governments collapsed and re-formed and the same three men – Prachanda, Sher Bahadur, and Oli – rotated through the prime minister’s office multiple times. They used police, prosecutors and courts to shield their own men and punish opponents. Party workers accused of heinous crimes walked free. Ordinary people were left without justice.” This sounds familiar with the situation in India.

 

The revolt of the youth saw the overthrow of the three elected governments in India’s neighbourhood in recent time- Sri Lanka in 2022, Bangladesh in 2024 and now in Nepal- for identical reasons – massive corruption, abuse of power., mis-governance and large-scale unemployment These small countries became vulnerable.

 

Though India is facing the similar problems, and, in a way, more serious problems of communal divisive politics; growing divide between the rich and the poor; increasing economic and social inequality, and endemic corruption - visible and bizarre - India has escaped such violent political earthquakes so far, mainly because of the strong foundation for a constitutional democracy laid down by the founding fathers of the republic, and partly because of its huge size in terms of territory and population and diversity. 

Nevertheless, the uprising in Nepal, with which India has long cultural, religious and civilizational ties, and in the other neighboring counties should worry us. Historically, these were the causes of political revolutions the worldwide. The partisan 'Godi media' in India doesn't highlight these issues to speak truth to power; and it wants us to believe that everything is hunky-dory under the present regime. 

 

Nepal has descended into chaos and anarchy. In the face of violent vandalism and unprecedented turmoil, the Army Chief General Ashok Raj Sigdel has taken the charge of law and order and appealed for calm. This is the first time that the army got involved in running the administration of the Himalayan nation. The situation is volatile, and Nepal’s future looks grim and uncertain.   

 

The lessons  to draw from the Gen-Z coup in Kathmandu: ignore the youth at your peril; there is a limit for the people’s patience; and if political leaders do not provide benevolent leadership and the ruling class good governance, devoid of corruption and abuse of power, the people will rise in revolt to overthrow the existing order, even adopting violent means, leading to calamity and catastrophe of an unprecedented scale.