Why Nepal’s Gen Z overthrew its government

Nepal’s prime minister KP Sharma Oli has resigned after nationwide demonstrations descended into bloodshed. At least 22 people have been killed and hundreds injured in the country’s deadliest protests for nearly two decades. Spearheaded by the Nepal’s disaffected youth, the ‘Gen Z protest’ has evolved into one targeting the corruption of the government coalition led by the Congress and Communist parties.

After events took a violent turn on Monday when authorities unleashed fury on the protestors, killing at least 19, demonstrators responded by targeting state institutions in Kathmandu. They ransacked government buildings, including the country’s parliament, and targeted politicians’ homes. Rajyalaxmi Chitrakar, the wife of former Nepal premier Jhalanath Khanal, died after their residence was set on fire.

Hundreds of inmates have escaped from jails nationwide, with the Nepal Army subsequently deploying troops in the capital. It vowed to ‘take control of the situation’.

The protests were triggered by the government’s decision last week to issue a blanket ban on 26 social media platforms, which, in addition to a source of networking for Nepal’s youth, are also a means of livelihood. A third of the country’s GDP is attributed to remittances, with an increasing number of Nepalese wanting to emigrate, as 800,000 from the 30 million population left last year alone. Furthermore, 82 per cent of the workforce is informally employed and the growing unemployment rate has crossed 20 per cent. This makes the $26.5 million (£20 million) social media economy a crucial lifeline for many. Online platforms are also used by political opponents, including Balendra Shah, the 35-year-old Kathmandu mayor and former rapper long considered as ‘Gen Z’s great hope’, who often amplifies anti-corruption narratives via his own social media accounts.

Not surprisingly, the social media ban was perceived as a move to quell dissent and sideline political opposition, sparking a broader movement against the ruling elite. Social media is now full of dissenters uploading videos targeting the lavish lifestyles of Nepal’s rich and famous.

There are clear parallels with recent peoples’ movements in South Asia that overthrew the governments of Gotabaya Rajapaksa in Sri Lanka and Sheikh Hasina in Bangladesh. Nepal, however, has undergone more frequent political upheavals, even if violence of this scale hasn’t been witnessed since the movement to overthrow the last king Gyanendra Shah. After ending the monarchy in 2008, Nepal has seen 13 different governments, as the country now awaits its 14^th.

Nepal’s geographical position in between China and India means the two rising global powers are often at loggerheads in Kathmandu. Beijing has been raising its investments, in addition to increasing the Chinese share in Nepal’s imports, which have historically been dominated by India. China has also sought to include Nepal in its much celebrated Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), with president Xi Jinping signing a memorandum of understanding in December with Oli.

With his push for Kathmandu’s inclusion in the BRI, the now ousted Nepal prime minister had to overcome the resistance of his coalition partner the Congress, which vocally backs American infrastructural projects perceived as a counter to Chinese investments. As in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, there is also anti-India sentiment sparked by fears of New Delhi’s overreach in the country.

Foreign powers will be looking on in horror at the unrest in Kathmandu, fearing that their numerous interests in the country are at risk. Meanwhile, Nepal’s Gen Z hopes to bring forth a government that speaks for them – rather than the country’s elite.