• Source:JND
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Nepal Gen Z Protest: Nepal, a peaceful country in the lap of the Himalayas, has been boiling over the past two days after nationwide protests by Gen Zs. The peaceful protests, which began after the Nepal government banned all social media platforms, including Facebook, X, WhatsApp, Instagram, among others, spiralled into a full-blown violent demonstration, with protesters torching the Parliament, PM KP Oli's private residence and the President's House in Kathmandu.

Owing to the violent protests across the country, Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli (KP Oli) resigned from his post. The PM's resignation was followed by resignations from several other ministers, who said that they "couldn't stand with the government, given their action against the protesters." Soon after, Nepal's President, Ram Chandra Poudel, also stepped down from his position.

Gen Zs (people born between 1997 and 2012) are usually seen as politically immature by the veterans of politics, but youth-led protests in Nepal proved them wrong. The fury against the KP Oli-led government was not only against the ban on social media platforms, but also against the alleged corruption by government officials. The uprooting of the Oli government drew a parallel with similar anti-government and faceless protests in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

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Key Factors Behind Anti-Govt Protests In Nepal, Sri Lanka And Bangladesh

1. Corruption was one of the common factors that led to the fall of the ruling regimes in all three South Asian nations. In Nepal, Gen Zs were using social media platforms for flagging the luxury lives of the politicians and their families.

In Sri Lanka too, the faceless protests forced President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and other officials to step down over unprecedented inflation. People were angry with the luxurious lives of the government officials and politicians, while commoners were struggling to make ends meet.

In Bangladesh, the Sheikh Hasina-led government ignored youths' demand to reform the reservation scenario in the country. The youth-led anti-reservation stir caused the ousting of Hasina in 2024, who fled to India.

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2. The government's ignorance of people's demands is another common factor in all three countries. In Nepal, youth were demanding action against the tainted politicians and bureaucrats, but the political fraternity turned a deaf ear. In Sri Lanka, the inflation made the lives of people miserable, but the government continued to ignore the issue. Similarly, in Bangladesh, youths' demand to end the quota given to descendants of freedom fighters from the Bangladesh Liberation War was ignored blatantly.

3. Anti-people moves nourished the discontent among youths. In Sri Lanka, when it was required to take steps to bring inflation down, the government was busy spending money on unimportant things, which irked people. Nepalese were also unhappy with the government as they were demanding good relations with India, restoration of the Royal family rule and generation of employment. In Bangladesh, the youth were angry with the quota policies of the Hasina government.

4. The stir in these nations was not a sudden reaction, but a result of ruling government's constant denial and reluctance to accept the faulty lines. Despite continuous protests in the streets or on social media, the governments did not take enough measures, which resulted in people-led anti-government protests.

5. Post-COVID, the world order, in terms of economic activities, has changed. Trading partners of Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal rebooted their traditional strategies in view of the changing geopolitics, which impacted the growth of these developing countries. Their economies largely depend on export-import and tourism. In the era of protectionism, which mostly prevailed in the Western countries, these nations could not match the rapidly changing trade policies, which resulted in the shrinking of their economies.