Gen Z Movement in Nepal: The Coded Message

Nepal’s recent demonstration, daubed as ‘Gen Z Revolution’ took the world by surprise on several fronts. First, it emerged as a spontaneous uprising appealed through the social media, at a time when the media had been banned. Second, it started directly from the climax and reached its denouement in merely two days. It toppled a stubborn regime and threw away an old order. This happened without a leader, without any consorted call, without an announced charter for action, and without any centre to monitor the course of action. Amazing! Truly amazing!

Reportedly, it all started with a humble call from Hami Nepal, a philanthropic organization catering to the needs of the people during hours of crisis, like earthquake and COVID-19. It had a two-point demand: forcing the government to lift its ban from 26 social media apps, including Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, WhatsApp, etc., and second, it wanted to caution the government against rampant corruption, perhaps by forcing it to institute a mechanism to expedite anti-corruption investigation and immediate punishment of the guilty.

Though fashionable, the first demand was not their ‘core’ demand. It was merely an immediate cause for a bigger call. Oli Government, that had been adamant about its ban on the social media, ignored the Gen Z’s call. Why it wanted to ban the social media is because, people, aware of the government’s innumerable weaknesses, used the social media platforms to rage their uncensored fill against the government that became a subject of international derision and mockery. Out of its sheer short-sightedness, the government banned the media and decided to defend its decision in spite of vehement public discontentment. The government overlooked this demand. In fact, it failed to understand how crucial social media is for Generation Z. Social media is their main gateway to stay connected with the world. Many of them use these forums to express themselves, get connected, post their content and earn money, deliver their work performances to their offices located anywhere in the world, submit their academic requirements, market their products and creations, do their shopping online, and best of all, stay connected with their friends and families living out of the country.

Secondly, the question of corruption worked as a metaphor to characterize not only the existing regime but all the regimes that preceded it. The youngsters viewed everything in summation. Back in 2005, when they were very young, people had toppled monarchy and launched the nation into the phase of republic. Back then, these youngsters had heard of multiple dreams: economic boom, inclusive governance, social justice, world-class infrastructure, socialist society, ad infinitum. When they came of age and started evaluating the present and future of those dreams, they saw nothing worth appreciating. The country continued to crawl with a dismal growth rate of below 3%. The per capita income stuck somewhere around…Youths continued to leave the country at the rate of 2000 people each day, and the hiatus between the rich and the poor continued to expand like never before. The singular entry point to usurp all this malice at one ago was the voice against corruption. This is because, corruption gives a holistic answer to almost all the evils that bar a country from progressing.

On the first day of the protest on September 9, the youngsters gathered at Maitighar Mandala, a dedicated protest site in Kathmandu. They had reportedly procured the permission from Kathmandu District Office to do the same. As the mass flow geared up, the protestors started marching towards the parliament house in New Baneshwar. Before long, some of them started their attempt to break the wall of the parliament building and get into its premises. Some armed police personnel on duty opened fire, and killed a few protestors, especially students in their school uniform, and killed them on the spot. Initially, this toll was merely two, but when other succumbed at the hospital, the number reached 19. The protestors and the analysts had expected that the prime minister would now step down, but he did not. Only his home minister, Mr. Ramesh Lekhak, resigned on ‘moral grounds’.

People had hoped that more resignations would follow, but Prithvi Subba Gurung, information minister in Oli Government, came live on the media and said that the prime minister would not resign, and the government would not lift its ban on the social media either. This irritated the public so much that since early next morning, the youngsters started taking to the street, this time their number many times higher than that it was like the previous day. This time, their protest was not limited to sloganism. They started gutting public properties, including the Supreme Court, Office of the Attorney General, the President’s House, Parliament House, several police posts, district offices, etc. They also gutted several commercial superstores, car showrooms, traffic police offices, transport offices, etc. When the fire had crossed it limits on the second day, crossing the limits of Kathmandu and extending to several big and small cities and towns of the country, the prime minister stepped down. That was already too late. Soon other ministers followed suit.

However, the irate mob continued its vandalism, gutting the houses of the ministers. The houses of Prime Minister Oli, his ministers Ramesh Lekhak and Prithvi Subba Gurung, incumbent president Ram Chandra Poudel, former president Bidya Devi Bhandari, former prime ministers Jhalanath Khanal, Prachanda and Babu Ram Bhattarai, former ministers Gagan Thapa, Mahesh Basnet, Arjun Narsing KC, Man Bahadur Basnet and others, and several high officials in the present and the earlier governments, including Bishwo Poudel, Government of Nepal Rashtra Bank, the central bank of the country. The death toll rose speedily, crossing 50 at the end of the second day, and this included four police personnel and a few shoplifters. At present, the toll has been estimated to be above 70.

At 10 pm on the second day, the army took the security of the country under its grip. Three days later, Sushila Karki, the former chief justice of the Supreme Court of Nepal was sworn in as the interim prime minister of Nepal. As soon as she was sworn in, she recommended the president, Mr. Ram Chandra Poudel, to dissolve the existing parliament, which he did. Three days later, three ministers were sworn in: Kulman Ghising, Rameshwar Khanal, and Om Nath Aryal. These are the developments that have taken place so far. It is possible that a few more ministers will be inducted and a bigger cabinet will emerge.

The developments have called for several constitutional questions: Is the dissolution of the existing parliament lawful? How can the prime minster and her minsters come from outside the parliament when there is no such provision in the constitution? Is it okay to talk about amending the constitution when it is only parliament that can do it? How can the new election, announced for 5 March 2026 stop the present political parties from contesting, and even winning and re-entering the parliament? Will such elected representatives be ready to amend the constitution and let a directly elected executive, as demanded by the protestors, come to lead the country? How will the Gen-Z’s, who do not have a political party, run for election? And many more…

Constitutional experts say, the constitution is never a fixed thing; it is subject to interpretation. Secondly, people’s mandate emerging from a revolution superseded all the provisions in a written constitution. Thus, if the provisions do not correspond to the fresh mandate of the people, the provisions in the existing constitution become defunct.

At any rate, change has come. Nepal’s Gen Z Revolution has several messages for the international community. First, it demonstrates that a regime, however powerful it is, cannot survive if it does not march ahead with the aspiration of its young population. Secondly, if the youths want, they can topple a regime within a day or two; they don’t need to wait for decades to launch a protracted movement and hone it to its success. Third, no government on earth can, in the name of regulation, deny the youngsters their right to information. Fourth, any individual, however poor he or she is — even without political connections or membership in a political family — can think of becoming a prime minister or a minister if he or she has a clean public image, and has the potential to deliver. Finally, it has demonstrated that in politics, yesterday’s heroes can become dust today, and today’s dust can rise to heroism when the wind changes its direction.

The possible international ramification of Nepal’s Gen Z Revolution is that youngsters elsewhere might follow suit. Even if they do not, the regimes there will have to stay careful. Fooling the youngsters and fostering corruption on any pretext might be dangerous. If the word spreads, dictators — both individual and governments everywhere — will be forced to reform themselves and the character of their regime. Else, Gen-Z wind might sweep them for good, for once and for ever. Secondly, it will instil unprecedented confidence in the youngsters, and they will certainly come forward in a bigger number to lead their countries. Like science, information technology, business or start-ups, politics will also emerge as one of the imminent career choices for youngsters all over the world.

Mahesh Paudyal is Assistant Professor of English at Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu. He is a noted writer and social analyst.