Over 48 Hours, Witnessing Nepal’s Descent Into Anarchy
by DINESH KAFLE
Despite the violence, arson and impending uncertainty, I encounter triumphant protesters convinced about their ability to build a new nation free of corruption.
Kathmandu: I cannot even begin to summarise the first two days of the ‘Gen Z’ upsurge in Nepal without taking refuge in the words of Charles Dickens:
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way…”
This was just the second day of the Gen Z movement and it was already difficult to keep track of the monumental changes that had occurred in Nepal’s politics in just 24 hours. The unprecedented national mourning over the murder of 19 protesters on the first day swiftly turned into a national uprising on Tuesday as people came out on the streets despite strict curfews and began vandalising everything that came their way.
By the afternoon, it was easier to tell which major government building or which leaders’ houses were left out rather than which had been torched.
In what could be symbolic of the dismantling of Nepal’s democratic structure, the protesters on Tuesday attacked all three arms of the government – the executive, the judiciary and the legislature – as they torched the Singha Durbar, the Supreme Court and the parliament buildings, apart from the office of the president as well as the private homes of the president the prime minister and the leader of the opposition, among others.
By afternoon, videos emerged of protesters with foreign minister Arzu Rana Deuba and her husband, the former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, both beaten and visibly shaken. Ministers were escorted to safety in Nepal Army helicopters, and leaders across political parties had fled their homes for fear of their lives.
An uprising
Monday’s tragedy had by Tuesday afternoon given way to anarchy as the Gen Z movement was joined, even taken over, by citizens of all ages and from all walks of life. Corruption, nepotism and the social media ban, the three concerns of the Gen Z movement, seemed inconsequential in just a day as the slogans now involved “change” – although there was no unanimity in what it is that they really wanted to change.
Unable to face public anger, Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli resigned, paving the way for the formation of a new government. But at this point, there are hardly any takers for the prime minister’s position, which had for the past two decades remained the hot potato of Nepali politics.
Each of the top leaders of all three major political parties – the Nepali Congress, the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) and the Maoist Centre – has been targeted and rejected on the streets. The leaders of the fourth- and fifth-largest parties – the Rastriya Swatantra Party and the Rastriya Prajatantra Party – have announced their resignations en masse.
This has left a political vacuum that is unprecedented in Nepal’s political history. No one can tell whom the enraged people will accept as their leader at this moment.
But there are signs. In what could be taken as the desire of at least one significant section of the population, protesters stormed into the Nakkhu jail on the outskirts of the Kathmandu valley to release Rabi Lamichhane, the embattled parliamentarian of the Rastriya Swatantra Party and former home minister who is undergoing trial in a corruption case.
And all day, a section of the protesters called on Kathmandu Metropolitan City mayor Balen Shah to come forward and take the lead, with major newspapers toeing the line.
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Fearless, restless, and leaderless: What the Gen Z movement can learn from history
by MANEESH PRADHAN
If we learn from history, build strong institutions, and channel collective hope into meaningful action, the ashes of today can become the foundation for a more just and prosperous Nepal
“Once in an age, a single day arrives. It brings upheaval, turmoil, transformation.”
Gopal Prasad Rimal wrote those words for a revolution during the final years of the Rana regime [the Rana dynasty 1846–1951], and strangely, it has found its relevance again. The events of September 8th and 9th felt like one such day. Nepal has witnessed many political upheavals: the democratic movement that toppled the Rana regime, the People’s Movement that paved the way for multi-party democracy, the Maoist insurgency, and the republican movement. Yet the current movement stands apart. In just two days, it shook the country to its core. The government fell, leaving behind destruction and anarchy, while claiming many young lives. Grief, fear, and uncertainty swept through families and communities, leaving the nation struggling to imagine what the future might hold.
What makes this movement truly unprecedented is its leadership – or rather, its absence. Driven by Gen Z and largely without a formal political organisation, this is a leaderless uprising. And as the country tries to steady itself from the uncertainty, it is worth looking into history for lessons. From the French Revolution in the 18th century to the Arab Spring in the 2010s and more recent uprisings in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, these movements show us a pattern. They show us both the extraordinary power of leaderless movements and the challenges they face in translating energy into lasting change.
These movements don’t start over political doctrines. They are often non-ideological, unlike major political upheavals throughout history. At their core, such movements are propelled by long-standing frustrations: inequality, lack of opportunity, a sense of voicelessness, corruption, and deep distrust in the political establishment and leadership. Then, when a tipping point is reached, a single spark (such as the self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi in Tunisia, the student protests against the quota system in Bangladesh, or social media restrictions in Nepal) ignites everything.
Leaderless uprisings can mobilise large groups of people very quickly. Their strength lies in being perceived as authentic, less hierarchical, and free from elite capture. And it connects through visceral anger. Social media amplifies this effect, allowing movements to spread rapidly and connect participants across the country. These movements reveal the depth of ordinary people’s frustrations and demonstrate their ability to act collectively without waiting for direction from established leaders.
This teaches us our first lesson: energy and authenticity can unite people quickly, but sustaining momentum requires foresight and organisation. Mobilisation is easy; consolidation is hard.
Such movements often benefit from the clarity of their demands. Simple goals, such as ending corruption or removing an unpopular leader, are easy to rally around and create a strong sense of shared purpose. However, once the movement achieves the immediate target, it often struggles to define the next step. In Egypt, after Mubarak stepped down, divisions between secularists, Islamists, and the military led to chaos. In Sri Lanka, the ouster of Gotabaya Rajapaksa did not result in systemic change, as the political elite largely reasserted itself.
Hence, the second lesson: simple and clear demands can unite people, but without a roadmap for what follows, movements risk fragmentation. Shared anger unites, but visions for the future divide.
A further challenge is the vacuum created by the absence of clear leadership or organisational structures. Without direction, it becomes difficult to negotiate gains, consolidate achievements, or guard against counter-revolutions. And the void left by a fallen regime often gets filled by the next most organised group. During the French Revolution, unstructured energy led to cycles of violence before giving rise to Napoleon’s authoritarian rule. In Egypt, the army quickly regained control. In Sri Lanka, protesters ousted a president, yet the old elite returned to power soon after. Both internal factions and external actors often exploit this vacuum. Military forces, religious groups, entrenched elites, or outside powers can step in, supporting, undermining, or even hijacking movements, sometimes turning initial hopes into outcomes far from what protesters intended.
The lesson is clear: without leadership and organisational capacity, even powerful uprisings risk being co-opted before meaningful change can take root.
Sushila Karki: How Gen Z protestors chose Nepal’s first woman prime minister on Discord
by VISHWAM SANKARAN
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Over the week, multiple polls were held by representatives of the protest movement on Discord to nominate possible leaders and Karki emerged as a favourite, widely praised for her integrity
Nepal’s young anti-corruption protestors reportedly used the platform Discord to hold an impromptu vote to pick their first interim woman prime minister days after toppling the KP Sharma Oli government through deadly protests that spread like wildfire across the country.
The country is set to hold elections on 5 March 2026 to determine its next full-time prime minister. Till elections are held, 73-year-old Sushila Karki, a former chief justice, would be the first woman to lead the country.
The protests, fanned by dissatisfaction over the government’s ban on several popular social media platforms, soon snowballed into a wider discourse on corruption and unemployment as the Generation Z – people in their teens and 20s – took to the streets with banners and slogans. At least 51 people were killed and more than 1,300 were injured in the nationwide protests that erupted after the government tried to shut down social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, causing deep anger to boil over.
The protests turned violent as security forces used live bullets, tear gas, and batons while demonstrators toppled barricades, looted businesses, and set fire to government offices and politicians’ residences.
Fire rages through the Singha Durbar, the main administrative building for the Nepal government, in Kathmandu on September 9, 2025 (AFP via Getty Images)
The protesters also burned the Singha Durbar palace, the seat of the Nepali government, and damaged airports and a TV news station building.
The prime minister and four of his ministers resigned last week, and the military took over the capital, immediately enforcing a nationwide curfew. The military relaxed the curfew for a few hours to allow people to buy supplies.
What is Discord?
After Mr Oli’s resignation and the exodus of senior political figures left a power vacuum in Nepal, activists took to the US group-chat app platform to plan their next steps, according to NDTV.
The outlet reported that one server with more than 145,000 members hosted a debate about who could be an interim leader.Over the week, multiple polls were held by representatives of the protest movement on the social media platform Discord to nominate possible leaders. Ms Karki emerged as a favourite, widely praised for her integrity.
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‘More egalitarian’: How Nepal’s Gen Z used gaming app Discord to pick PM
by SAMIK KHAREL
It was a first for an electoral democracy. Backers say it is more transparent than what politicians do. But it has risks.
Kathmandu, Nepal – As Nepal burned on Thursday after two days of deadly unrest that ousted a government accused of corruption, thousands of young people gathered in a heated debate to decide their nation’s next leader.
To them, the country’s mainstream politicians across the major parties were discredited: 14 governments representing three parties have taken turns at governing since 2008, when Nepal adopted a new constitution after abolishing its monarchy.
But in the wake of a brutal crackdown on protesters by security forces that killed at least 72 people, their trust in the country’s political system itself had been shattered. They wanted to select a consensus leader who would steer the country of 30 million people out of chaos and take steps towards stamping out corruption and nepotism. Just not in the way countries usually pick their heads.
So, they chose Nepal’s next leader in a manner unprecedented for any electoral democracy – through a virtual poll on Discord, a United States-based free messaging platform mainly used by online gamers.
The online huddle was organised by Hami Nepal, a Gen Z group behind the protest with more than 160,000 members.
Hami Nepal ran a channel on the platform called Youth Against Corruption, where a fiery debate on the country’s future brought together more than 10,000 people, including many from the Nepali diaspora. As more people tried to log in and failed, a mirrored livestream was held on YouTube to allow about 6,000 more people to see the debate.
After hours of debate that included difficult questions for protest leaders and attempts at reaching out to potential prime minister candidates in real time, the participants chose former Supreme Court Chief Justice Sushila Karki to lead Nepal. The 73-year-old took the oath of office as the country’s interim prime minister on Friday.
But Nepal’s transition is only beginning, say analysts, and the approach protesters took to choose the country’s leader only underscores how a chaotic new experiment in democracy appears to be under way, with rewards as well as risks.
Discord enables users to connect through texts, voice calls, video calls and media sharing. It also allows communication through direct messages or within community spaces known as servers. It was one of the platforms banned by the government earlier this month alongside two dozen other popular applications, including Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.
The ban, protesters said, was the last straw that spiralled into a nationwide movement against Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s government. The demonstrators accused it of being unrepresentative of young people, as well as of widespread corruption and nepotism.
Tens of thousands of young protesters hit the streets on Tuesday, torching government buildings, including the parliament and residences of top politicians, and forcing Oli to resign. On Friday, President Ramchandra Paudel dissolved parliament and called for a general election in March.
By then, Nepal’s Gen Z protesters had turned to Discord to decide who should lead their nation until March. The social media ban was lifted after the killings earlier in the week.
Virtual polls on mobile screens allowed participants to nominate their interim leader in real time, marking a radical experiment in digital democracy.
“People were learning as they went,” said 25-year-old law graduate Regina Basnet, a protester who had then joined the Discord debate. “Many of us didn’t know what it meant to dissolve parliament or form an interim government. But we were asking questions, getting answers from experts, and trying to figure it out together.”
The discussion revolved around a wide range of issues Nepal must battle now, including jobs, police and university reforms, as well as the state of government healthcare, as the moderators urged the participants to focus on the main question before them: the next leader.
Five names were shortlisted for the final voting: Harka Sampang, a social activist and mayor of the eastern city of Dharan; Mahabir Pun, a popular social activist running the National Innovation Centre; Sagar Dhakal, an independent politician who ran against the powerful Nepali Congress leader, Sher Bahadur Deuba, in 2022; advocate Rastra Bimochan Timalsina, also known as Random Nepali on his YouTube channel, who has been advising the Gen Z protesters; and Karki.
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Nepal’s Gen Z Uprising and the Unraveling of South Asia’s Old Order
by S. D. MUNI
What began as a youth-led outcry against corruption and a ban on social media morphed into Nepal’s most violent political upheaval in decades, leaving the pillars of its republic in ruins. The uprising, part of a wider South Asian wave, has unsettled not just Kathmandu’s old guard but also India, China and the US, each wary of losing influence in a region on the boil.
Demonstrators hold placards and raise slogans during a protest against the government, in Kathmandu, Nepal, on September 11, 2025. Photo: PTI
The crisis in Nepal is part of a wider wave of unexpected popular uprisings and regime changes in South Asia. It was preceded by a similar phenomenon in Sri Lanka in 2022 and Bangladesh in 2024. This wave is the fall out of an explosive cocktail of domestic turmoil and occurs against the backdrop of regional and global geo-political rivalries.
South Asia’s domestic terrain is on the boil owing to demographic and developmental changes.
States in the world’s most populous sub-regions have not been able to meet the aspirations of this demographic bulge. The pace of development is slow and highly inequitable. Governance is fraught with corruption, nepotism, inefficiency and repression. Frustrated by their conditions, people are reacting with huge demonstrations, aggressive uprisings and violence. In the hands of tech savvy youngsters, social media is facilitating networking and the mobilisation of widespread popular dissent.
Fuelling this domestic fire are regional and global geopolitical rivalries, with China on one side and the US and India on the other competing for strategic presence and influence. Over the past decade, particularly under President Xi, China has built high stakes across Asia. Its stakes in South Asia, a densely populated, fast-growing and strategically located region bordering its turbulent western frontier and the Indian Ocean, have become sharper and deeper. Through economic incentives, cultural outreach and diplomatic moves, Beijing has sought to shape and sustain friendly regimes in the region.
This growing Chinese presence is not palatable to India and the US, and both of them have used all their diplomatic and political capabilities to contain Beijing. In supporting the popular uprising against the Rajapaksa regime in Sri Lanka, both India and the US appeared to be on the same page. In Bangladesh however, the US dislike for the Hasina regime and preference for the BNP was in direct conflict with that of India’s. In Nepal too, there seems to be a degree of convergence between the US and India in the disapproval of the Oli regime, seen by them as overtly pro-China.
The wave of regime change in South Asia must be seen in the context of domestic turmoil amplified by geopolitical rivalries. Recent political shifts in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Nepal share striking similarities: sudden uprisings of unexpected scale, triggered by economic hardship for ordinary people and the repressive methods of ruling regimes.The uprisings have been led by largely unconventional, marginalised and youthful leadership, but extensively supported by wider sections of society. In all three cases, varying degrees of violence, arson, targeted attacks on political leadership and governing systems have been witnessed.
The political explosion against the regime was the loudest and most brutal In Nepal. Sixty lives and counting are estimated to have been lost and more than a thousand casualties are being treated in hospitals. A large number of public and personal properties have been burnt and damaged, the private homes of the president and former prime ministers. Many prominent business leaders and political activists were attacked and their houses and properties destroyed. Key political leaders from both the ruling and opposition parties are under the army’s protection to save their lives. Nepal’s parliament, central secretariat (Singh Durbar) and Supreme Court were gutted along with many police stations and the Central Bank. The establishments of principal media groups like that of Kantipur newspaper and television were also destroyed.
This uprising was led by various Gen Z groups, spearheaded by Sudan Gurung of the Hami Nepal NGO. For the past decade, these groups have been raising questions about the corruption, nepotism and misgovernance of the regime. They were exposing their misdeeds. The display of arrogant and affluent lifestyles of the children of ruling elites have offended the sensitivities of Gen. Z who have been creating networks of dissenting groups through social media.
During these years, three parties and their leaders, K.P. Sharma Oli of the United Marxist-Leninist (UML) party, Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ of the Maoist Centre and Sher Bahadur Deuba of the Nepali Congress have been circulating themselves on the seats of power, all indulging in extensive plunder of public resources at the cost of public good and the country’s economic well-being.
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