Mass protests in Nepal have forced the resignation of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli after his government’s attempt to block major social media platforms, including Facebook, YouTube, and WhatsApp, triggered deadly clashes in Kathmandu and other cities. At least 19 people were killed and over 300 injured on September 9 when security forces opened fire on peaceful demonstrators.
While the immediate spark was the ban on more than 20 social media outlets on Sept. 4, which has since been lifted, the deeper causes lie in Nepal’s broken development model. This is a generation-wide uprising against corruption, economic stagnation, and mass out-migration, as Atul Chandra of Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research and political analyst Pramesh Pokharel argue in an article for Globetrotter.
More than 839,000 Nepalis left the country on labour permits in the fiscal year 2024/25, while remittances accounted for nearly a third of GDP, one of the world’s highest ratios, note Chandra and Pokharel. They point out that this dependency on remittances has failed to generate dignified jobs at home, leaving youth with few options besides migration or protest.
The protests echo recent youth-led mobilizations across Southasia, including Bangladesh’s student movements and Sri Lanka’s Aragalaya. They reveal a common frustration: Young people facing unemployment and inequality, watching their governments crack down on freedoms rather than create opportunities.
As Chandra and Pokharel warn, Nepal’s Left risks ceding ground to royalist and anti-establishment forces if it cannot deliver credible development and restore trust. The recent episode with its tragic loss of lives is not about a generation used to digital freedom, demanding jobs, dignity, and accountability.
– Pragyan Srivastava / Sapan News
Lead Image : Himal Suvedi Wikimedia Commons
Note on Southasia as one word: Like Himal Southasian, we use ‘Southasia’ as one word, “seeking to restore some of the historical unity of our common living space, without wishing any violence on the existing nation states”.
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