After two days of mayhem, Kathmandu was quieter on Wednesday.
Gautam Kari, managing director of Kathmandu-based Heritage Journey Nepal Tours, is hopeful that once the ash settles on the Gen Z protest, a new Nepal will emerge.
“There are fewer people on the streets today (Wednesday) after the army took control since 10pm last night (Tuesday). There is peace after two days of mayhem, but this (protest) was bound to happen,” Karki said, speaking over the phone from Kathmandu.
Nepal’s Gen Z, described by some as those born from 1997 to 2012, took to the streets from Monday triggered by the Nepalese government’s decision to ban 26 social media platforms, including Facebook and WhatsApp, among others.
The government said that these platforms had failed to meet registration requirements set by the government. The Nepalese youth believed it was an attempt to muzzle voices.
“The social media ban was just the spark. The country as a whole was simmering over misuse of power and rampant corruption after the monarchy was removed,” said Karki.
The 240-year-old Shah dynasty came to an end on May 28, 2008, when the Nepalese Constituent Assembly voted to abolish the monarchy with the removal of King Gyanendra.
Despite the abolition, political stability has been elusive. Since 2008, Nepal has seen 14 governments, none completing a five-year term.
The three prominent leaders of Nepal – Pushpa Kumar Dahal, more famously known as Prachanda who led the Maoist movement in Nepal, K.P. Oli, chairman of Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxists-Leninist) and Sher Bahadur Deuba, president of Nepali Congress – have been at the centre of political power.
“These three leaders, despite their ideological differences, have helped each other to form governments. There have been instances when people voted for Dahal and Oli’s coalition, but these leaders joined hands with Deuba (Nepali Congress) to form the government. This was making absolute mockery of what the people had voted for,” said Karki.
“How could the Nepalese people trust them?”
Since 2008, Oli and Prachanda have become Prime Minister of Nepal for three terms each, while Deuba is a two-time PM.
In 2023, there was a strong push for restoration of monarchy, which many in Nepal attribute to the failure of the political leadership.
In 2022, Balendra Shah and Harka Sampang, both independents, won the mayoral elections of Kathmandu and Dharan, respectively. This was another indication of growing disenchantment against the political leadership in Kathmandu and beyond.
While there was simmering discontent against the political leadership, a number of incidents over the past few days, apart from the social media ban, opened the latest floodgates of discontent, said Rajiv Bir Pandey (name changed), a businessman from Kathmandu.
For the past few days, the “Nepokid” campaign had been gathering traction on social media, with photographs showing the children of politicians leading a luxurious life totally out of sync with the overall economic health of Nepal.
Footages of a car, belonging to a leader of the deposed Prime Minister Oli’s party, knocking down a 11-year-old girl and speeding off also went viral on Friday.
“Oli’s remark describing it as a minor incident also did not go well with Gen Z that called it insensitive,” said Pandey.
Matters escalated when police opened fire at a Gen Z rally protesting against the social media ban and corruption in the country on Monday. In capital Kathmandu, 17 protesters were killed in the firing, while two others died in other parts of the country.
Political leaders, irrespective of affiliation, were immediately attacked.
The residences of Oli, Prachanda and Deuba were torched. Many of their ministers were chased and beaten up in public.
“Deuba and his wife Arzu Rana (who was the foreign minister) were dragged out of their house and assaulted,” said Pandey.
“On Tuesday, people did not gather at one place like on Monday. In Kathmandu, they simply started attacking politicians in their own localities and this is why the armed forces were left helpless,” said Karki.
Ministers had to be airlifted by the army from their housing complex in Bhaisepati.
“Four helicopters rescued the ministers,” said Karki, who stays in Bhaisepati.
Even government buildings as far as IIlam, in the eastern-most corner of Kathmandu, were torched.
However, Pandey, who did his schooling in Kalimpong in Bengal and Delhi, is also as hopeful as Karki about things changing for the better.
“In two days, Nepal has changed and it has to be for the better,” said Pandey, who is now not averse to the idea of constitutional monarchy.
“I was telling my wife just yesterday (Tuesday) that perhaps we won’t have to send our daughter out of Nepal for a decent education now,” said Pandey
Many in Kathmandu are now openly talking about the need to relook at the country’s Constitution.
“The Constitution has to be changed. We don’t need provinces (similar to states in India) as Nepal is not even as big as Uttar Pradesh,” said Pandey.
There is also a strong condemnation for the arson. Singha Durbar, which houses the Nepal’s government offices, was torched, along with other government offices.
The Durbar, the former palace of Nepal’s monarchy, is tied to the sentiments of many in Nepal.