Nepal’s Generation Z protests toppled the government in less than 48 hours – but the victory came at a cost to the protesters.
“We are proud, but at the same time we feel a mixture of trauma, regret and anger,” says Tanuja Pandey, one of the protest organisers.
Last week, 72 people were killed in protests, the bloodiest riots in the Himalayan country in a decade. Official buildings, residences of political leaders and luxury hotels have been set on fire, looted and damaged, including the Hilton, which opened in July 2024.
The wife of a former prime minister is fighting for her life after their home was burnt down.
The protests symbolised the “total rejection of Nepal’s current political class for decades of mismanagement and misuse of state resources”. in the region’s most vulnerable mountain ranges.
“Nepal’s resources should belong to the people, not the private companies of politicians,” she wrote, urging peers to “stand up against corruption and abuse of our country’s wealth.”
Like many youth movements in Asia, Nepal’s Generation Z protests were leaderless. Other groups made similar calls after Nepal’s government banned 26 social media platforms, citing lack of registration in the country.
For months, there has been growing outrage over so-called “Nepo babies” – children of powerful politicians of all stripes – who have been accused of displaying wealth from unknown sources on social media.
One of the most popular said it was an “unfair misinterpretation” and his father had “given back every rupee earned in public service to the society”.
Pandey watched almost all the content about “non-children”, but she was most impressed by one video that compared the luxurious life of a political family and an ordinary young Nepali man who had to work in the Gulf.
“It’s painful to watch, especially knowing that even educated young people are forced to leave the country because the salaries here are far below a decent standard of living,” she said.
Nepal is a young democracy. It became a republic in 2008 after a decade-long Maoist-led civil war that claimed more than 17,000 lives.
But the promised stability and prosperity never materialised. In 17 years, Nepal has changed 14 governments, and no leader has completed a complete and total non-violence and respect.
On the morning of 8 September, she arrived at Maitighar Mandala, a large roundabout in the centre of Kathmandu, with a few friends. She expected to see a few thousand people there at most – but the crowd kept growing.
Activist Akriti Ghimire, 26, said it was calm at first: “We were all sitting around singing old Nepali songs. The slogans and everything were so funny, we loved it. Then we started the march… The police were there to make sure the traffic didn’t disturb us.”
Around noon, Pandey and Himire began to feel threatened as the crowd moved towards the New Baneshwor neighbourhood where Parliament is located. They spotted people on motorbikes, and Pandey said they looked older than most Generation Z protesters.
Khimire believes they were schoolchildren. The events are being investigated.
Reuters photo
The next day, chaos and violence reigned. Demonstrators burned down parliament, the prime minister’s office and other government buildings. Pandey and Khimire stayed at home and followed the events online.
“Many people said they were so happy to finally see politicians responsible for everything they had done,” Himire said, referring to the destruction of leaders’ homes. But the mood quickly changed.
‘I saw people with bottles filled with fuel. They took it from motorbikes. They started attacking parliament,” Pandey said.
A girl who is a law graduate cried when she saw the Supreme Court on fire – she said it was like a “temple” to her. Friends doused the flames with water in an attempt to put them out. Everyone at the talks at the invitation of the military. Prasai was arrested for his role in violent pro-monarchy protests in March. He fled to India but was returned to Nepal. Generation Z protesters left the talks because of his involvement.
Reuters photo
Meanwhile, the families of the deceased protesters are struggling to cope with the loss.
“We are deeply shocked because we have lost our beloved son,” said Yubaraj Neupane, whose 23-year-old son Yogendr died in the protests. “I don’t know yet how he died.”
According to the coroner’s report, Yogendre was shot in the back of the head outside the parliament building.
The eldest son of the family was studying in Kathmandu and dreamt of becoming a civil servant. He always learnt a lot, friends and relatives said.
But on 8 September, he joined the protests with friends, dreaming of change in and power for decades.
Material prepared with the participation of Grace Choi