Nepal is on fire!

Protesters celebrate at the Singha Durbar, the seat of Nepal's Government offices after it was set on fire during a protest in Kathmandu on Tuesday.
Photo: AP

What began as a Gen Z-led social media movement against the lavish lifestyles of “Nepo Kids” led to the ousting of a Prime Minister and the deadliest social unrest Nepal has seen in years, CNN notes.

The protests, which are led by people ages 13 to 28 – the cohort known as Generation Z – are Nepal’s worst unrest in years.

Anger had been brewing for years about the country’s worsening youth unemployment crisis and lack of economic opportunities, exacerbated by what many viewed as a growing disparity between the country’s elite and regular people.

Word quickly spread in the Himalayan country of 30 million. Then, a government ban last week on more than two dozen social media platforms including Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp added fuel to the fire.

“The buildup of the frustration was what led to this movement,” Sareesha Shrestha, who attended the protests told CNN, describing the social media ban as the “last straw.”

The unemployment rate for youth aged 15-24 in Nepal was 20.8% in 2024, according to the World Bank, forcing many young people to move abroad to find work. More than a third (33.1%) of Nepal’s GDP came from personal remittances, according to the World Bank, a number that has steadily risen over the past three decades.

What led to the protests?

The demonstrations were ostensibly triggered by the government's decision last week to ban 26 social media platforms, including WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook – but they have since grown to embody much deeper discontent with Nepal's political elite.

“Social media is the only platform where we can talk and share and follow the global media,” said Pramin, a filmmaker in Nepal who attended the protests. “Most of our friends, our families, our brothers, are outside the country so that was the medium of communication.”

In the weeks before the ban, a "nepo kid" campaign, spotlighting the lavish lifestyles of politicians' children and allegations of corruption, had taken off on social media.

And while the social media ban was hastily lifted on Monday night, the protests had by that stage gained unstoppable momentum, plunging the nation into chaos.

Hundreds of protesters broke into and torched the country's parliament building, smashing windows and spray-painting graffiti and anti-corruption messages on the walls.

Prime Minister Oli stepped down

On Monday morning, thousands of young people, including many dressed in school uniforms, gathered at Maitighar Mandala, a monument in the heart of Kathmandu near the federal parliament building.

But the protests quickly spiraled out of control when some of the protesters surged towards the parliament building and began climbing up the gate, clashing with police. Police used live ammunition, water cannons, and tear gas against the protesters, according to Reuters news agency.

Nearly 19 people were killed and hundreds were wounded in the clashes Monday, according to Nepali authorities.

On Tuesday, the protests ballooned as people of all ages defied curfews and came out into the streets to protest the government’s bloody crackdown.

Protesters smashed windows and looted local businesses and set government buildings on fire. The country’s main international airport shut because of the violence, according to a notice posted Tuesday afternoon. The Supreme Court and the Singha Durbar, a sprawling palace complex in Kathmandu which houses Nepal’s government ministries, were both set on fire.

Video also appeared to show demonstrators ransacking Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s private residence on Tuesday, Reuters reported. Crowds of protesters could be seen breaking into the property and destroying furniture before setting it alight.

On Tuesday afternoon, in a self-proclaimed bid to pave the way for a constitutional solution, Prime Minister Oli stepped down.

"In view of the adverse situation in the country, I have resigned effective today to facilitate the solution to the problem and to help resolve it politically in accordance with the constitution," Oli wrote in his letter to President Ramchandra Paudel.

By Wednesday, the streets in Kathmandu, many littered with piles of charred debris, were largely quiet. Some buildings still smoldered from the fires of the day before, and soldiers carrying rifles enforced a nationwide curfew.

What comes next is uncertain.

Nepal’s President Ramchandra Paudel has urged demonstrators to “cooperate for a peaceful resolution” and called on youth protesters to “come to talk.”

Army on the streets

Nepal's army has deployed patrols on the streets of Kathmandu, as the Himalayan nation reels from its worst unrest in decades, BBC informs.

Fierce protests against corruption and nepotism spiralled into arson and violence on Tuesday. The prime minister resigned as politicians' homes were vandalised, government buildings torched and parliament set ablaze. More than 20 people have died in the unrest since Monday.

But the "Gen Z" groups spearheading the protests distanced themselves from the destruction, saying it was "hijacked" by "opportunists".

Nationwide curfews are currently in place until Thursday morning and the army has warned of punishment for anyone involved in violence and vandalism.

Twenty-seven people have been arrested for their involvement in violence and lootings and 31 firearms have been found, it added.

Another supporter of change – 24-year-old Parash Pratap Hamal, who took part in Tuesday's demonstrations – says he is now cleaning up because they had caused "a lot of pollution".

He believes Nepal "needs independent political figures", he says - citing Kathmandu mayor Balendra Shah as someone who would make a good leader for the country.

The military is attempting to control a volatile situation, with Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli's resignation leaving a leadership vacuum.

His government's abortive attempt to ban social media triggered the demonstrations that saw 19 protesters killed in clashes with police on Monday.

Thousands of inmates have escaped from prisons around Kathmandu in the chaos, local officials told BBC Nepali.

The military has invited the Gen Z protesters to engage in peace talks. Student leaders are consolidating a fresh list of demands, one of their representatives told the BBC.

…The events in Nepal can be viewed from two points of view.

The first is that it is a purely internal matter, and people are unhappy with their government.

The second is that it is a well-disguised provocation on the borders of India and China. Now they have jointly challenged the West by proposing at the SCO summit not only the creation of a "new global governance", but also by uniting with Russia into the RIC Troika. This is another challenge for the West.

Nepal is located exactly between India and China: