The Gen Z Revolution: Nepal’s Fight for a New Democracy

By Upasana Lamsal

Lede: In early September, Nepal’s youth led a historic uprising against 35 years of institutional corruption. Sparked by government-incited police brutality against peaceful demonstrations, thousands of protestors filled the streets and shook the nation. These protests are representative of Nepal’s historic struggle for progress and young voices in democratic expression across the South Asian region and beyond.

KATHMANDU, Nepal – On Monday, Sept. 8, Nepal's future was rewritten by the hands of its youth. Adorned in school uniforms and carrying homemade posters, they marched with peaceful yet urgent intentions. In response to the government banning social media, young demonstrators demanded an end to decades of political corruption devastating the country. By nightfall, however, the law enforcement crackdown devolved the protests into one of the deadliest incidents in years. Over 30 protesters were killed and more than 1,000 were injured. In the days that followed, what began as a single protest ballooned into nationwide unrest. Government buildings and extravagant family residences of the political elite went up in flames, as their occupants fled or were forced to resign. Within a few days, social media, the very platform the government had sought to silence, became the tool by which this generation chose a new interim leader, transforming the ashes of destruction into a hopeful mandate for change.

The uprisings of September 2025 are the most recent link in a long chain of resistance woven through Nepal’s modern history, much of it led by the country’s youth. On Feb. 18, 1990, Nepal erupted in what became known as the first Jana Andolan, directly translating to People’s Uprising, due to the political corruption occurring at the time under King Birendra’s dictatorship. Peasant and working-class citizens, especially student-aged members, all gathered together for a 50-day period of continuous protests and strikes. This grueling uprising resulted in the concession of King Birendra and a switch to a multiparty democracy. 

Despite this government change, corruption remained woven into the fabric of everyday life. The general Nepali working class was still struggling to survive.  The middle class saw little rise; the rural poor saw little investment. In the meantime, political leaders and their spoiled “nepo kids” grew richer, more visible, and more disconnected from the standard Nepali citizen.

As years continued to pass, Nepal’s four-term Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli rose as a dominant political figure. Under his rule, the inequality gap in the country was painfully visible. One in five Nepalis in the critical age group of 15-24 were jobless within the nation, leading to many young Nepalis leaving the country in order to find job opportunities and make a living wage. In fact, over a third of the nation’s GDP during Oli’s rule came from remittances from the Nepali citizens who were left with no choice but to look for employment abroad. In addition to economic disparities, Oli was notorious for instating new laws and regulations to censor discourse that opposed him and his party, the Maoist Communist Party of Nepal. His efforts culminated in an outright ban of 26 social media and general communication apps, ranging from Facebook and YouTube all the way to WhatsApp on Sept. 4, 2025. 

To many, this ban served as a “final straw.” Citizens saw their means of connectivity and channels of expression for the injustices they were facing being abruptly disregarded and cut off. In response, large Gen-Z-led protests began in Kathmandu, the country’s capital. These protests quickly spread to neighboring cities, calling for a lift of the social media ban but more importantly, drastic political reform and remediation of the corruption that had plagued the country for decades. Law enforcement responded with force, teargassing protesters and firing rubber bullets and live ammunition. At least 19 people died on that first day of the protest, and hundreds were injured, many of them students still in their uniforms. The next day, protests escalated. Parliament, luxury hotels, and homes of politicians and leaders were set ablaze. By the end of the second day, after the burning of his personal home, K.P. Oli quickly resigned.

“To facilitate further efforts toward a constitutional political solution and problem resolution, I hereby resign…,” Oli wrote in his conclusion letter.

Oli’s fellow cabinet members also slowly resigned, and there was a dissolution of the parliament. In the void left by these resignations, Nepal’s youth movement did the opposite of dissolve; instead, it turned the country firmly towards a temporary digital democracy. With formal leadership structures weakened or distrusted, young Nepalis organized via social media, online forums, and most notably, Discord. 

More than 100,000 Gen Z Nepalis joined a massive Discord server put together by the Gen-Z-led nonprofit organization called Hami Nepal. Their agenda was to debate, propose, and vote on candidates for interim Prime Minister. Discord, originally a gaming/chat app, became their virtual parliament. While several names were thrown around, Sushila Karki was chosen by the people to serve as interim Prime Minister. Her name was then proposed in a meeting with the army chief and Nepal’s President Ram Chandra Poudel, and she officially took the oath of office on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025. 

Sushila Karki was ultimately chosen because of her reputation for integrity and her history of standing up to corruption as Nepal’s first female Chief Justice. She was also endorsed by the popular young mayor of Kathmandu, the eccentric rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah, who is widely revered among the younger generation for his bias towards action. Now leading an interim government until the March 2026 elections, Karki faces urgent challenges: investigating protest deaths, rebuilding burned infrastructure, restoring law and order, and ensuring free and fair elections. Yet her appointment signals a turning point, proof of Gen Z’s power to unite behind reform, demand accountability, and shape a new era of youth-driven democracy in Nepal.

Citations:

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