Nepalese Gen-Z Riots Oust Prime Minister and Government

By Andrés Guzmán

On Sept. 24, Nepal’s government banned 26 social media platforms. This added fuel to the already burning fire. Nepalese citizens already saw the government as corrupt. Banning social media was an attempt to silence Gen Z protests, but it also hurt much of the economy. This sparked many riots, which eventually led to the prime minister to resign.

Many Nepalese depended on remittances, and because of the ban, were unable to pay important bills. Remittances are gifts between two or more people. Without being able to accept this cash, Nepalese citizens struggled. With around 20% of young Nepalis being unemployed, and the median age for the country being 25 years old, millions of people were affected financially by the ban. 

The young people who weren’t affected are known as “Nepo Kids,” the children of the Nepali elites. Nepo kids tended to flex their wealth online. Young Nepalis who are in poverty saw the posts as proof of government corruption.

Nepal didn’t ban every social media platform, however, which was an advantage for the organizers of these protests. They used Discord and Instagram channels, which were open to everyone. 

Hami Nepal is a non-profit organization that hosted these servers. Reports from India Today claimed that messages in these Discord servers were advocating for violence against the Nepalese government. These Discord servers also advised people to use Molotov cocktails and to seize ammunition from police stations. The server planned for the protest to happen on Sept. 9.

Outraged members of the Discord servers advised students not to attend school or work until police took accountability for their actions. At first, these protests were peaceful, but when a rock was thrown at a CCTV camera, armed police responded with live ammunition. The situation escalated when other protesters attempted to enter the Federal Parliament of Nepal, causing security to respond with tear gas, water cannons, and rubber bullets. Later that evening, the government lifted the social media ban. However, 347 people were injured and 19 were killed. 

The next day, many ministers fled instead of resigning, and the protests kept going, with many protesters lighting important government buildings on fire. Former prime ministers weren’t safe from these attacks, with Sher Bahadur Deuba’s house being set on fire, which injured his wife in the process. Anyone with power was attacked, causing many of their family members to be killed. Several protesters were injured, and 18 non-protesters were killed.

Following these riots, the Prime Minister, Sharma Oli, resigned. Elections were held in Discord by thousands of Nepali youth, where Sushila Karki was appointed as the temporary prime minister. She will act as the temporary Prime Minister until early elections in March 2026.