The so-called Gen Z protests in Nepal have forced Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and many of his cabinet ministers to resign on Tuesday, September 9th, a day after police firing killed nearly 20 protesters and wounded several others.
The youths, who started their protests against the ban imposed on American social media platforms and opposing the rampant corruption in Nepalese politics, have gone berserk and resorted to vandalism and arson all over the country.
Though the Gen Z protests in Nepal have been non-partisan on the surface, the protesters have shown signs of support for neo-liberal political personalities, whose policies conform to the West’s agendas.
The extensive support for the Gen Z protests in Nepal by the West and its allies has also raised questions about the real intention behind the widespread movement.
Who benefits from Gen Z protests in Nepal?
While all sections of Nepalese politics, from the right-wing Congress party to Mr Oli’s left-wing Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) [CPN (UML)] and Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s (Prachanda) CPN (Maoist-Centre) have come under attack from the agitators, two controversial political personnel have gained a lot of traction at the same time.
Former American citizen-cum-television host-turned-politician Rabi Lamichhane, who was lodged in the Nakkhu Prison in a major corruption case, a case that even the Supreme Court had mentioned holds weight, became a central figure of attraction for Gen Z youths holding protests against corruption in Nepal.
On Tuesday, hundreds of Gen Z youth encircled the Nakkhu Prison, demanding the release of Mr Lamichhane, who had earlier founded the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) in 2022 and formed a post-poll coalition with Mr Dahal’s CPN (Maoist-Centre).
Mr Lamichhane is a vehement proponent of neo-liberal ideology in the sphere of economy and promotes privatisation of Nepalese state resources to grow the private sector.
His RSP’s agenda centres around promoting the neo-liberal ideology, driven with the help of anti-corruption rhetoric, to lure the urban middle classes.
Tuesday’s Gen Z protests outside the Nakkhu Prison in Nepal have reportedly forced the authorities to bring Mr Lamichhane out and deliver a lecture to the agitators.
There are unconfirmed reports that the authorities may have freed him to secure the jail, which the protesters allegedly threatened to set on fire.
This incident raises questions over the anti-corruption rhetoric of the ongoing Gen Z protests in Nepal, as its supporters are hailing a man accused of a major fraud.
Apart from Mr Lamichhane, another politician who escaped the heat of the protests and has been projected as the country’s interim leader is Balendra Shah ‘Balen’.
The rapper-turned-independent politician has been the mayor of Kathmandu Municipal Corporation (KMC).
After his rapping career, Mr Shah won the 2022 mayoral race running independently and questioning the country’s traditional parties.
Alike Mr Lamichhane, Mr Shah also became a political disruptor and promoted his populist agenda, which resulted in the KMC acting against street vendors and slum dwellers in Kathmandu.
Mr Shah had also raised the anti-corruption bogey to instigate his Gen Z supporters from time to time, while promoting policies that conform to the neo-liberal framework of the West.
Is Nepal seeing a ‘colour revolution’?
The Gen Z protests in Nepal, their violent form and attacks on public institutions and the state machinery, have raised questions over the overall nature of the movement.
Alike other regime change operations by the West, especially the US government, called ‘colour revolution’, the Gen Z movement was coupled with a statement issued by certain embassies.
In a statement, the embassies of several countries—Australia, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, Norway, South Korea, Switzerland, the UK and, above all, the US—have “reaffirmed” their “strong support for the universal rights of peaceful assembly and freedom of expression”.
Joint Statement by the Embassies of Australia, Finland, France, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America in Nepal:
— U.S. Embassy Nepal (@USEmbassyNepal) September 8, 2025
We are deeply saddened by the violence seen in Kathmandu and elsewhere in Nepal today, including the tragic loss of life…
The statement ironically mentions the support for peaceful assembly and freedom of expression when the American and British governments have unleashed state violence targeting protesters demanding an end to the Gaza genocide.
Both have systematically banned protests against Israel and arrested several activists for protesting.
The massive public anger over a faltering economy caused by the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) pressure on the CPN(UML)-Congress coalition government has paved the way for the large-scale Gen Z protests across the country.
While traditionally remittances have played a major role in Nepal’s economy, contributing nearly 33% of the 2024 GDP, the IMF has pushed the government to increase its income, leading to higher fuel prices and the introduction of digital taxes on social media platforms.
Under the garb of fighting online scams, the federal government under Mr Oli had ordered the social media platforms to register with it, under an official address in the country. The government had banned social media platforms for not abiding by its order.
While the Chinese-origin social media platforms like TikTok and WeChat had complied with the legal provisions, American companies like Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, Google, which owns YouTube, etc, have declined to comply, extending the ban on them.
This triggered Gen Z youths for two reasons.
Firstly, due to the prevalence of the so-called “creator economy”, many are earning their livelihood through social media platforms. The blanket ban caused a major setback for them amid soaring unemployment, which rose to 20.82% in 2024.
Secondly, many accused the government of banning the social media platforms to conceal the leaked videos of family members of the country’s political elite enjoying a lavish lifestyle in other countries.
While the West’s economic tool IMF, compelled the government to impose a digital tax on social media platforms, the West’s technology giants refused to abide by the Nepalese government’s diktat.
Yet, at the same time, the country suddenly experienced an eruption of protests and violence, which resulted in the killing of young protesters.
This trajectory, especially as the initial eyewitness accounts from Kathmandu claimed on Monday that outsiders came into the movement and launched an attack on the security forces, prompting them to fire at the protesters, appears to conform to the generic colour revolution template.
Why does the West need a colour revolution in Nepal?
Political instability, a lack of a strong and stable government since the collapse of the monarchy in 2006, caused reforms sought by the West to progress slowly.
On the one hand, Nepal remains a country where, despite being fragmented into several factions, the communists play a major role in its parliamentary politics, which doesn’t allow the IMF’s agenda to get implemented at a faster pace; on the other hand, a new section of politicians, represented by Mr Lamichhane and Mr Shah, have rose in the national political arena as independents and have been driving pro-Western reforms quite swiftly, sans the Marxist ideological baggage.
While the fragmented communists, from CPN, CPN(UML) to CPN(Maoist-Centre), had a long history of pro-democracy and pro-republican struggles, they have lost their vote banks due to their ideological vacillations and formation of opportunist coalitions to remain in power.
The old leaders and their parochial outlook fail to attract Gen Z, unlike the new age, pro-West leaders.
Their opportunism has rendered them weaker and non-dependable for the aspiring youth, who are suffering due to high unemployment and seek employment outside the country.
Capitalising on this, India’s ruling far-right Hindutva camp-backed monarchists have intensified their movements to restore the monarchy, revert Nepal to a Hindu Rashtra and bring “order and stability” under deposed king Gyanendra.
The wider horizon of pro-West neo-liberal, monarchist and centrist opposition has helped the West to decide on a shock therapy for Nepal to hasten the reform process and to liquidate its national resources.
While the CPN(Maoist-Centre) and other communists were in the Opposition, they didn’t build a strong movement against the government’s corruption and failures in managing the economy, providing space to the far-right forces.
The West has utilised this opportunity, especially in view of Mr Oli’s closeness with China, where he visited to participate in the commemoration of the 80th Victory Day against Japanese aggression, ignoring the West’s diktats.
Soon after Mr Oli’s CPN (UML) held its second national convention in Godavari Municipality of Lalitpur district from September 5th to September 7th, it faced the massive uprisings against its government.
With Mr Oli gone, the presidential palace facing attacks, the Nepalese Army, whose senior officials are known for their loyalty towards the monarchy, has taken over the country’s control.
If Mr Shah, the Kathmandu mayor, is perched atop an interim government formed under the military’s watch, the West can have its much-sought economic reforms unleashed.
It remains to be seen which direction the Gen Z protests, leading to a colour revolution in Nepal, will take now, with the elected government toppled.
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