What Nepal's Gen Z Uprising Can Learn from Aftermath of Bangladesh's Revolution

In the 21st century uprisings, there is no single hero. What exists are countless stakeholders, writes Arka Deb

Just as Hasina's government was called Delhi's puppet regime, Oli's can undoubtedly be termed Beijing's plaything.

(Photo: Altered by Kamran Akhter/The Quint)

Behind every revolution lies a noble aspiration for social justice. And in that struggle, rebellious figures like Spartacus lead from the front. That is what we have been told.

In the 21st century uprisings, there is no single hero. No single faction, not even a well-laid plan. What exists are countless stakeholders. Unyielding resolve.

A common minimum program, where even leftists and rightists alike can be seen marching together in the public surge. For those who view this sequence of events through the lens of the 20th century and feel disoriented, more surprises await.

That the direct or indirect fruits of a revolution might go to some oligarch, and the presence or absence of that oligarch becomes so pivotal that it topples a ruler from power—it's hard to recall such an event in living memory. Yet, on the surface, Nepal's student-led rebellion appears just like that.

Which Way Will Nepal Go?

It seems as if the absence of the chief architect of surveillance capitalism—like Facebook or Twitter—drove a group of young people onto the streets, where they faced bullets to the chest and pulled down the ruler. Yet this same Facebook's dangerous algorithm displaced thousands of Rohingya. So, has neo-capitalism found its robot mob? As the events unfold, one inevitably recalls Bangladesh's July uprising.

There are many similarities between KP Sharma Oli and Sheikh Hasina. Both have tasted power repeatedly and failed to sense their ouster until the last moment. In the same way, both were granted safe passage by the military. This reporter witnessed the face of furious crowds standing before 32 Dhanmondi.

As the army in Nepal douses the flames lit by enraged people who torched Nepal's Prime Ministerial residence and other institutions of political power, thousands of questions linger, awaiting answers

Was KP Sharma Oli forced out merely for banning social media? Will Nepal's future succumb to pressure from India or China? Does the movement in Nepal echo the protests that shook Bangladesh only months ago?

The ban on 26 social media platforms became the magnet for Nepal's Gen Z uprising. KP Oli never understood that for the new generation, social media is not just a means of communication but a platform for expression.

Blocking that communication amounts to interfering with freedom of expression. Silencing voices. And when voices are stifled, the repression rebounds instantly, returning as a doubly powerful tornado. Just as Bangladesh's internet shutdown backfired spectacularly. This decision was the result of failing to grasp the sensitivities of the younger generation.

During his previous tenure (2018–2021), Oli introduced a digital technology bill that people saw as a conspiracy to muzzle voices. In other words, today's rage has deep roots. As this anger turned into sparks, Oli's forces opened fire.

Different Protests, Similar Frustrations

At least 19 protesters lost their lives. Nepal hadn't seen such mass killings since the People's War (2006). Gen Z has no prior memory of it. Shocked by this sudden brutality, they turned vengeful, demanding retribution. That became the turning point of the rebellion.

Just as the deaths of Abu Sayed and Mir Mugdho elevated Bangladesh's quota reform movement to new heights.

After 20 lives were lost, Nepal's young men and women not only refused to go home—they repeatedly declared they wanted to see it through to the end. Even Oli's resignation doesn't satisfy them. They demand justice. In Bangladesh, the revolt against Sheikh Hasina began around quota reforms, but its context ran much deeper. She had turned two consecutive elections into unquestionable farces.

Coming to power in alliance with the Nepali Congress, Oli promised constitutional reforms and good governance. But those remained empty words.

Arka Deb/The Quint

This July alone, Oli's cabinet ministers Rajkumar Gupta and Balram Adhikari were forced to resign over allegations of demanding bribes of 7.8 million and 3.2 million rupees, respectively. Audio tapes surfaced.

Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak's name got entangled in a visit visa scam, where work visas for abroad were used to extort money illegally. The 'Nepo-Kid campaign', spotlighting the lavish lifestyles of politicians' children on social media, further fueled Nepal's Gen Z outrage. Videos under hashtags like #PoliticiansNepoBabyNepal contrasted elite privilege with ordinary citizens’ struggles, exposing stark inequality.

It mirrored the anger in Bangladesh, where Sheikh Hasina’s government was repeatedly accused of corruption and nepotism, with specific family members becoming focal points of public scorn. Such as her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy, who has faced lawsuits over allegedly amassing illegal wealth worth nearly Tk60 crore (about $5 million) and laundering $300 million to the US. Oe her daughter, Saima Wazed, accused of fraud and nepotism in securing her role as WHO's South-East Asia regional director, and her niece Tulip Siddiq, implicated alongside Hasina in corruption trials related to housing plot allocations and other graft schemes.

Additionally, close associates like economic advisor Salman F Rahman's son Ahmed Shayan Rahman and nephew Ahmed Shahryar Rahman became symbols of regime excess when UK authorities froze their multimillion-pound properties—including a £35m apartment in Mayfair’s Grosvenor Square—amid probes into money laundering and exploitation of state contracts.

Visuals of protests and demolitions during the July uprising in Bangladesh against the Sheikh Hasina government.

Arka Deb/The Quint

These charges Oli too could not escape. Both leaders promised accountability but stood exposed when their inner circles and families became symbols of excess.

Failed Leadership on Both Counts

These revelations against KP Sharma Oli had infuriated ordinary people across all sides. Nepalis realised that despite Oli's talk of integrity, he would pursue no real reforms. Teachers, students and people from all walks of life gradually raised their voices. Oli handled the deadly COVID-19 pandemic with indifference. As a result, educated, rational youth were never happy with him. Opportunistic right-wingers joined the fray. Vested interests tied to the monarchy also emerged. In this way, too, one can find character parallels with Bangladesh.

The fundamental difference between this movement and Bangladesh's lies in the question of gains.

Just as Hasina's government was called Delhi's puppet regime, Oli's can undoubtedly be termed Beijing's plaything.

In June 2020, Oli approved a new map that claimed nearly 400 square kilometers of Indian territory as Nepal's own.

The accusation: ultra-nationalism and patriotism were his weapons. Before this map emerged, Oli held frequent meetings with China's ambassador to Nepal, Hou Yanqi. Around the same time, Oli claimed that Ram, an avatar for Hindus, was a Nepali prince and that Ayodhya was located in Nepal.

RSS mouthpieces repeatedly criticised Oli's audacity.

After Hasina's fall, Professor Muhammad Yunus took charge of Bangladesh's interim government. He described the mass uprising as meticulously designed—planned.

In Nepal, following this rebellion, Balendra Shah emerged as the undisputed leader and was also in the running for Prime Minister. Balendra once studied in Karnataka. He won elections as an independent candidate. He has reshaped many equations in Nepal. His popularity among the youth is unmatched. He gained fame by writing raps against corruption.

Will the weary Gen Z place their faith on his broad shoulders to seek justice for state-sponsored killings? Will he, too someday be introduced as the "mastermind" of a planned uprising like Mahfuj Alam, Adviser for Information and Broadcasting of Bangladesh, was tagged for a long? A knight on the chessboard? Or a pawn?

For now, Sushila Karki, a former Chief Justice of Nepal, has been sworn in as the head of the interim government after days of political turmoil, just Like Muhammad Yunus accepted the responsibility. Her 'clean' image as a lawmaker has got the approval of the youth too. Will Karki be a bit more pro-active than the Professor in bringing stability to a post-revolution nation?

(Arka Deb is the Editor of Bengali news magazine Inscript.me. He has worked as a senior journalist at CNN-News18, Anandabazar Patrika. This is an opinion article and the views expressed above are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for them.)