Nepal at a Crossroads: Youth Uprising, Rumors of Outside Influence, and a New Judge Who Promises Change
by Jaffa Levy
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Here is the Chinese Ambassador to Nepal, Hou Yanqi, singing with her colleagues the Nepali folk song Resham Firiri as a Dashain greeting to the people of Nepal. Hou Yanqi served as ambassador from 2018 to 2022 and became known for her cultural diplomacy during a period when Nepal’s ties with China grew markedly closer. That closeness has unsettled Nepal’s larger neighbor India and drawn scrutiny from the United States — giving rise to rumors of a “hidden hand” behind the recent student protests.
Kathmandu — The smoke has cleared in the capital, but the memory of September’s Gen-Z uprising is still raw. Streets once filled with placards, chants, and fire are now quieter: buses push through traffic again, shops have reopened, and curfews have been lifted. On the surface, law and order has been restored.
Yet underneath the normalcy lies unease — not only about the dozens of lives lost and the resignation of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, but about what, or who, was really behind the unrest.
From Social Media Ban to Discord Revolution
The trigger was abrupt: a sweeping social media ban on September 5, cutting off Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, and X. For Nepal’s youth, already frustrated by corruption and economic stagnation, it was the breaking point.
On September 8, thousands poured into Kathmandu’s streets. What began with flowers and slogans escalated into clashes, arson, and gunfire. By September 10, Oli was gone, replaced by Sushila Karki, Nepal’s first female prime minister and a former chief justice, chosen through an extraordinary process: a youth-led “vote” on Discord.
“This was our moment,” said a 21-year-old student in Lalitpur, who joined the march carrying a handwritten sign reading “Stop Corruption, Stop Silence.” “But after the gunshots, it became something else.”
A Judge Takes the Helm
Karki’s appointment has brought cautious hope. Her reputation as an incorruptible judge offers credibility in a country weary of impunity. Law and order, at least formally, has returned: traffic once again clogs Kalanki, and school gates are reopening.
But the new government’s stability hinges on a three-member judicial panel led by retired Judge Gauri Bahadur Karki. With a three-month mandate, it must answer the questions now consuming Nepal: who turned a peaceful protest into riots, and why?
Theories of the Hidden Hand
On X, where conversation has surged since the ban was lifted, the uprising is being dissected in real time. Many posts celebrate the “Discord revolution,” portraying it as a glimpse of direct democracy powered by technology. Memes show laptops beside barricades; slogans dub this the “future of Gen-Z politics.”
But another narrative has gained traction: the claim of a hidden hand. Accounts with geopolitical followings allege foreign orchestration — a “Soros/CIA/NED coup,” a Western-backed color revolution packaged as people power. They argue that NGOs and external actors saw an opportunity to destabilize Nepal, wedged between India and China.
Counterpoints come from Nepali voices who insist this was grassroots anger: about remittances making up a third of GDP, 80% of jobs stuck in the informal sector, and 2,000 young people leaving the country each day. “We didn’t need America to tell us to be angry,” wrote one Kathmandu activist. “We live the corruption every day.”
The truth is not yet clear. What is certain is that rumors of orchestration — whether foreign or domestic — are shaping how Nepalis interpret their own revolution.
Regional Stakes
The upheaval has unsettled Nepal’s neighbors. India worries about border stability and migration pressures. China fears unrest spilling into Tibet. The United States has urged reforms but has been accused, in online debates, of encouraging the unrest.
Sushila Karki’s government must walk a fine line: promising reform to satisfy domestic anger, while avoiding becoming a pawn in geopolitical rivalries.
Conclusion: A Nation Between Hope and Suspicion
For now, Nepal’s Gen-Z protests are remembered as both tragedy and turning point: tragedy for the 74 killed, turning point because an old guard of politicians fell within days.
Life in Kathmandu looks normal again, but uncertainty lingers. Whether the uprising will be remembered as a genuine youth revolt or a manipulated “color revolution” depends on what the inquiry uncovers.
For many parents, the stakes are simpler. “We just want our children safe, not martyrs,” said a mother outside a reopened school in Bhaktapur. “But if they ask for justice, who can tell them no?”
