Tag: nepal

‘Gen Z’ Protesters Storm Communist HQ in Nepal, Throw Down Hammer and Sickle Flag

The young protesters who overthrew the government of Communist Party leader K.P. Sharma Oli last week also made a point of storming the Communist Party headquarters and throwing down its infamous hammer and sickle flag.

Prime Minister Oli announced his resignation last Tuesday, driven from office by the huge youth protests known as the “Gen Z Movement.” 

The incident that sparked the protest was Oli’s government attempting to ban most popular social media platforms. The ban has since been rescinded, but protesters said it was just the spark that ignited years of anger about mounting government corruption. The movement truly caught fire after several protesters were gunned down by the police.

Oli represented the Communist leg of a triple alliance that also included Nepal’s Maoists and the socialist Nepali Congress Party. The ruling alliance has fended off a few other challenges to its power over the years, but seemed completely incapable of dealing with the large, energetic, and spontaneous protests unleashed by the social media ban.

This could be partly due to the vast gulf that has opened between Nepal’s political elite and ordinary citizens. As the Gen Z protesters explained to reporters, the social media ban did not just stifle their ability to speak and organize politically — it threatened to eliminate online platforms they were using to find jobs and run their business ventures.

Keep reading

Where VPN Demand Surged Due To Internet Blocks In 2025

Violence and chaos have gripped Nepal as protests sparked by the blocking of social media sites spiralled out of control.

The country’s prime minister resigned Tuesday after security forces fired on protestors Monday. Hundreds were injured and at least 22 people died, most by live ammunition. The army assumed control Tuesday night after many government and other buildings were set ablaze by protestors.

Young people were reported to lead the uprising, which was catalized by the attempt to surpress online expression but brought to the surface the population’s deep discontent with issues like corruption, inequality and political participation.

Democracy in Nepal only has a relatively short history and despite the last remnants of its monarchy abolished in 2008, nepotism and deep-seated corruption have continued to rule the country, drawing the ire of the population.

This is especially true for young Nepalese who struggle with finding employment and opportunity. In a country dependent on the remittances of workers abroad, the social media ban has been described as a very strong trigger as it cut off communications with the diaspora.

As Statista’s Katharina Buchholz shows in the chart below, using data from website Top10VPN, Nepal’s social media blocks elicited the most pronounced response in terms of people looking for a way around via VPNs this year.

On September 7, VPN search volume in the country had risen almost 3,000 percent above the previous month’s average – the biggest spike recorded globally this year by the source.

Keep reading

The Motive for Nepal’s Revolution

The final straw for the revolution in Nepal was the government’s attempt to stifle free speech by banning social media platforms. These events did not take place because a few kids had their tablets taken away. Extreme government corruption ran rampant for years while the elite lived luxurious lifestyles in spite of the people they ruled over. The Nepalese government attempted to prevent the people from freely voicing their growing discontent, and then, when the people attempted to protest, the government murdered over 20 school-aged children in cold blood.

The media has poorly portrayed the cause of events by calling it the “Gen Z” revolution, sparked by a social media ban, which is entirely misleading, as the culprit was corruption and poverty. One in four citizens lives below the poverty line, with the average Nepali earning $1,400 USD annually. The poorest 20% spend around 67% of their income on food, and, much like most nations, in 2025, the majority is struggling to maintain the cost of living.

Keep reading

Nepal Army Takes Over Capital As Politicians Flee By Helicopter, Mayhem Worsens

The collapse of the Nepal government situation has gone from bad to worse overnight and into Wednesday. Parliament has gone up in flames, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has resigned, there have been dozens of deaths and injuries – including among some government officials or their families. 

Government ministers have been seen fleeing the capital, chased by enraged mobs of mostly youth, sick of government corruption and following the latest attempt to outright ban a large number of popular social media sites, including Facebook, X, Instagram, WhatsApp and YouTube.

But apparently the social media ban days ago was simply the straw that broke the camel’s back. “The unrest started in early September, when a group of young Nepalis, fed up with seeing politicians’ children posting about their designer handbags and luxury travel while most people struggle to make ends meet, organized a peaceful protest,” CNN reviews.

“Anger had been brewing for years about the country’s worsening youth unemployment crisis and lack of economic opportunities, exacerbated by what many viewed as a growing disparity between the country’s elite and regular people,” the report adds.

Residents of top politicians in Kathmandu have been reported attacked and in some cases damaged or set on fire, including the home of the now former prime minister of the country.

Keep reading

Nineteen killed in Nepal in ‘Gen Z’ protest over social media ban, corruption

At least 19 people in two cities died on Monday in Nepal’s worst unrest in decades, authorities said, as police in the capital fired tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters trying to storm parliament in anger at a social media shutdown and corruption.

Some of the protesters, most of them young, forced their way into the parliament complex in Kathmandu by breaking through a barricade, a local official said, setting fire to an ambulance and hurling objects at lines of riot police guarding the legislature.

“The police have been firing indiscriminately,” one protester told the ANI news agency. “(They) fired bullets which missed me but hit a friend who was standing behind me. He was hit in the hand.”

More than 100 people including 28 police personnel were receiving medical treatment for their injuries, police officer Shekhar Khanal told Reuters. Protesters were ferrying the injured to hospital on motorcycles.

A government decision last week to block access to several social media platforms, including Meta Platforms’ (META.O), opens new tab Facebook, has fuelled anger among the young. About 90% of Nepal’s 30 million people use the internet.

Officials said they imposed the ban because platforms had failed to register with authorities in a crackdown on misuse, including false social media accounts used to spread hate speech and fake news, and commit fraud.

Two of the 19 people were killed when protests in the eastern city of Itahari turned violent, police said.

Keep reading

Nepal’s PM quits and flees as his house is burned down by protesters who also chase finance minister through streets and attack him following outcry over social media ban

Nepal’s Prime Minister has resigned and fled after protesters burned down his house and chased his finance minister through the streets before attacking him, following public fury over a social media ban. 

Young Nepalis are leading angry protests across the country, with violence spreading in the capital and other cities. 

After enraged crowds torched KP Sharma Oli’s home, a new video footage has shown how Bishnu Prasad Paudel was pursued and set upon by a mob through the streets of Kathmandu.  

In the shocking clip, Paudel, 65, is seen sprinting down a road as dozens run after him. A protester coming from the other side leaps and kicks him, sending him crashing against a red wall.

The government official quickly gets up, stumbles, but starts running again before the video ends. Paudel, who doubles as the deputy prime minister of the country, has faced intense criticism since he began running Nepal’s economic affairs last year. 

Meanwhile, Oli, 73, stepped down a day after one of the bloodiest crackdowns in years left at least 19 dead. 

He had only begun his fourth term last year, following a coalition deal between his Communist Party and the centre-left Nepali Congress.

His departure came after three other ministers also resigned, even though the government had lifted the ban on social media. The country’s president, Ram Chandra Poudel, has now started the process of selecting a new leader. 

Keep reading

Nepalese government blocks access to nearly every major social media platform

The government of Nepal has blocked public access to 26 social media and communications platforms, including Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp and X, due to the companies’ failure to comply with the government’s demand for registration.  The deadline to register was 4 September 2025.

The Nepal Telecommunication Authority ordered the platforms to be taken offline under government direction, citing a Supreme Court-mandated compliance push that requires all digital platforms to formally register and monitor content deemed inappropriate by officials.

The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology had given the platforms seven days to comply with the “Directive on Regulating the Use of Social Media, 2080.”  The failure to do so resulted in the access being revoked, as stated by the Ministry’s spokesperson, Gajendra Kumar Thakur, who confirmed that unregistered social media platforms would be deactivated immediately.

The blocked list includes nearly every major social media platform, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, X, Reddit, Rumble, LinkedIn, Signal, Pinterest, Threads, Discord, WeChat and more, Reclaim the Net said.

TikTok and Viber have not been blocked because they had completed the registration process earlier, as well as Telegram, Wetalk, Nimbuzz and Global Diary, which are either registered or currently in the process of registration.

The government’s action is a response to a collection of legal petitions filed over several years, aimed at regulating unregistered digital platforms that broadcast advertising and media content in Nepal.  Officials, including Nepal’s Minister for Communications and Information Technology, have stated that the companies were warned repeatedly to register and comply with the government’s request.

The government insists that access to the blocked platforms will be restored immediately once they comply with the registration demands, which include appointing a local representative, establishing a complaints process and taking responsibility for censoring speech, as outlined in the strict rules introduced by the Government.

The move has caused widespread confusion, disrupted communication for migrant workers, affected the tourism industry and sparked protests.  Private operator Ncell warned that 50 per cent of its internet traffic comes from social media platforms and that shutting them down would severely hurt business.

The Government says it is part of a broader effort to regulate online content and combat misinformation, although critics warn it threatens freedom of expression and press freedom.

Keep reading