Kathmandu is quiet under curfew, its streets patrolled by soldiers. But the silence feels uneasy, as though the city itself is holding its breath after two days of chaos that left at least 19 people dead, government buildings in flames, and Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli out of office.
Oli, who resigned Tuesday after Parliament was stormed and set ablaze by furious demonstrators, was no stranger to controversy. Still, his abrupt fall reflects something deeper: a generational revolt against a political class long seen as corrupt and insulated. The protests, ignited by young Nepalis, quickly became a reckoning for the entire establishment.
It began with anger over corruption scandals and the flaunted lifestyles of so-called “Nepo kids” — children of politicians who post their wealth online while millions struggle. Days after Nepal briefly banned social media platforms for failing to comply with new rules, protests spilled onto Kathmandu’s streets. Police fired live rounds. By nightfall Monday, bodies lay in the streets and more than 100 people were wounded.
The violence only hardened the resolve of the protesters, many of them Gen Z. They returned the next day, torching Parliament and setting fire to the office of Kantipur Publications, the country’s most influential media group. In scenes reminiscent of past uprisings, ministers were evacuated by helicopter. In some districts, prisons were broken open.
Read Also: Supreme Court Allows Immigration Raids To Continue In LA
With police overwhelmed, President Ram Chandra Poudel ordered the military into the streets. Soldiers now guard intersections and government compounds. Bishnu Raj Upreti, a public policy analyst, told Al Jazeera the move was extraordinary but not unprecedented, recalling the Maoist insurgency that ended in 2006 with the abolition of Nepal’s monarchy.
Still, the question remains: who governs now? Oli is gone, his ministers fleeing. The army insists it is only stabilizing the situation, not seizing power. But protesters have made clear they will not accept another prime minister drawn from the same political elite.
For many young Nepalis, the fight is about more than corruption. It is about trust in institutions, a demand for leaders who reflect their frustrations and aspirations. In the glow of burned-out buildings, chants still echo: they want change, not just a new face.
Whether Nepal’s fractured democracy can deliver that change — or whether the army’s presence hardens into something more permanent — is the question hanging over a country once again at a crossroads.