Nepal’s harshest unrest in years shows that in the digital age, silencing online voices can shake the state itself.
FORMER PRIME MINISTER K.P. Sharma Oli now finds himself cast in the same light as Bangladesh’s Sheikh Hasina. Both tried to muzzle dissent by curbing social media, both underestimated the rage of a connected generation, and both ended up facing street uprisings that shook their regimes.
What began as simmering discontent over corruption, failed post-Covid recovery, and joblessness exploded when Oli’s government blocked Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, YouTube, X, and 22 other platforms. At least 22 people have been killed. Mobs torched the homes of ministers, MPs, and even former prime ministers. The president, prime minister, and several ministers have fled to safer places.
With police overwhelmed, the army appealed for calm. Yet senior figures were not spared: an ex-prime minister from the Nepali Congress was injured, while both ruling and opposition cadres came under attack. The violence has left the state rattled and its leadership in hiding.
A Leaderless Revolt in a Wired Nation
The protests are striking in their nature: leaderless but relentless. Driven by Gen Z activists, students, and anarchist groups, they lack a single figure to negotiate with. What began as anger at censorship quickly broadened into demands for jobs, accountability, and an end to corruption.
Nepal has long settled its political battles on the streets. The People’s Movement of 1990 ended absolute monarchy; the 2006 Jana Andolan forced King Gyanendra to retreat. On September 8, that tradition resurfaced with a digital-age twist. This time the spark was not monarchy or constitutional crisis but a government’s attempt to unplug the lifeline of its youth: social media.
Authorities argued the blackout was lawful, citing the 2023 Social Media Directives and a Supreme Court order requiring platforms to register locally, appoint representatives, and curb harmful content. TikTok and Viber complied; Meta and Google did not.
Oli claimed extremists had hijacked the protests, while officials insisted only defaulters were penalised. To citizens, however, the move looked like censorship, not regulation.
In a country where over 90 percent of internet users depend on these apps for news, remittances, tourism, and small business, the blackout felt like suffocation. Allegations of corruption had already eroded trust in politicians. The ban was the last straw.
Systemic Anger, Economic Fallout
The unrest reflects anger far deeper than a digital shutdown. Fourteen governments in sixteen years, spiralling inflation, dynastic privilege, and broken promises have left Nepalis disillusioned. Social media was the one platform where the young majority felt heard. Its closure silenced their only forum. Royalist forces, once marginalised, seized the moment to re-emerge, adding muscle to the movement.
Fire engulfs the Singha Durbar palace, Kathmandu, whose grounds house government and parliament buildings. Courtesy: Narendra Shrestha/EPA
The economic damage is significant. Inflation is biting, youth unemployment is stubbornly high, and reliance on remittances makes households fragile. The ban hurt tourism, cut off migrant families, and deprived telecoms of crucial revenue. India reinforced its border posts fearing spillover, while telecom providers warned of massive losses as 80 percent of internet traffic came from the blocked apps.
Unlike past upheavals, however, protesters avoided anti-India rhetoric. With communists in power, blaming New Delhi was politically risky. The Nepali Congress, traditionally close to India, acted as a stabilising force, while China stayed on the sidelines. For once, neither neighbour became the scapegoat.
The Digital Lesson for Democracy
The turmoil underscores a 21st-century truth: shutting down online spaces is as combustible as curbing the ballot box. For Nepal’s youth, digital rights are democratic rights. Lifting the ban may ease tensions, but the harder task is restoring credibility and opening dialogue with citizens.
Unless trust is rebuilt and accountability ensured, Nepal risks sinking back into its familiar cycle of protest, repression, and instability—this time with battles fought not only on the streets but across cyberspace. 
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K. S. Tomar
The writer, a senior political analyst, is a former Editor of the Hindustan Times' Rajasthan edition and has spent nearly four decades in journalism, including a six year stint in Nepal where he covered Sino-India-Nepal complex relationship and had a ringside seat to the Himalayan Kingdom's transition into democracy.
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