‘Hope Nepali Leaders Have Picked Up Lessons From GenZ Protests’
Amir Qureshi, a businessman from Kathmandu, hopes that the new elected regime will lead the country to all-round development and prosperity. His views:
No revolution is built in a day. The same is true with the so-called GenZ revolution in Nepal. The social media ban which triggered the protests was merely a spark that lit the fire; the angst had been simmering for several months. Though it is still not clear whether it as organic protests or some organization was behind it, it is a matter of comfort that the situation has calmed down and an interim government has taken over.
Indeed, such a high degree of planned attack on constitutional institutions, courts of law, prisons, ministerial houses etc., cannot be activated in a flash. The roots of the violent protests that overthrew the government in Nepal run deeper as the unrest was brewing for the past few years with various cases of corruption surfacing out. One of the strongest reasons behind the protests is unemployment and the education system.
However, some of the incidents also brought shame to the country and the community – like assault on former ministers, torching and looting properties of the civilians, attacks on police and administrative officials, and looting of weapons and gear of the troops. Although it is clear that things were not moving in the right direction for the development of the country and its people, but the answer to mend the ways did not lie in violence.
The revolt, which organically started over visible charges of corruption, nepotism and social media ban, were hijacked by bigwigs who have larger ambitions. However, the frustration among the Gen Z was visible in heated discussions and criticism on various social media platforms. The youth of Nepal was enraged by the cases of nepotism and the extravagant lifestyle of the children of politicians.
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There were also many platforms that were genuinely highlighting and exposing concerns over limited employment opportunities, economic dependence on remittances, and perceptions of inequality, which fuelled dissatisfaction among younger Nepalis.
As things are moving towards normalcy under the interim government, Nepal can only hope and pray that the new leadership will pick up lessons from the violent protests and lead the country to a path of growth and all-round development.
Many of us in Nepal are also thankful to our military which took the proceedings in its hand before it could turn more ugly and are hopeful that we will soon have new and better elected leaders who will take pride in leading our nation take us towards a better future. As for us ordinary Nepalis, political instability is not our immediate concern but it is our survival. The entire country, especially Kathmandu, depends heavily on supplies from surrounding regions and the disturbance has paralyzed everything – traffic, fear of shortages and panic-induced looting. We pray for complete normalcy to return so we can lead a peaceful life.
As told to Rajat Rai
