-Bibek Dhoj Thapa
The Gen Z movement of Nepal, which raged on September 8 and 9, led to more than 70 martyrs, more than 2,100 injuries and significant destruction of public and private properties. The entire country is mourning the souls of the departed, all while looking forward to the election, which will be held on March 5, 2026.
The Prime Minister (PM) of the interim government, Sushila Karki, when taking office, said, “The movement that took place in the country was extraordinary, unlike anywhere else. In just 27 hours of protest, a radical transformation occurred.”
Gen Z is a generation which grew up alongside technological development, and technology has largely shaped their lifestyle. They have proven the critics who said that Gen Z are just ‘keyboard warriors’ and they cannot make any impact in the real world by coming out while using the same technology to influence the trajectory of this movement.
Nepo-Baby Trend
The entire population of Nepal, particularly Gen Z, has long been frustrated with rampant corruption, irregularities, poor governance, and political instability, among other issues. Out of this frustration, something began brewing on social media. It was from early September that the Gen Zs of Nepal started making reels with pictures and videos of the Nepo-Babies, going on foreign trips, flexing their designer purchases, expensive cars, and showing off their misuse of the state’s services.
The Gen Z were writing captions with compilations of pictures and videos of Nepo babies’ lifestyles, such as “Our parents paid taxes so they can enjoy this lifestyle”. Working Gen Zs made videos writing, “Working hard to pay taxes so these Nepo-babies can fund their next foreign trip.” Gen Zs can still hear songs like “Money, money, money…” and “The winner takes it all…” in their head just by reading this text.
On September 4, the government moved to ban 26 social media platforms, but the narrative being spread by the international media that this protest was against this ban is wrong. The ban was done, and everybody knew it would not stay that way for long. However, this ban was perceived by Gen Z as a message from the government: The elites can do anything that they want to do, and the people can do nothing about it. The government has the right to dominate, and people have to just shut up and take it. When people were speaking up against corruption online, the government shut their voices down.
Then, under similar videos and posts about the Nepo-Baby trend, a new caption emerged: “September 8-Maitighar Mandala”. That is how this movement started.
Mobilisation for September 8
Mobilisation for the protest would not have been possible without the use of technology. There were no leaders; there were some social media personalities emerging who were giving their instructions on safe and peaceful conduct of the protest, what the agenda should be, people with legal backgrounds were giving advice on the law during the assembly of people, what to do if you get arrested, etc. Still, there was no person central to the protest or a defined organisational structure.
There were debates going on about who was leading this movement and whose instructions the crowd should follow. Miraj Dhungana, one of the personalities, is known for strongly advocating for what the agenda for the protests should be. He had gained a big following and supporters. The evening before the September 8 protest, Miraj had gone to meet Durga Prasai, who is known for his support of the monarchy currently. Prasai had expressed his interest in joining the protest on his Facebook. Miraj, along with his friends, went to his house to request that Prasai not join, as it was purely a Gen Z movement.
Prasai used social media to post a picture with Miraj to issue a very distorted statement implying he has influence over the protest. Miraj later clarified he had no affiliation with Prasai, and he was there to ask him not to join the protest. Right after the protest on September 8, Miraj turned his social media accounts private. This had raised concerns among his followers that he might have been harmed or coerced to separate himself from the movement. He later clarified that he is well, but did receive very disturbing threats.
Another influential Gen Z is Prashamsa Subedi, who has been very vocal about the Nepali society, politics and current affairs. She has been voicing concerns with which a lot of Gen Z resonated. Subedi used her platform to spread to word about the September protest and how it would unfold.
Nimesh Shreshtha was well known for his comedy skits and antics. People viewed Nimesh’s light-hearted content for fun. He used comedy and satire to raise his voice against the government often. Before the protests, his content suddenly turned serious. He was showing his frustration and actively advocating for the protests, asking his followers to join or support the movement. There were also some lesser-known people analysing the riot control tactics used by the police and how to counter them, while others incited violence by sharing tutorials on making Molotov cocktails (petrol bombs).
Regardless, technology enabled Gen Z to broadly unite around some key agendas, but deliberation in others remained. These included the “No-Not-Again” call, rejecting the return of the “Unholy Trinity”, the three former prime ministers who still dominate their respective parties. They also demanded that those responsible for shooting innocent and peaceful protestors be held accountable, and made it clear that there is no space for a royalist comeback in Nepal. Furthermore, the movement called for a thorough investigation into the rooted corruption within state institutions, as well as greater youth participation in policymaking and governance to ensure their voices are incorporated into the state’s decision-making process. For this, early elections have been called from a movement in streets called on by the use of social media.
Internet’s Influence on The Saga of the Straw Hats Pirates Nakama
A common occurrence during the Gen Z protest was the Jolly Roger, or symbol of the Straw Hat Pirates from the famous Japanese manga and anime One Piece. This symbol has been raised in protests before by youths in Indonesia and the Philippines as well.
The Jolly Roger of the Straw Hats has been important in protests across the world because of what it symbolises. They are a group of pirates who have shown young people that not all rules are just, and not everyone who breaks the rules are bad. Sometimes those who make the rules use them simply to impose an iron grip over society. The Straw Hats travel the world breaking unjust rules imposed by the World Government and liberating the exploited. In their adventures, they seek freedom for themselves and for every oppressed group along the way.
The characters shown in the anime are very relatable to the real world, and Gen Z fans look up to the Straw Hats captain, Monkey D. Luffy’s approach to pursuing freedom in life and speaking out against the oppressors.
The rising popularity of One Piece and its global influence can be largely attributed to the growth of the internet, which has made accessing the series far easier than before. In countries like Nepal, fans once relied on purchasing CDs, which were often hard to find. Today, however, the internet has become a boon for audiences, offering free and convenient access to their favourite shows. For Gen Z, who have grown up alongside the expansion of the internet, this accessibility, along with weak enforcement of cyber laws against digital piracy, has significantly increased the consumption of such entertainment content.
The Discord Republic
On September 10th, the Discord group called Youths Against Corruption called all Gen Z across Nepal and abroad to come together and put forward their options on who should be the next PM of Nepal. Samik Kharel in Al Jazeera describes this incident as “A revolutionary counter to the traditional practice of politicians choosing leaders behind closed doors”. There were 10,000 people in the room, taking turns and debating on the pros and cons of the next leaders of Nepal. Leading up to the protest, the server had already grown to more than 145,000 users within just four days. Constant hijacking by trolls and non-Nepalese participants turned the discussions into a largely chaotic affair.
Some have described this as a reminiscence of the Greek concept of ‘isegoria’, which described the equal right of citizens to participate in public debate in the democratic assembly. It seemed that each Gen Z individual who participated in the group chat had equal voting rights and equal say in who should govern them. The participants were bringing forward names of the next PM of Nepal. Some prominent names were Kathmandu metro’s Mayor Balendra Shah aka Balen, Dharan sub-metro’s mayor Harka Sampang, former Chief Justice of Nepal Sushila Karki and former chief of Nepal Electricity Authority Kulman Ghising.
After hours of deliberation, it looked like Sushila Karki had won the polls. She also expressed her interest in supporting the Gen Z movement by accepting the trust that they had enshrined in her. Despite the concerns about how inclusive this was because not all Gen Z know about Discord or have internet access, Nepal elected its first female PM, Sushila Karki, through a Discord poll, leaving the world in shock.
Conclusion
The Gen Z movement in Nepal has proven that a generation once dismissed as mere “keyboard warriors” can shake the foundations of even one of the most powerful governments with a nearly two-thirds majority to write a new chapter in history. What started as online frustration over corruption and privilege erupted into a people’s uprising. For the first time in almost a decade, the PM of Nepal has a new face, and traditional parties are not in the government. This is a declaration that the future belongs to the youth. The struggle is far from over, and the road ahead seems difficult but not insurmountable. The next election will be a critical point for this country if this movement is to be successful. The Gen Z must make efforts to come under the same umbrella, solidifying on common agendas, and trying to resolve their difference with dialogue. The younger generation in established political parties must be bold enough to question their leaders and claim their space. If they fail to do so now, they will remain followers forever, never leaders. Enough is enough.
[The author is a Program Coordinator and Research Associate at the Nepal Institute for International Cooperation and Engagement (NIICE)].
