<img width="4916" height="1673" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121136/636b91689c7e80680e06f0e8jpeg.jpg" alt=""/>France’s Bonhams has withdrawn five 600-year-old religious objects stolen from Nepal from an ongoing auction after widespread international pressure.The five gilded bronze statues were among 12 wrenched out of a torana at the Mulchok of Patan’s Taleju temple in the 1970s and 1980s. They were going under the gavel at the<a href="https://www.bonhams.com/search/?q=nepal&amp;main_index_key=lot&amp;fbclid=IwAR08FrLJGybL4CN9zmFKI1jHZhMFs1DHIegVeWPfDBRRsaJOy0u0NbO66H0#/ah0_0=lot&amp;q0=nepal&amp;c0_0=FR&amp;MR0_display=search&amp;m0=0?q=nepal" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.bonhams.com/search/?q%3Dnepal%26main_index_key%3Dlot%26fbclid%3DIwAR08FrLJGybL4CN9zmFKI1jHZhMFs1DHIegVeWPfDBRRsaJOy0u0NbO66H0%23/ah0_0%3Dlot%26q0%3Dnepal%26c0_0%3DFR%26MR0_display%3Dsearch%26m0%3D0?q%3Dnepal&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1622902410304000&amp;usg=AFQjCNE6Csuin3rHc_xmc1_3F647kJ8pdg"> Art Bouddhiste et Hindou de l’Himalaya in Bonhams, Paris from 1-10 June through Himalayan Art Online</a> till June at an asking price from 3,000 to 5,000 euros.<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-wants-stolen-antiquities-returned-from-france/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-wants-stolen-antiquities-returned-from-france/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1622902410304000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHbwvWlCsrL3w5hcyXRmVSA0qNwtw">Nepali Times</a> had reported on the auction sale on Thursday, and this had been followed by Nepal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Nepal office of the Paris-based UNESCO to put pressure on Bonhams and the French government to return the objects. <img width="595" height="306" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121136/636b91699c7e80680e06f0e9jpeg.jpg" alt="">The anonymous administrator of the group, Lost Arts of Nepal, who first traced the gods told Nepali Times via text, “I am really happy that our gods are returning home, finally all my research is paying off, this has been great teamwork.”In a dramatic turnaround, Bonhams wrote to all officials, reporters, and institutions that had posted about the bronzes that they were being pulled out of the auction. Heritage activists said that if the auction had gone ahead, they would have been bought by anonymous collections and could have vanished forever. <img width="595" height="201" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121136/636b916b9c7e80680e06f0eajpeg.jpg" alt="">On hearing the news, American arts crime professor Erin Thompson said, “Halting this sale sets an important precedent: Paris is no longer the place to go if you want to sell stolen heritage. The case shows that Nepali activists and journalists are paying close attention. The black market in stolen Nepali heritage won't be able to operate in the dark.” The whereabouts of the remaining seven statues from the Mulchok frieze is not known, but the cancellation of the auction has raised hopes that they may soon be traced since they cannot be publicly sold.  The five gilded copper-bronze images of <a href="https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/27185/lot/8/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/27185/lot/8/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1622902410304000&amp;usg=AFQjCNH1drCCwbqC9fl03c_kXIexIpddhA">Nrityanath</a>, <a href="https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/27185/lot/10/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/27185/lot/10/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1622902410304000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHQhQvho-zFlf5H-6WCZVLMvJRTXg">Mahalaxmi</a>, <a href="https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/27185/lot/11/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/27185/lot/11/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1622902410304000&amp;usg=AFQjCNF3yySJPyoBVfHrERybVxRqh0Q6sA">Chamunda</a>, <a href="https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/27185/lot/12/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/27185/lot/12/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1622902410304000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFsTng4-VOHBhly_11FwzmONOQrPQ">Shiva Gana (Bhairab)</a>, and <a href="https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/27185/lot/9/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/27185/lot/9/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1622902410304000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGwnsdz5uB5biY1LNf2TWGzvSxgTQ">Panchmukhi Hanuman (Hanu Bhairab</a>) were among 12 on a 16th century frieze at the south door of the Mulchok of the Taleju Bhavani Temple in Patan.  <img width="2048" height="1722" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121136/636b916c9c7e80680e06f0ebjpeg.jpg" alt="">In Kathmandu, heritage activists including Rabindra Puri got in touch with UNESCO Kathmandu to put pressure on Bonhams since it was time-sensitive. He told Nepali Times, “This reminds me of the cultural repatriation of the one which I was involved in with Christie’s in 2013, the withdrawal was a success due to the teamwork.”This is the latest in a series of repatriations of stolen Nepali objects from collectors and museums abroad. In April, an 800-year old <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-homecoming-of-nepals-gods/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-homecoming-of-nepals-gods/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1622902410304000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGP0AjkP5Kyu4pLWCphItFKSxpqxg">Laxmi-Narayan figure</a> was returned to Nepal by the Dallas Museum of Art, and will soon be restored to its original shrine in Patan’s Patko Tole. After it disappeared it had been spotted at the Sotheby’s auction in 1990 and vanished again.Four other statues have also been repatriated in the past two months from Art Institute of Chicago, including a 13th century carved Apsara and a 14th century Buddha, a 15th century Ganesh, and a 13th-century Chaturmukhi Shivalinga.<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/replicating-nepals-stolen-gods/#:~:text=A%20museum%20of%20copies&amp;text=Bhaktapur%20architect%20Rabindra%20Puri,many%20of%20its%20religious%20objects." target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/replicating-nepals-stolen-gods/%23:~:text%3DA%2520museum%2520of%2520copies%26text%3DBhaktapur%2520architect%2520Rabindra%2520Puri,many%2520of%2520its%2520religious%2520objects.&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1622902410304000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGiOoC5w5M6jYmnliQrIShMAak7nA">Replicas of the 12 idols</a> stolen from Mulchok, including the five that were being auctioned by Bonhams, had been made and installed on the frieze in 2013 during a restoration of the temple by the Kathmandu Valley Preservation Trust (KVPT).Another heritage activist, Roshan Mishra of the Taragaon Museum, said he was surprised Bonhams acted so fast to cancel the auction. He said: “This is a great precedent for the future. It sends the message that Nepal’s antiquities cannot be sold anywhere, anymore.”

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Bonhams cancels auction of Nepali antiquities

<figure><img width="4916" height="1673" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110131140/636cf1f89c7e80680e09d8dajpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>The original torona over a door in Mulchok of Patan Darbar Square in early 70s. Photo: ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA. And after the 12 gilded bronze figures were stolen from the frieze in 1984. Photo: ELFRIEDE MOELLER.</figcaption></figure>Even though smuggled Nepali religious objects are starting to be returned to the country from museums and collectors in the West, gilded figures stolen from a temple in Patan 40 years ago are going up for auction in Paris this week.The five gilded copper-bronze images of <a href="https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/27185/lot/8/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/27185/lot/8/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1622807155775000&amp;usg=AFQjCNF7mJbqkuTE9UN6m-7_0LYaiYQ8XQ">Nrityanath</a>, <a href="https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/27185/lot/10/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/27185/lot/10/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1622807155775000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEz4FY3QxYWX-ajjca-us3O2ZFiVg">Mahalaxmi</a>, <a href="https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/27185/lot/11/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/27185/lot/11/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1622807155775000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGPHer28HHdclqxzcTf223rrLInSA">Chamunda</a>, <a href="https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/27185/lot/12/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/27185/lot/12/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1622807155775000&amp;usg=AFQjCNH-qYDQhec_Y8GefnPJ4YemWm0ugA">Shiva Gana (Bhairab)</a>, and <a href="https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/27185/lot/9/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/27185/lot/9/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1622807155775000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGzMdQX7qDVXKuuW0LieGbwkItrrQ">Panchmukhi Hanuman (Hanu Bhairab</a>) that were among 12 on a 16th century frieze at the south door of the Mulchok of the Taleju Bhavani Temple in Patan.The objects which were individually wrenched out of the torana in the 1970s and 1980s are now going under the gavel at the<a href="https://www.bonhams.com/search/?q=nepal&amp;main_index_key=lot&amp;fbclid=IwAR08FrLJGybL4CN9zmFKI1jHZhMFs1DHIegVeWPfDBRRsaJOy0u0NbO66H0#/ah0_0=lot&amp;q0=nepal&amp;c0_0=FR&amp;MR0_display=search&amp;m0=0?q=nepal"> Art Bouddhiste et Hindou de l'Himalaya in Bonhams, Paris from 1-10 June through Himalayan Art Online</a>. The asking price is from 3,000 to 5,000 euros.The original gilded bronzes from the torana were first recorded in the early 1970s by Indian art historian BN Banerjee in his book, Architecture of Nepal for the Archaeological Survey of India. Art historian Mary Slusser had also documented pictures of the original statues before they were stolen one by one.  The thefts were documented in German scholar Jurgen Schick’s book, Gods are Leaving the Country: Art Theft from Nepal, in which he writes, ‘One of the most odious cases of art theft in Nepal was the plundering of the torona of the Taleju Bhavani temple in the royal palace of Patan.’ The auction was first spotted  by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/lostartsofnepal">Lost Arts of Nepal </a>who tracked the ongoing auction at Bonhams, Paris  on its Facebook page on Thursday.  <figure><img width="1080" height="810" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110131140/636cf1fb9c7e80680e09d8dbjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Altogether 12 precious bronzes of the goddess Durga and her retinue dating to the 16th century were stolen from this site alone, and the torana was stripped bare. Later these bronzes were put up for sale by an auction house in Stuttgart in Germany.  “Of 12 statues that were torn out of the torana, thankfully five have now surfaced at the auction in Paris, so we now know where they are. I hope in the near future we will find the other seven as well, and they will be returned to Nepal,” says Rohit Ranjitkar of Kathmandu Valley Preservation Trust (KVPT) who is involved in the restoration of temples and monuments in Patan.<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/replicating-nepals-stolen-gods/#:~:text=A%20museum%20of%20copies&amp;text=Bhaktapur%20architect%20Rabindra%20Puri,many%20of%20its%20religious%20objects.">Replicating Nepal's stolen gods</a>, Alisha SijapatiOn 15 April, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-homecoming-of-nepals-gods/">Nepal welcomed back an 800-year-old Laxmi-Narayan figure from the US</a>, which was stolen nearly 40 years ago from Patan’s Patko Tole. The statue was first located in 1990 at a Sotheby’s auction and was later spotted at the Dallas Museum of Art. Since then, four other statues have been returned to Nepal from collectors and museums in the United States: a 13th century carved temple eave depicting an Apsara, a 14th-century gold seated Buddha in Bhumisparsa Mudra, a 15th century seated Ganesh, and a 13th-century Chaturmukhi Shivalinga from Art Institute of Chicago. <a href="https://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/socialpolitical/staff/emilinesmith/">Emiline Smith</a>, lecturer of Criminology at the University of Glasgow says, "Many countries around the world have been deprived of their rich cultural heritage for centuries through the exploitative and colonial looting and trafficking of cultural objects. Those countries have requested their cultural heritage back for decades, and now it finally seems like the 'repatriation debate' is gaining momentum.""While museums have attempted to work with claimants to return heritage as part of their decolonisation efforts, much more work needs to be done in this area - and not only by museums, but also by private collectors, auction houses and other stakeholders. Much like museums, auction houses including Bonhams should hold the objects they trade to the highest level of scrutiny," Smith says. <figure><img width="2048" height="1722" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110131140/636cf1fd9c7e80680e09d8dcjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>In 2010, a bronze Garuda water spout, the centrepiece of the Sundari Chok in Patan Darbar Square, was also stolen. However, it was retrieved by police a year later in Kathmandu before it could be smuggled out of the country.The exquisitely carved original figure is now on display at the National Museum in Kathmandu, while the Sundari Chok has a replica bronze created by artisans at the KVPT. In 2013, the Department of Archaeology had also approached the KVPT team to make replicas of the 12 figures from the Mulchok of Taleju Temple torana. “The torana had been stripped bare, and we had to refer to the original photographs to make replicas when we restored the Mulchok,” Ranjitkar told Nepali Times. There is now moral and diplomatic pressure being brought to bear on Bonhams to stop the auction. Roshan Mishra, director of Taragaon Museum in Kathmandu has reached out to the auction house in Paris with evidence of the origin of the statues, and that the stolen items should be returned to Nepal.“This is groundbreaking news for us that five of the 12 stolen antiquities have been located, we have to bring them back like the other statues from American museums,” says Mishra.<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/us-museum-returns-stolen-nepal-god/">US museum returns stolen Nepal god</a>, Alisha Sijapati <figure><img width="974" height="1299" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110131140/636cf2009c7e80680e09d8ddjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img width="974" height="1299" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110131140/636cf2039c7e80680e09d8dejpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img width="974" height="1299" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110131140/636cf2059c7e80680e09d8dfjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img width="640" height="854" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110131140/636cf2079c7e80680e09d8e0jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img width="974" height="1299" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110131140/636cf20a9c7e80680e09d8e1jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>The Department of Archaeology in Kathmandu, the Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Nepal Embassy in France have already started the process to halt the auction immediately. Sanjay Adhikari, a heritage activist and lawyer says, “Nepal’s religious objects were being actively worshipped, they are not decorative art to be auctioned or kept in museums. They are not just metal or stone objects but our gods and goddesses we have been worshiping for generations and need to revere for generations to come.” Adhikari has already filed an application at the Department of Archaeology and UNESCO Kathmandu office for the return of the Mulchok figures. He says since France has always been a pioneer advocate for heritage conservation and where the UNESCO headquarters is located, its government should realise that its global reputation is at stake. He says, “This is a moral as well as a legal obligation of the government of France and  I hope there will be positive intervention from it and from UNESCO to bring our gods home.” Suresh Lakhe of Patan Museum says, “I knew that they were stolen in the 1970s, and just like the Laxmi-Narayan statue that was returned from the US will be restored to its original shrine in Patkotole these figures also belong in Mulchok. These are our gods."<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-gods-return-from-exile/">Nepal's gods return from exile</a>, Alisha Sijapati <figure><img width="1662" height="968" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110131140/636cf20d9c7e80680e09d8e2jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Even while effort is on to suspend the Bonhams auction, there are two other stolen religious objects from Patan that are in a warehouse of the Musée National des Arts Asiatiques Guimet in France (a 12th-century Vishnu with Laxmi and Garuda, which was stolen from Chyasal in Patan in late 1970s and another 12th-century statue of Uma-Mahesvar stolen on the night of 23 May, 1984 from Nasmanatol in Bhaktapur) which also need to be returned.  <figure><img width="640" height="853" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110131144/636cf2109c7e80680e09d8e3jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img width="640" height="853" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110131144/636cf2139c7e80680e09d8e4jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Art historian Lain Singh Bangdel had documented these two stolen figures in his book Stolen Images of Nepal. Bangdel's late daughter Dina was working with the curator at the Guimet to get the statues back to Nepal before she died in 2017. American art crime professor Erin Thompson says, “Museums have started to wake up to the reality that stolen Nepali art needs to go back to Nepal. But dealers, auction houses, and many collectors are still ignoring the continuing crime of depriving Nepal of its heritage. The only way to stop the market in stolen cultural heritage is to stop the demand. No one should be buying cultural artifacts from Nepal because ever example of ancient or sacred artifacts from Nepal whether in a museum or on the market, was stolen.”

Nepal wants stolen antiquities returned from France

<figure><img width="4916" height="1673" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121136/636b91189c7e80680e06f0cbjpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>The original torona over a door in Mulchok of Patan Darbar Square in early 70s. Photo: ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA. And after the 12 gilded bronze figures were stolen from the frieze in 1984. Photo: ELFRIEDE MOELLER.</figcaption></figure>Even though smuggled Nepali religious objects are starting to be returned to the country from museums and collectors in the West, gilded figures stolen from a temple in Patan 40 years ago are going up for auction in Paris this week.The five gilded copper-bronze images of <a href="https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/27185/lot/8/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/27185/lot/8/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1622807155775000&amp;usg=AFQjCNF7mJbqkuTE9UN6m-7_0LYaiYQ8XQ">Nrityanath</a>, <a href="https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/27185/lot/10/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/27185/lot/10/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1622807155775000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEz4FY3QxYWX-ajjca-us3O2ZFiVg">Mahalaxmi</a>, <a href="https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/27185/lot/11/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/27185/lot/11/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1622807155775000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGPHer28HHdclqxzcTf223rrLInSA">Chamunda</a>, <a href="https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/27185/lot/12/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/27185/lot/12/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1622807155775000&amp;usg=AFQjCNH-qYDQhec_Y8GefnPJ4YemWm0ugA">Shiva Gana (Bhairab)</a>, and <a href="https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/27185/lot/9/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/27185/lot/9/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1622807155775000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGzMdQX7qDVXKuuW0LieGbwkItrrQ">Panchmukhi Hanuman (Hanu Bhairab</a>) that were among 12 on a 16th century frieze at the south door of the Mulchok of the Taleju Bhavani Temple in Patan.The objects which were individually wrenched out of the torana in the 1970s and 1980s are now going under the gavel at the<a href="https://www.bonhams.com/search/?q=nepal&amp;main_index_key=lot&amp;fbclid=IwAR08FrLJGybL4CN9zmFKI1jHZhMFs1DHIegVeWPfDBRRsaJOy0u0NbO66H0#/ah0_0=lot&amp;q0=nepal&amp;c0_0=FR&amp;MR0_display=search&amp;m0=0?q=nepal"> Art Bouddhiste et Hindou de l'Himalaya in Bonhams, Paris from 1-10 June through Himalayan Art Online</a>. The asking price is from 3,000 to 5,000 euros.The original gilded bronzes from the torana were first recorded in the early 1970s by Indian art historian BN Banerjee in his book, Architecture of Nepal for the Archaeological Survey of India. Art historian Mary Slusser had also documented pictures of the original statues before they were stolen one by one.  The thefts were documented in German scholar Jurgen Schick’s book, Gods are Leaving the Country: Art Theft from Nepal, in which he writes, ‘One of the most odious cases of art theft in Nepal was the plundering of the torona of the Taleju Bhavani temple in the royal palace of Patan.’ The auction was first spotted  by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/lostartsofnepal">Lost Arts of Nepal </a>who tracked the ongoing auction at Bonhams, Paris  on its Facebook page on Thursday.  <figure><img width="1080" height="810" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121136/636b911b9c7e80680e06f0ccjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Altogether 12 precious bronzes of the goddess Durga and her retinue dating to the 16th century were stolen from this site alone, and the torana was stripped bare. Later these bronzes were put up for sale by an auction house in Stuttgart in Germany.  “Of 12 statues that were torn out of the torana, thankfully five have now surfaced at the auction in Paris, so we now know where they are. I hope in the near future we will find the other seven as well, and they will be returned to Nepal,” says Rohit Ranjitkar of Kathmandu Valley Preservation Trust (KVPT) who is involved in the restoration of temples and monuments in Patan.<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/replicating-nepals-stolen-gods/#:~:text=A%20museum%20of%20copies&amp;text=Bhaktapur%20architect%20Rabindra%20Puri,many%20of%20its%20religious%20objects.">Replicating Nepal's stolen gods</a>, Alisha SijapatiOn 15 April, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-homecoming-of-nepals-gods/">Nepal welcomed back an 800-year-old Laxmi-Narayan figure from the US</a>, which was stolen nearly 40 years ago from Patan’s Patko Tole. The statue was first located in 1990 at a Sotheby’s auction and was later spotted at the Dallas Museum of Art. Since then, four other statues have been returned to Nepal from collectors and museums in the United States: a 13th century carved temple eave depicting an Apsara, a 14th-century gold seated Buddha in Bhumisparsa Mudra, a 15th century seated Ganesh, and a 13th-century Chaturmukhi Shivalinga from Art Institute of Chicago. <a href="https://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/socialpolitical/staff/emilinesmith/">Emiline Smith</a>, lecturer of Criminology at the University of Glasgow says, "Many countries around the world have been deprived of their rich cultural heritage for centuries through the exploitative and colonial looting and trafficking of cultural objects. Those countries have requested their cultural heritage back for decades, and now it finally seems like the 'repatriation debate' is gaining momentum.""While museums have attempted to work with claimants to return heritage as part of their decolonisation efforts, much more work needs to be done in this area - and not only by museums, but also by private collectors, auction houses and other stakeholders. Much like museums, auction houses including Bonhams should hold the objects they trade to the highest level of scrutiny," Smith says. <figure><img width="2048" height="1722" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121136/636b911e9c7e80680e06f0cdjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>In 2010, a bronze Garuda water spout, the centrepiece of the Sundari Chok in Patan Darbar Square, was also stolen. However, it was retrieved by police a year later in Kathmandu before it could be smuggled out of the country.The exquisitely carved original figure is now on display at the National Museum in Kathmandu, while the Sundari Chok has a replica bronze created by artisans at the KVPT. In 2013, the Department of Archaeology had also approached the KVPT team to make replicas of the 12 figures from the Mulchok of Taleju Temple torana. “The torana had been stripped bare, and we had to refer to the original photographs to make replicas when we restored the Mulchok,” Ranjitkar told Nepali Times. There is now moral and diplomatic pressure being brought to bear on Bonhams to stop the auction. Roshan Mishra, director of Taragaon Museum in Kathmandu has reached out to the auction house in Paris with evidence of the origin of the statues, and that the stolen items should be returned to Nepal.“This is groundbreaking news for us that five of the 12 stolen antiquities have been located, we have to bring them back like the other statues from American museums,” says Mishra.<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/us-museum-returns-stolen-nepal-god/">US museum returns stolen Nepal god</a>, Alisha Sijapati <figure><img width="974" height="1299" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121136/636b91229c7e80680e06f0cejpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img width="974" height="1299" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121136/636b91249c7e80680e06f0cfjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img width="974" height="1299" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121136/636b91279c7e80680e06f0d0jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img width="640" height="854" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121136/636b91299c7e80680e06f0d1jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img width="974" height="1299" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121136/636b912c9c7e80680e06f0d2jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>The Department of Archaeology in Kathmandu, the Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Nepal Embassy in France have already started the process to halt the auction immediately. Sanjay Adhikari, a heritage activist and lawyer says, “Nepal’s religious objects were being actively worshipped, they are not decorative art to be auctioned or kept in museums. They are not just metal or stone objects but our gods and goddesses we have been worshiping for generations and need to revere for generations to come.” Adhikari has already filed an application at the Department of Archaeology and UNESCO Kathmandu office for the return of the Mulchok figures. He says since France has always been a pioneer advocate for heritage conservation and where the UNESCO headquarters is located, its government should realise that its global reputation is at stake. He says, “This is a moral as well as a legal obligation of the government of France and  I hope there will be positive intervention from it and from UNESCO to bring our gods home.” Suresh Lakhe of Patan Museum says, “I knew that they were stolen in the 1970s, and just like the Laxmi-Narayan statue that was returned from the US will be restored to its original shrine in Patkotole these figures also belong in Mulchok. These are our gods."<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-gods-return-from-exile/">Nepal's gods return from exile</a>, Alisha Sijapati <figure><img width="1662" height="968" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121136/636b912f9c7e80680e06f0d3jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Even while effort is on to suspend the Bonhams auction, there are two other stolen religious objects from Patan that are in a warehouse of the Musée National des Arts Asiatiques Guimet in France (a 12th-century Vishnu with Laxmi and Garuda, which was stolen from Chyasal in Patan in late 1970s and another 12th-century statue of Uma-Mahesvar stolen on the night of 23 May, 1984 from Nasmanatol in Bhaktapur) which also need to be returned.  <figure><img width="640" height="853" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121136/636b91329c7e80680e06f0d4jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img width="640" height="853" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121136/636b91359c7e80680e06f0d5jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Art historian Lain Singh Bangdel had documented these two stolen figures in his book Stolen Images of Nepal. Bangdel's late daughter Dina was working with the curator at the Guimet to get the statues back to Nepal before she died in 2017. American art crime professor Erin Thompson says, “Museums have started to wake up to the reality that stolen Nepali art needs to go back to Nepal. But dealers, auction houses, and many collectors are still ignoring the continuing crime of depriving Nepal of its heritage. The only way to stop the market in stolen cultural heritage is to stop the demand. No one should be buying cultural artifacts from Nepal because ever example of ancient or sacred artifacts from Nepal whether in a museum or on the market, was stolen.”

Nepal won the first two matches, clinching the T20 series in the UAE, making history: this is the country’s first ever win, and series win, against a Test-playing country.&nbsp; On Tuesday night, Nepal lost the last game by 10 wickets. The West Indies easily met Nepal’s 122 runs in 19.5 overs. Despite that, Nepal had beaten the two-time T20 World Champions which is currently number 6 in T20 rankings. It is important to note that the West Indies are fielding a significantly weaker and younger team than they could. Caribbean heavy hitters Nicholas Pooran, Andre Russell and Shimron Hetmyer are currently resting or playing in domestic leagues. But that does not take away from the fact that, after two narrow misses against South Africa and Bangladesh at the 2024 T20 World Cup, Nepal has now beaten a Test-Playing nation, and done so convincingly.&nbsp; Nepal won the first match of the series on 27 September by 19 runs. Batting first after winning the toss, Nepal put up 148 for 8 after losing openers Kushal Bhurtel and Aasif Sheikh early.&nbsp; Rohit Paudel’s 38 and Kushal Malla’s 30 steadied the innings, and 148 was a reasonable target to defend on the tricky Sharjah pitch. The young Windies dropped a series of catches.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251001031052_5f24273f6da2f52f6414b7ecc485938a4c726431bfa7c2ba435bded3debe9f5a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20251001031052_5f24273f6da2f52f6414b7ecc485938a4c726431bfa7c2ba435bded3debe9f5a" data-rendition-name="original" width="1440" height="960" loading="lazy" alt="Nepal defeats West Indies NT 1"> </figure>  Nepal’s fielding, in contrast, was excellent as it held the West Indies to 129 for 8. Dipendra Singh Airee and Kushal Bhurtel both had run outs, and the team held on to tricky catches throughout.&nbsp; The last ball of the match, with it already won, saw Bhurtel catch Fabian Allen off of Airee’s bowling, throw the ball in the air before stepping outside the boundary, before jumping back in to complete the catch legally.&nbsp; Head coach Stuart Law, former Australian Cricketer, was pleased with the performance. “We deserved it, we played a really good game of cricket. I thought our fielding in the first 15-17 overs was outstanding,” he said, predicting, “the West Indies will be hurt, they’re a proud nation. They’ll come out red-hot on Monday, so we got to be better than tonight.”&nbsp; Bhurtel was ecstatic at having beaten the two-time T20 World Champions. He pointed to the team’s versatility as a big strength. “We have a lot of players who can both bat and bowl. Gulsan (Jha) and Kushal Malla did not bowl at all, and Lalit (Rajbhansi) did not bowl out all of his overs.” And the team still used seven bowlers.&nbsp; If the first match was a surprise, then the second match was a shock. Nepal put up 173 for 6, with Aasif Sheikh hitting 68 not out and Sundeep Jora 63, the two putting up a hundred run fourth wicket partnership.&nbsp; They then bowled out the West Indies for a humiliating 83, with Mohammad Aadil Alam taking 4 for 24 and Kushal Bhurtel 3 for 16.&nbsp; There was more excellence in the field, with the Nepali team taking seven catches, many of them very tricky ones right on the edge of the ropes. This second win sealed the series victory, also a first for Nepali cricket. The margin of victory and the team’s overall dominance were both very obvious.&nbsp; Nepalis in the UAE showed up at the Sharjah Stadium in full support for the Rhinos, wearing jerseys, flags, and dhaka topis, raucously cheering on the team’s performance.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251001031052_217ceb7078e9c253f8db6fec57911eb8e56822e3fc20d520d39e06f475fd6d65.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20251001031052_217ceb7078e9c253f8db6fec57911eb8e56822e3fc20d520d39e06f475fd6d65" data-rendition-name="original" width="1440" height="960" loading="lazy" alt="Nepal defeats West Indies NT 1"> </figure>  Fresh on their minds must have been recent protests back home. The Cricket Association of Nepal dedicated the series to those who lost their lives. Captain Rohit Paudel also dedicated his man of the match award from the first T20 to the 74 people killed last month in Nepal.&nbsp; “Since last one month has not been that great for us, so slowly we are getting better. It is great to give a little happiness to the people of Nepal,” said Paudel.&nbsp; Leg-spinner Sandeep Lamichhane was notably absent from both matches, having excused himself from the squad for personal reasons.&nbsp; “It is what it is,” said coach Law. “we are a very competitive team and someone has to stand up in his place.”&nbsp; The wins also open the possibilities for further series, with countries such as Bangladesh, Pakistan or Zimbabwe.&nbsp; CHASING TESTS  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251001031048_70fed823c34d91dfefc078cb5786c2ea04ad70387fbf09424a5304b926cc3e3c.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20251001031048_70fed823c34d91dfefc078cb5786c2ea04ad70387fbf09424a5304b926cc3e3c" data-rendition-name="original" width="1600" height="995" loading="lazy" alt="Nepal defeats West Indies"> </figure>  In international cricket, a ‘Test-playing nation’ is a country that is authorised to play Test Matches by the central governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC). Test Matches are the longest format of the sport, lasting up to five days, and are the most prestigious.&nbsp; Currently, this exclusive group is made up of Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies, Zimbabwe, and Afghanistan.&nbsp; Nepal has a ways to go. To become a Test-playing nation, it must first become a full member of the ICC. To do this, they must consistently qualify for ODI and T20 world cups over eight years, and have at least two ICC-accredited venues for hosting matches — currently only the Tribhuvan University Cricket Ground qualifies.&nbsp; Nepal must also have significant youth development infrastructure, a good domestic setup, and a recognised governing body that is financially stable and not corrupt.&nbsp; With the current development of stadiums across Nepal and innovations such as the Nepal Premier League, and performances such as these, Nepal seems firmly on the way.&nbsp;

2-1 for Nepal against The Windies

Harry Jackson was on an epic adventure ‘from Thailand to the UK on 2 wheels’ when he ran into the ultimate sidequest. Having just visited Zangla in Ladakh, Jackson had only landed in Kathmandu when he found himself in the middle of GenZ protests earlier this month. ‘<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Slq6zWu9o9w">Arriving in Nepal - Chaos, Protest &amp; Curfews</a>’ is the title of his first video (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/@wehatethecold/videos">wehatethecold on YouTube</a>) about the protest. He shoots police as they shoot at protesters outside Parliament. Jackson is riding a Honda CT125, a retro lightweight motorbike with off-road capabilities. Strapped to the bike is his sparse luggage, flute, and a faded Union Jack. People are rioting on the streets and there is a heavy armed police presence as he makes his way to his hostel in Thamel. His vlog the day after on 9 September has 29 million views. In ‘<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyxSqeFrlp0">The side of Nepal the media won’t show you</a>’, Jackson rides his bike straight at the crowd just past the Parliament building into Old Baneswar.&nbsp; He parks it and walks among the protestors, documenting it all: from the police firing capsules of tear gas into the crowd to the burning Parliament building as well as the jubilant, victorious crowd in the premises as they destroy police vehicles and dance. “I’m shocked at the scenes I’ve witnessed here today. I have truly witnessed history on a stupid trip from Thailand to England on a f***ing moped!” exclaims Jackson as he leaves the scene for the day, heading back to his hostel to edit the footage. The hostel is in direct contrast to the raucous scenes of the protest, as tourists and Nepalis sit and lounge at tables. ‘KUIRE VLOGGER’ Nepalis quickly called him the ‘kuire vlogger’, and attribute his skin colour to his popularity. Objectively, the videos are well made. Jackson goes full gonzo journalist, putting himself right in the heart of the action, talking directly to the people, all while narrating the events as they unfold. Despite being cut together in an entertaining way, the footage retains a raw, unpolished quality that outdoes what most professional journalists with a heavy duty camera crew could do. At a time when legacy media has been seen to be pushing biased narratives, Jackson wants to see for himself what happened, and make up his own mind.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250925120956_f7141e06c72655502fc4b2e56120d084b0f5ae111078d66df4fd0415adf8d376.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20250925120956_f7141e06c72655502fc4b2e56120d084b0f5ae111078d66df4fd0415adf8d376" data-rendition-name="original" width="2880" height="1604" loading="lazy" alt="WehateTheCold"> </figure>  This kind of video journalism takes a lot of skill and a certain personality. Many people, almost everybody, had their phones out at the protests, but only a handful were like Jackson. He interviewed people firsthand, edited the clips and uploaded them the same day. Jackson continued his vlogging over the next few days as the curfew was first put in place and then lifted. He explores the city as the Valley rebounds. By this time, Nepalis recognise him everywhere he goes. Jackson had achieved moderate fame as a 23-year old DJ in Birmingham, but what he has done in Nepal is something else. Almost everyone he talks to has already seen his vlog, and they are all eager to interact. He has been on multiple podcasts in Nepal too, and most videos online on the protests reference his vlogs. Before his Nepal blogs, Jackson had a modest 16k subcribers on YouTube, but after Nepal figure is now almost 700k, gaining over 100k each through 11-13 September. Most of them are Nepali viewers. “I’m just a regular dude who just did what he wanted to do,” says Jackson on a podcast. “I wanted to go on an adventure, learn about history, and learn languages. And I wanted to film it, document it, and have a wicked film for my life to show future generations.” &nbsp;

The accidental journalist

Nepal is still reeling from the short but violent GenZ moment, and the reverberations are being felt around the world.&nbsp;
As news from the killings and rampage from Nepal on 8-9 September spread through the wire services and social media, in the Philippines, East Timor and even faraway Peru, banners on the streets last week referred to ‘learning lessons from Nepal’. In Ladakh last week, <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/9/25/bloodiest-day-how-gen-z-protest-wave-hit-indias-ladakh-killing-four">protesters set fire to the ruling BJP party office</a> and four people were killed in police firing.&nbsp;
Nepal’s GenZ was praised by <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/19/opinion/asia-protest-youth-nepal-bangladesh.html">international commentators</a> for rising up against chronic corruption and impunity, and for achieving the fastest regime change in history. But the youth were also blamed for the arson and vandalism even though the groups said they had no part in it — most &nbsp;foreign media also did not highlight enough the infiltration by radical groups.
“We were not expecting the protests to turn so violent and deadly. On the second day, things escalated so quickly it became difficult to keep track. We were rushing on the groud and making calls to confirm what was happening,” recalls Paavan Mathema of Agence France-Presse (AFP) in Nepal.
The GenZ protest this month was a lesson on the mechanics of social media. Hashtags like #youthagainstcorruption and #nepobaby from Indonesia inspired Nepal’s youth to take to the streets, but events here in turn triggered protests elsewhere. The international news agencies and mainstream global tv channels were not as important in this information cross-pollination.
The movement was organised online and spread quickly in no time, but it was disinformation and fake news that spread faster than facts. The over-simplification by international media was because it had to explain 30 years of political evolution in a country that they mostly ignored in the past, this sometimes tended to be misleading.&nbsp;
While the Oli government’s social media ban of 26 platforms starting 5 September poured oil on the fire that had already been lit by a disparate group of desperate youth, their outrage over decades of corruption and impunity was reaching a breaking point. There was extreme disenchantment with serial politicians recycling themselves in power.&nbsp;
“The ban on social media definitely triggered the protest, but we put a high priority on accuracy and speed during reporting in such times,” explains the Nepal correspondent for Associated Press (AP) news agency in Nepal Binaj Gurubacharya. “Our own safety also becomes a prime concern in times like these, but should not be at an expense of accuracy.”
CRISIS REPORTING
But headlines everywhere including in The New York Times, The Guardian and others that used wire service content initially highlighted the social media ban as the main reason for the protest. They were soon called out by protesters, while <a href="https://institute.aljazeera.net/en/ajr/article/3358" target="_blank">Al Jazeera</a> and its <a href="https://institute.aljazeera.net/en" target="_blank">Media Institute </a>were applauded for more nuanced coverage.
Another positive example of international media supplementing the stories by local journalists was <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/" target="_blank">France 24’</a>s detailed <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/asia-pacific/20250915-nepal-police-protests-violence-kathmandu" target="_blank">forensic analysis</a> of the security forces firing live ammunition at protesters at Parliament on 8 September.&nbsp;
What really went far and wide around the world were dramatic YouTube videos about the violence, and memes on social media. <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-accidental-journalist" target="_blank">A British tourist</a> who filmed street protests did the work of an on-the-ground journalist and got millions of views globally for some of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Slq6zWu9o9w" target="_blank">his YouTube videos</a>.&nbsp;
But some of the misinformation or fake news on social media was also picked up by the mainstream press, like the <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/nepal-violence-ex-pm-khanals-wife-dies-after-house-torched-president-urges-calm-dialogue/articleshow/123791004.cms">wrongly reported death of former Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal’s wife</a> in an arson attack on their home. A video of the Finance Minister Bishnu Poudel being <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/video-nepal-finance-minister-chased-through-street-kicked-attacked-9243749">chased and beaten</a> by protesters also turned out to be someone else.&nbsp;
Some international outlets, mainly in India, also fell prey to a fake video that K P Oli had fled to Dubai. Even this newspaper’s online edition had to correct it after wrongly reporting it without verification.&nbsp;
Indian tv channels which did &nbsp;extensive coverage of events in Nepal, with many Nepalis relying on them and believing their content — especially during the protests when Nepal’s main channels went off air as they were being attacked.
All this got out of hand, and protesters in the week after the violence started ridiculing and harassing Indian tv correspondents as they tried to interview talking heads outside the charred Parliament building, or on the streets.
<a href="https://www.newslaundry.com/2025/09/09/foreign-hand-gen-z-data-addiction-5-ways-indian-media-missed-the-nepal-story">Indian media</a> were also the first to accuse US involvement in sparking a ‘colour revolution’ in Nepal. They later claimed that former Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) chief and now Energy Minister Kulman Ghising and even Kathmandu Mayor Balen Shah have been appointed interim prime minister in Nepal. These were rumours in Nepal, but were reported as news.&nbsp;
“Fact checking is crucial while covering such movements, and since we are telling an important story about Nepal to the world, double checking becomes important as it sets the international narrative,” says Mathema. “We were constantly double checking with concerned authorities as so much misinformation was being spread.”
“We were constantly double checking numbers and information with concerned authorities and parties to make sure we were accurate, especially as misinformation was rampant,” she adds.
Apart from Indian media, international news agencies got reinforcements of reporters, photojournalists and editors from the region, and other foreign correspondents also flew in when Kathmandu airport was opened after 48 hours.
Adds Mathema: “Sometimes foreign reporters can give a fresh perspective or an angle which we could not see or cover. So their inputs are always helpful.”
In the aftermath of the violence, there were plenty of jokes and memes, clips of protesters dancing, in weird poses and performing martial arts, showcasing the light hearted side of the protests while also <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-s-meme-revolution">reaffirming the resilience</a> of people able to bounce back from something so traumatic.
The GenZ clean-up campaigns, neighbourhoods helping restore burnt out police stations and local people’s emotional reaction to the burnt out hulks of government buildings at the city centre also <a href="https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3325635/nepals-gen-z-protesters-lead-clean-campaign-after-violent-clashes">made news</a>.
“After the protests, people were quick to gather and clean up public spaces and paint police stations. This is a scene which may not be so common in other countries with similar violence,” adds Gurubacharya. “So it became an important story to also tell the world.”&nbsp;
In less than two days, the world saw a dramatic toppling of a democratic government. With the interim government led by former chief justice Sushila Karki, there is much hope. She has expanded her ministerial cabinet, and the election has been announced for 5 March 2026 but between then and now, a lot remains uncertain.&nbsp;
And Nepal will continue to be watched by national and international media alike until then and after. AP’s Gurubacharya sums it up: “For now, we are taking it one day at a time.”

International spotlight on Nepal

From the echo chambers of social media to neighborhood tea shops, the hot topic two weeks after the GenZ revolt toppled Nepal’s government is whether the country should now have a directly elected prime minister. Although this has been proposed before as a way to end the instability in heads of government chosen by the biggest party or coalition in Parliament, it has found supporters and critics in the aftermath of the protests. As democratic as it sounds, a directly elected executive is not that simple.&nbsp; Nepal’s 2015 Constitution does not allow it, but for a young generation impatient for change, this demand raises critical social, political and constitutional questions. Nepal has seen a multiplicity of systems in the past 45 years: from a partyless absolute monarchy to a constitutional one, a parliamentary democracy and then a federal republic. But they have repeatedly failed to bring stability, good governance or an end to corruption in Nepal. But even though lately they have ensured civil liberties, the public was losing hope for the future, especially the young who could air and amplify their outrage on social media. Unbridled corruption and ideologically mismatched fragile coalitions acting with impunity, led many to conclude that a directly elected prime minister would ensure stability and accountability. ‘We have repeatedly trusted the same political parties, but they have repeatedly broken that trust, so it is no longer possible to trust that system anymore,’ says Miraj Dhungana, popular for the TikTok videos asking young people to go out into the streets to rally against corruption, and seen by many as the ‘original’ representative of Gen Z.&nbsp; In interviews he has stated that it has become necessary for Nepal to have a directly elected executive head through constitutional amendment. Dhungana himself did not participate in the protests after his meeting with pro-monarchist businessman Durga Prasai on 7 September sparked controversy that he as a lackey. Binod Deuba Thakuri of the Nepal Student Union who also participated in the GenZ protests thinks Nepal is institutionally not ready for directly elected prime minister: “Our democracy is not mature yet, our institutions are not strong, and we are vulnerable to social media induced populism.”&nbsp; CONSTITUTION AMENDMENT Amending the Constitution would also open a pandora’s box, with other demands, and should be left to the next legislative body, he adds. In her address to the nation on Friday, Prime Minister Sushila Karki who is a former chief justice also clarified that her interim government does not have the mandate to amend the Constitution to make way for a directly elected head of government, and it should be up to the new legislature and government after the 5 March election.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250919130956_799b2d43dccca73b3bff96e435efc0752203117b2cb219d0073994c0e6f2ee25.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20250919130956_799b2d43dccca73b3bff96e435efc0752203117b2cb219d0073994c0e6f2ee25" data-rendition-name="original" width="4160" height="2774" loading="lazy" alt="Constitution Day NT"> <figcaption>Constitution Day address by Prime Minister Sushila Karki on 19th September earlier this month.</figcaption> </figure>  The demand for a directly elected executive head was first raised by Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal after the 2006 ceasefire. He proposed himself as Nepal’s first executive president ahead of the 2008 Constituent Assembly elections. While the UML did not strongly oppose the idea, the Nepali Congress (NC) stuck to a parliamentary framework. The 2015 Constitution ultimately clinched it for the current parliamentary system. The Constitution stipulates that the process of selecting a prime minister is based on parliamentary strength: the President appoints the leader of the party with a majority in the House of Representatives, or, in the absence of such a majority, a member who can demonstrate majority support. If these efforts fail, provisions exist for coalition or minority governments, and ultimately for the dissolution of the House and fresh elections. The Constitution currently makes no provision for a directly elected prime minister, which means that any attempt to introduce a directly elected executive would first require the careful design of a democratic mechanism to amend the Constitution and set out the procedures for such an election.&nbsp; “There is no legal legitimacy to have the directly elected executive head of the country in the March election, except if political legitimacy surpasses legality but that would mean a new constitution,” explains senior advocate Surendra Kumar Mahato. “Many other institutional arrangements like the appointment of the judiciary, the role of the president, and other check and balance mechanisms would need to be restructured.” Mahato says: “Nepal’s Constitution itself is not at fault — it is the political actors, who have failed to uphold good governance within its framework. Changing systems does not ensure better governance.”&nbsp; Changing the Constitution also needs a broad political consensus, the institutional capacity of the state must be carefully considered to ensure such a new system can function effectively in practice and not simply in theory. Empowering an executive head through direct elections should not come at the expense of accountability or parliamentary oversight, and there should be checks and balances in place. LESSONS FROM ABROAD Sri Lanka’s 2022 Agralaya was fuelled by the anger that the directly executive head turned out to be an authoritarian who backslides on democracy. Under Sri Lanka’s 1978 Constitution, the country adopted a directly elected executive presidency with sweeping powers over the cabinet, appointments, dismissal of parliament, and control over key institutions.&nbsp; Over the years, President Mahinda Rajapaksa removed term limits via the 18th Amendment in 2010, centralised appointment powers, including judges and heads of independent commissions, and used constitutional changes such as the 20th Amendment (2020) to reverse safeguards that limited presidential authority, thereby subordinating the legislature, weakening oversight, and enabling authoritarian control.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250914060932_a96e1046d0b148982b33f2dcbe56f349dc0c20a087e358360eb2dddcfe0b5072.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20250914060932_a96e1046d0b148982b33f2dcbe56f349dc0c20a087e358360eb2dddcfe0b5072" data-rendition-name="original" width="4640" height="2610" loading="lazy" alt="GenZ and Aragalaya"> <figcaption>Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka on 13 April 2022 in front of the Presidential Secretariat. Photo: WIKIPEDIA</figcaption> </figure>  Nepal’s multiparty framework upholds an institutional balance where both the governing party and the opposition have defined roles. This parliamentary setup prevents power from being overly concentrated in one individual and ensures accountability through parliament and competing parties. Beyond the neighbourhood, the United States has a directly elected executive system. Donald Trump exemplifies how direct electoral mandate can fracture institutional check mechanisms. He has leveraged his power to attack judges, frame political opponents, turn legal defeats into rallying points for his supporters, often using pliant media platforms to reinforce the idea that institutional checks impeded the popular will. In Nepal, there is a risk that a directly elected prime minister could bring up a populist media savvy messiah who could use public grievances to get to power and consolidate it. Social media can be mobilised and easily saturated with posts to fuel a political narrative of choice.&nbsp; In the past, former prime minister K P Oli’s ‘digital army’ has been lobbied on his behalf on social media. Even without an ‘IT sena’, it is not unusual for governments to collaborate with social media platforms as seen in the US and India.&nbsp; In Nepal, a directly elected prime minister would raise the stakes, turning the battle for votes into a battle for attention online, where a leader who wins the algorithm also wins the elections, just as Kathmandu Mayor Balen Shah demonstrated in 2022 with support from groups like MRR and RONB. The Balen Phenomenon started in social media trickled to the ballot box.&nbsp; The digital space mas ensure that it is not trendy to dislike Balen. Comments that are critical of the Kathmandu Metropolitan City’s treatment of street vendors or of the mayor himself are met with backlash from supporters. Or, if the comments did not get any likes, the algorithms filtered them out as ‘not relevant’.&nbsp; The conversation of Shah often centred on his emotive responses and sentiments, generating strong engagement online. Meanwhile, policy debates received comparatively less attention.&nbsp; “Choosing a leader directly through an election means that we are vulnerable to populism and undermining of the democratic process, accountable institutions,” says Thaukri. Political activist Pradip Gyawali admits that the GenZ revolt was an example of how social media is a powerful tool to organise and disseminate information. But there are risks posed by disinformation and fake news online.&nbsp; “More media and political literacy among the people before the election in March is crucial to control the damage social media could do to influence voter behaviour,” he says.&nbsp; Beyond social media, online news increasingly relies on sensational, click-driven headlines to attract readers in a competitive digital market. A recent survey showed that 82.6% of GenZ (16- 24) rely on Facebook for news and 51.4% on YouTube.&nbsp; Nepali people with higher education seemed to engage with news more (99.1%) than illiterate individuals at 52.1%. Byte-sized headline-only journalism is leaving readers to their own devices, and vulnerable to media infiltration by IT cells.&nbsp; With social media actively shaping the course of elections, and news consumption, debates about changing the Constitution or the system of governance yet again may not ensure the demands for corruption free governance is met. Instead, strengthening media and political literacy among voters is key to prepare for the elections in March. Ayusha Chalise is a communication and development scholar specialising in how politics is experienced in the digital space.

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