The past year has been marked by a series of revolutions and political shocks as young people across Asia have taken to the streets, demanding accountable governments, fairer societies, and economic opportunities.
Binaifer Nowrojee has aptly termed this wave of upheavals 'youthquakes'.&nbsp;
The most dramatic upheaval took place a year ago in Bangladesh, where anger over politicised public-sector job quotas escalated into a nationwide movement to topple Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s authoritarian government, leading to the fall of Asia’s 'Iron Lady'.
While some celebrated Hasina’s ouster as a brave stand against authoritarianism, many viewed it as the beginning of a turbulent and uncertain period.&nbsp;
Some raised concerns about the threat of Islamist violence and heightened geopolitical tensions. Others attributed the uprising to public frustration with neoliberal reforms promoted by the IMF. Economist Jeffrey Sachs went further, dismissing the revolution as a US‑backed regime change.
But these interpretations overlook the enormous potential of a bottom-up, youth-led revolution. Despite facing powerful global headwinds, Bangladesh’s youth movement has continued to gain strength in the year since Hasina’s fall.&nbsp;
What began as street protests against corrupt and anti-democratic practices has evolved into a broader campaign for structural reform.
In the year since the revolution, youth activists have not only helped sustain the interim administration but have also laid the groundwork for a transition to electoral democracy. While the road ahead remains fraught with challenges, five key developments offer grounds for hope.
First, youth activism has catalysed the emergence of new civil-society platforms that have encouraged non-political elites to participate in critical public dialogues.&nbsp;
Since August 2024, new grassroots initiatives and professionalised NGOs have triggered a surge in civic engagement, fueling community-led conversations on how to confront discrimination, address systemic inequities, and advance essential pre-election reforms.
Second, the youth movement has made significant institutional gains. Young organisers have mobilised support for Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus’s interim government, helping to extend his mandate and secure domestic and international support for his election roadmap.&nbsp;
They have also pushed major parties to support the formation of a National Consensus Commission tasked with advancing reform discussions in five areas: the constitution, the judiciary, the electoral system, public administration, and anti-corruption.
Third, in addition to fuelling demand for institutional reform, young activists have taken a bold step into formal politics by launching the National Citizen Party (NCP) – Bangladesh’s first student-led political party. Once officially registered, the NCP aims to provide young voters with a viable alternative to traditional parties ahead of the anticipated election in early 2026.
Fourth, Bangladeshi youth are harnessing the energy of street protests to reshape the country’s political culture. For example, they are calling for lowering the voting age to 16 and promoting transparent, crowd-funded election financing instead of opaque or illicit political donations.
Lastly, strategic engagement with political elites has already delivered tangible results. Relentless campaigns by emerging youth and civic groups have brought together all major political parties to deliberate on a sweeping set of 166 reforms.&nbsp;
Following months-long negotiations, the National Consensus Commission is expected to release a manifesto – the much anticipated July Charter – a formal document listing agreed-upon fundamental constitutional and governance reforms and commitments on future implementation.&nbsp;
These include term limits for the prime minister, the establishment of a bicameral parliament with proportional representation, judicial and police independence, stronger opposition rights, mandatory legislative review of international treaties, and new mechanisms for public accountability, such as referenda and anti-corruption oversight.
A Warning Sign
Still, while the past year has shown that tech-savvy, cross-class youth coalitions can outmaneuver entrenched patron-client politics, the initial optimism may prove short-lived. Crucially, major fault lines could cause the Bangladesh revolution to end like the short-lived Arab Spring of the early 2010s.
The NCP’s growing credibility issues are a warning sign. With two members in government, it is considered a king’s party. Although it is still awaiting registration, the party is already facing corruption allegations, including accusations of institutionalising mob justice and exploiting privileged access to public institutions for political gain. Violent clashes with political opponents have further damaged its reputation.
At the same time, growing dissatisfaction could undermine the interim government’s efforts to extend its tenure. In July, the government’s mishandling of a fighter-jet crash exposed persistent coordination failures within Yunus’s cabinet.&nbsp;
And while the long-delayed trial of Hasina began this month – in absentia – human-rights organisations have raised concerns about the government’s use of arbitrary detention to target perceived political opponents.
Ultimately, Bangladesh’s political future hinges on the interim government’s ability to deliver a fair, clean, and violence-free national election in early 2026. The problem is that the once-united youth-led coalition that toppled Hasina’s regime appears increasingly fragile and divided.
The NCP’s youth leadership must recognise that meaningful policy change is a long-term process that will extend well beyond the next election. With the NCP and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party locked in a standoff over the pace of reforms, the country risks falling into its own version of the prisoner’s dilemma: unless they cooperate, both stand to lose.
To ensure that reform efforts yield more than a symbolic “one-day democracy,” Bangladesh’s youth leaders must prioritise dialogue over confrontation and work to resolve disagreements over timing and implementation.&nbsp;
Continued insistence on an all-at-once approach risks derailing progress and pulling the country back into a cycle of instability and repression, jeopardising Bangladesh’s future after its upcoming graduation from ‘least developed country’ status.&nbsp;
It could also allow Hasina’s Awami League to remobilise and reenter the electoral arena – an outcome that may align with the unspoken interests of a section of the military elite.
Regardless of the next election’s outcome, the fall of Hasina has irreversibly transformed Bangladesh’s political landscape. Having sparked a nationwide movement for structural reform, the country’s youth are now firmly rooted in the political transition they initiated. But as they are discovering, toppling a repressive regime is far easier than building a better one. © Project Syndicate
M Niaz Asadullah, Head of the Southeast Asia cluster of the Global Labor Organization, is a visiting professor of economics at the University of Reading.

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Bangladesh’s Youthquake

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111413118/63722ff89c7e80680e0c2541jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"/><figcaption></figcaption></figure>With federal and provincial elections barely three months away, Nepal’s leaders are flirting with regional powers, and exhibiting political promiscuity by switching sides and forming new alliances.Maoist Centre leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal has made no secret of his intention to succeed Sher Bahadur Deuba as prime minister after November, and has been trying to ensure that his project has the green light from Beijing and New Delhi.Just days after he met the visiting head of the International Liaison Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Liu Jianchao in Kathmandu, the Maoist chair jetted off on a previously unannounced visit three-day visit to India at the invitation of India’s ruling BJP.Dahal has been prime minister twice since the end of the conflict in 2006, and he has been forging party-to-party ties with both the CPC and BJP to assure the rulers of China and India that whatever the past, he will be a reliable partner.“It is clear that he (Dahal) is impatient to be prime minister again, so he is pulling every lever for his political longevity,” explains political analyst Puranjan Acharya. “He was probably clarifying his position to Liu during their meeting in Kathmandu, and then immediately went to New Delhi to placate Indian leadership.”Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/geopolitical-tug-o-war-over-nepal/">Geopolitical tug-o-war over Nepal</a>, EditorialThe CPC delegation also met Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, President Bidya Devi Bhandari, Foreign Minister Narayan Khadka, Unified Socialist chair Madhav Nepal, as well as opposition leader KP Oli.The Chinese may have carried back the message that full Communist unity may not be possible before the November election, but having a ’Maoist’ prime minister may not be such a bad idea.The Chinese tried unsuccessfully to mediate in the power struggle between Oli and Dahal last year in a bid to keep the Nepal Community Party intact. They also failed to stop the ratification of the US-funded MCC infrastructure project, and believe Deuba to be West-leaning.Dahal’s visit to India was said to have been at the invitation of BJP president Jagat Prakash Nadda, and Dahal insisted at a press briefing at Kathmandu airport that the trip had been planned months in advance.Analysts say that while his meetings with the Chinese delegation was par for the course for a foreign delegation visiting Nepal, Dahal's visit to India on such short-notice was unusual.Dahal met with Indian External Affairs minister S Jaishankar, and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, and with Nadda at the BJP headquarters. But Dahal, who had hinted at a breakthrough meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, flew home without having one.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/planting-seeds-of-democracy/">Planting seeds of democracy</a>, Shristi KarkiDahal’s visit to Delhi coincided with the presence there of Arzu Rana Deuba, NC leader and the wife of Prime Minister Deuba. The timing raised eyebrows in Kathmandu, and especially after he said in an interview that there was a pact with the NC to take turns being prime minister after November.Dahal insisted that the timing of the visit was a coincidence, and it was also significant that immediately after his return he met with Baburam Bhattarai, freshly ousted from his JSP. The former Maoist comrades have apparently been discussing the formation of a ‘socialist front’ for November.Although an electoral alliance with the UML seems unlikely, Dahal has also met Unified Socialist chair Madhav Kumar Nepal, Jhala Nath Khanal and Bamdev Gautam of a new left party to discuss an electoral alliance.“K P Oli stands in the way of a leftist alliance, and if he extends even the hint of an invitation, nobody should be surprised if Dahal dumps the Congress and jumps at the chance of leading a Communist super-alliance," says Acharya.Dahal’s meeting with leftist leaders comes on the heels of Babu Ram Bhattarai’s expulsion from Janata Samajwadi Party’s Central Committee by party chair Upendra Yadav on grounds of Bhattarai ‘engaging in activities to divide the party’. Eight other leaders from the Bhattarai camp were expelled alongside him, which Bhattarai called ‘arbitrary’ in a statement.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/deubas-mixed-report-card/">Deuba’s mixed report card</a>, EditorialYadav and Bhattarai had fallen out after the party’s poor showing in the May local election. "By now, it is apparent that party-building is not Babu Ram Bhattarai’s forte. Every party he has established has ended up in instability due to trust issues within leadership,” says Acharya. “His political future will be safer— and his political expertise and knowledge can be much better used to help the nation— if he directs his attention to playing an active supporting role in an already established party as opposed to trying to form a new one."Meanwhile, in the NC the rift between Deuba and leaders like Gagan Thapa and Shekhar Koirala is widening as the two have decided not to engage in a power sharing deal if the coalition wins a majority in the upcoming elections. This would mean that the NC would hold prime ministership for a full term after the elections.Experts say it is clear that the decision of the NC to not pursue a power sharing deal is a result of the pressure on the prime minister from those outside Deuba's camp within the party.“The NC’s decision has foiled Dahal’s plan, and he will now actively pursue a leftist alliance or a socialist front. But he has continued to say that any such alliance will not hinder the coalition in any way, so as to placate the NC,” says Acharya.The NC’s Shekhar Koirala says his party made a mistake by encouraging its cadre to support other parties to the detriment of its own interests. He says: "We are discussing electoral alliances, but it should be done in such a way as to minimise losses for our party.”Dahal, meanwhile, has been coy in interviews about his prime ministerial ambitions. It is clear he is impatient to lead the country once more, and he is trying to make sure that domestic dynamics and regional geopolitics will be conducive.Read more: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepals-local-polls-a-rehearsal-for-federal-elections/">Nepal’s local polls a rehearsal for federal elections</a>, Shristi Karki

Shristi Karki

Pre-poll calculations

<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111412118/637222689c7e80680e0c02f4jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="640"/>A month after local polls, the Election Commission has proposed provincial and federal elections be held in the third week of November.This has stirred individual hopefuls to try to cash in on the momentum generated by independent candidates who were elected mayors -- like Balen Shah of Kathmandu, Harka Sampang of Dharan, Manoj Shah of Janakpur, and Gopal Hamal of Dhangadi.The popularity of Mayor Balen Shah in Kathmandu in particular has prompted young aspirants to announce candidacies in the capital's 20 constituencies, even before poll dates are announced.One of them is former Bibeksheel Sajha Party member Ranju Darshana who in 2017 finished a respectable third in Kathmandu’s mayoral race. Pukar Bam as well as Milan Pandey from the same party have also announced they will be running from Kathmandu 1 and 9.Former police chief Ramesh Kharel is standing. Manushi Yami Bhattarai, daughter of former PM and Maoist ideologue Baburam Bhattarai is also in the race.Independent candidates who lost the mayoral race for Kathmandu in May do not seem deterred either. Suman Sayami who finished fourth wants to stand for the federal parliament.Read more: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepals-local-polls-a-rehearsal-for-federal-elections/">Nepal’s local polls a rehearsal for federal elections</a>, Shristi KarkiMedia personalities, economists, as well as celebrities and social media influencers are also expected to announce their candidacies.Independent candidates did well in the May polls because of public disenchantment with established parties – proving that younger Nepalis are now more informed, engaged and interested in politics.Scandals this month involving the finance minister, embossed license plates and other scams will further harm public perception of the 5-party coalition.However, dissatisfaction with mainstream politicians has reached a point where those who have declared their candidacy run the risk of forming a cult of personality which could overshadow their platform and agenda.Even as the country gets ready for November, Nepali politics is once more embroiled in a geopolitical debate about whether Nepal should be part of the American State Partnership Program (SPP) for military disaster response.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/rise-of-the-independents/">Rise of the independents</a>, EditorialThe opposition UML and even members of Prime Minister Deuba’s Nepali Congress (NC) have demanded clarification in Parliament. Deuba tried to soothe ruffled feathers within the governing alliance on Wednesday, assuring partners that he will not entertain the American program.Coalition members NC, Maoists and Unified Socialists did well in local polls. But the coalition is also in trouble because JSP and the breakaway LSP lost their Madhes Province strongholds like Janakpur and Birganj. And now JSP leaders Upendra Yadav and Baburam Bhattarai are having a public spat.The SPP is polarising Nepali politics just as the US-supported MCC did in previous years.This could once again bring together the Maoists, UML and Unified Socialists, which were all part of the monolithic Nepal Communist Party in 2018.What worries some Congressites is that if the SPP debate escalates, it could break the coalition, and leave their party to fight elections alone.Read more: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/nepals-alt-right-falls-off-the-map/">Nepal’s alt-right falls off the map</a>, Nishnu Thing

SNOWBALEN

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111412114/637221869c7e80680e0c02bfjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"/><figcaption>Photos: AMIT MACHAMASI</figcaption></figure>The swearing-in ceremony on 30 May of the youthful new leadership of Kathmandu Metropolitan City was a sight to behold.Out in front were <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/kathmandus-balen-phenomenon/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Mayor Balen Shah</a>, 32, and Deputy Mayor Sunita Dangol, 29 (pictured). The smug men from mainstream parties were standing behind the two. This is the Gen Next of Nepali politics, a symbolic handover of power from the past to the future.As promised, Mayor Shah broadcast live to the public the first meeting of his city council. Chair Nabaraj Parajuli of Ward 32 told the mayor in a patronising and contemptuous tone: “Be careful what you say, you are all by yourself here.”Introducing himself, Harilal Tandukar of Ward 11 did not like the meeting being live online, and said so derisively. Mukunda Rijal of Ward 16 yelled as if he was addressing a street rally.It is natural that these endangered species of Nepali politics feel <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/rise-of-the-independents/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">threatened by the youthful new leaders</a>. If they use such disparaging language against a newly-elected mayor, how will they treat their electorate? All cities and municipalities should beam their council meetings live, so citizens know what the candidates they voted for are really like.There were some ward chairs like Bhuvan Lama of #6 who were appreciative, and offered Shah and Dangol useful suggestions. And over in Lalitpur, re-elected mayor Chair Babu Maharjan was full of praise for the youthful new leadership of the city’s wards.Having these transparent meetings has been welcomed by most, but it is understandable that elected candidates from traditional parties who have nothing to show for the past five years but mismanagement and malfeasance who do not like it. They are used to murky backroom deals.Transparency is the beauty of democracy. By beaming live the first meeting, the new mayor showed citizens who is who.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111412114/637221899c7e80680e0c02c0jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2048" height="1365">Local leaders from tainted parties which have dominated Nepali politics thus far and have profited from it are waiting for the new mayor to fail, or conspiring to put obstacles along his way. Mayor Shah is already facing roadblocks in his effort to resolve <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/a-load-of-rubbish-kathmandus-garbage-problem,4039" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Kathmandu’s garbage management problem</a>.This is not new, the established parties always let the trash pile up to blame it on each other. This time, they are colluding to blame a new independent mayor. It was because the meeting was live that Kathmandu’s residents got to know what the problem at the landfill site is: a waste management crisis that took three decades of misrule by the main parties cannot be removed overnight.“We have nothing to hide, we have to work together for the welfare of our citizens,” Mayor Balen told the open meeting.This election proved that <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/nepals-alt-right-falls-off-the-map/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nepal's voters are changing their mindset</a>. They are abandoning old vote bank politics to reward candidates who show promise, who are not tainted by their parties' past. They are watching carefully to see if the parties they once supported will allow independent candidates to perform.Social media platforms now amplify the voice to voters to warn the old guard not to obstruct those who want to get things done. And going by the reaction on Facebook and TikTok, there is overwhelming support for giving Balen and Sunita the chance to deliver on their election promises.It is an indication of a rising alarm among the tried, tested and failed politicians that they are accusing <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/making-kathmandu-great-again/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Balen Shah</a> of supporting a partyless system, or the king. Some veteran journalists are even more virulent than politicians in their dismissal of the ‘Balen phenomenon’.Let the rise of the independents be a lesson to the main parties to clean up their act before <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepals-local-polls-a-rehearsal-for-federal-elections/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">federal and provincial elections</a> in November.Adapted from the <a href="https://www.himalkhabar.com/news/130476" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nepali original</a> in Himalkhabar.com

Nepal's Gen Next

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111124/637218069c7e80680e0baa1ejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1062" height="830"/><figcaption>Balen campaigning in Kathmandu last week. Photo: BalenShah/Instagram</figcaption></figure>On Election Day on 13 May, I walked to a corner grocery store in my neighbourhood. The shopkeeper was all smiles as he showed me the blue dye on his left thumbnail. He had just voted for the rapper Balen Shah as Kathmandu’s new mayor.What made him reject all the other big name candidates: the opposition UML’s former mayor Keshab Sthapit, or Srijana Singh, the wife of Nepali Congress leader Prakash Man Singh and the common candidate of the ruling coalition? Was he disillusioned with the main parties?“Not really,” he replied. “I just like Balen. He talks sense.”More than anything else, Balen has won over even earlier skeptics with his passionate, no-nonsense talk, and his refusal to demean his rival candidates. “The others were busy hurling insults at each other, Balen has been above that, he just puts forward his ideas and plans for when he is elected,” the shopkeeper said.Read more: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/local-poll-national-impact/">Local poll, national impact</a>, Nepali TimesMany voters are enthusiastic about Balen’s clear-cut message that it is possible to make Kathmandu a livable and vibrant city. People in other municipalities say in social media posts that they wish they had a Balen, too. But even though the independent candidate has taken social media by storm, Nepal’s national press largely ignored him until his vote count started going up.It was clear in the days before voting that the ‘Balen Phenomenon’ was not just a social media frenzy. Even people known to have aligned with established parties said they voted for the rapper and activist.Nepalis seem to be looking to the future where there is a space for new ideas and new faces. But the media and the so-called intellectuals have long ignored this aspiration of citizens, tangling them in coverage of the blow-by-blow account of the power struggles between and within the main parties.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111124/637218089c7e80680e0baa1fjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1174" height="586">Balen is surging ahead in the vote count, and things could still go in favour of Sthapit or Singh. But his strong showing suggests that not just the people of Kathmandu, but Nepalis in general would also have voted for alternative candidates given the choice.Initially, established parties saw the youth's inclination towards Balen as a mere aberration -- dismissing it as a fringe protest vote by young people who did not ‘understand politics’. It turns out young Nepalis do not really want to understand that brand of established politics.There is a cabal of mainstream politicians and journalists who have pre-defined ideas about who ‘understands politics’ and who does not. These are the very people who are ever ready to bring down any change seeker. Their world revolves around others like them, confined to echo chambers.Even the new crop of writers and intellectuals have not risen above this mindset. They are complacent just having their mug-shots on the op-ed pages, or their talking heads on the television studios in the world of you-scratch-my-back-I-scratch-yours.As long as the politics is confined to the opinions of this select few, it is not politics at all. It is a fraud on the Nepali people. Understanding the hypocrisy of leaders alone does not mean one has a good grasp of politics. Knowing and understanding policies that influence the lives of citizens is what counts, and anyone seeking real change has to be for this.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111124/6372180b9c7e80680e0baa20jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1122" height="900"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Seasoned commentators on social media, politicians and some in the media do not like this. Political parties are paranoid about new people in leadership roles who challenge their nepotism -- putting up wives, sons, daughters as mayoral candidates, or using ethnicity as a card.Since the 2006 People’s Movement, a new generation with modern thinking has emerged. Their needs and desires are far beyond the imagination of entrenched commentators who, along with politicians, benefit from perpetuating the status quo. This is why we have a five-time prime minister, and the same old faces in politics from 25 years ago.But they see the Balen Shah phenomenon as a threat, and are countering it as only they know how: by providing astrological proof that he will not win, or by abusing him on Twitter.  This is all they know how to do, ‘leaders’ who have come to power by beheading people and sacrificing the innocent, this is how they define ‘revolution’.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/every-vote-counts/">Every vote counts, as counting begins in Nepal</a>, Shristi KarkiUnfortunately, the ‘VIP’ media is in thrall of these obsolete leaders and their brand of politics. Editors who give space and airtime to them are supposed to be defending  democracy and the free press, but refuse to open their doors to pluralism and diversity.There is now a wide chasm between what media commentators predict versus what is actually happening on the ground. But that is the beauty of democracy. Citizens can now see what the media and commentators are missing or not reporting. They know who is not performing. They do not need the mainstream press anymore to form their opinion, and at election time they respond by backing someone like Balen Shah.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111124/6372180e9c7e80680e0baa21jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1068" height="838"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Most media commentators are frozen in time, and cannot embrace the hope of tomorrow. Time is running out for Nepal, and there is no time to play the same old tricks on the people.Many ‘VIP' commentators did not give Balen’s candidacy much credence at first. We could see that they were propagating their tired old reasonings to support limited politics.When they did mention Balen, it was to put him down by calling him a ‘singer boy’, ‘the guy in shades’, or criticising him for draping himself in the Nepali flag while campaigning.They never commended him for the charity work he did in feeding the destitute during the 2020 lockdowns. They air-brushed his engineering background, and activist role in heritage conservation and solid waste management. But he refused to stoop as low as his opponents to engage in name-calling and sleazy campaigning. So, the VIPs of the media dismissed him, they saw no political future for his candidacy.Balen also exposed ‘youth’ leaders of mainstream parties for behaving just like the generation ahead of them who are responsible for ruining the country. Take Ram Kumari Jhankri of the CPN-US who struts on stage like a diva, does not bother to thank the thousands who have gathered, takes off her jacket and throws it at the audience as if she is some rock star.The other ‘young turk’ who appears to be too busy riding the media wave and being loyal to his party bosses to care about what the people really want is Gagan Thapa of the Nepali Congress. We do not hear much about the change and reforms demanded by society from him anymore. He is too busy insulting the other side.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111124/637218119c7e80680e0baa22jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1062" height="870"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Traditional leaders and their youth emulators should have learnt by now that voters are sick of their games. Even the parties that called themselves ‘alternative’ provide no alternative — they have spent the entire campaign running down rivals.Balen has learnt from everyone else’s mis-steps. He did not even bother to reply to candidates who abused him in the hustings. This convinced voters young and old that he is different, and even those initially skeptical of him seem to have changed their minds.Conventional media commentators have not been able to quite decide what to make of Citizen Balen. The 32-year-old rapper, structural engineer and activist is difficult to pigeonhole, but there is no denying his charisma and commitment for change.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111124/637218149c7e80680e0baa23jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="890" height="604"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>When they did deign to take notice of the rapper, they dismissed his popularity as an offshoot of the dramatic success of the Bibeksheel and Sajha parties in the 2017 local elections in Kathmandu — comparing the ‘Balen craze’ to the Ranju Darshana phenomenon.But Balen and Ranju are different. Five years ago, voters in Kathmandu were attracted to a fresh young female candidate because she was such a departure from the established parties. The media could not project her enough — even commenting on the colour of her sari (blue) when she attended an unofficial reception.This time, the mainstream press largely ignored Balen before the election. But due to his meteoric rise in social media, Balen started shining so brightly that editors have now been forced to take notice.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111124/637218179c7e80680e0baa24jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1932" height="1058"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Balen is not a media product, this is a spontaneous outburst of outrage against established politicians and their neglect of the people’s needs -- especially those who led Kathmandu Metropolitan City for the past five years. Voters liked what they saw in this young bearded candidate in shades who spoke in a dignified tone, with authority based on his own experience and research, and was not afraid to take on the dominant dinosaurs of Nepali politics.Balen has inspired especially the young with his can-do ambition to make Kathmandu shine again. He has given them hope, when others spread cynicism and negativity. He is a river trying to drain the putrid swamp of Kathmandu’s politics. All the columnists with their scripted sentences now need to prepare themselves to be proven wrong.The Balen Phenomenon has exposed the gulf between the mainstream media and Nepali society. The press is made up of a handful of people, and a handful of people own it. Balen’s generation has no time for them, and the media they control.There is a raw new message going out: Nepalis have to forge ahead on their own and no longer rely on the mainstream parties and media that never reflected their hopes and aspirations.There is a hurricane on the horizon that will soon blow away the dominance of the few men who control politics, society and information.Read more: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/election-infowar-goes-digital/">Election infowar goes digital</a>, Ramesh Kumar

Kathmandu’s ‘Balen Phenomenon’

One Friday night last month, we were swapping stories about Vipassana, a rigorous <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/practicing-mindfulness-in-schools?fbclid=IwAR2X1T9SNG1tWe61UPqMUgHjOWNZ4U1foJyURLJMrjYAsUdr4u_mz1rmC1U">meditation</a> technique of silent observation, over dinner. We spoke of its ten days of noble silence, of respiration, observation, and sensation.&nbsp; I told them about my first retreat in Lumbini last year when my mind kept getting distracted: ‘What is happening in the outside world? Is <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/those-were-the-days-knea0341">K P Oli still prime minister</a>? When I emerged ten days later, he was still PM. During my second Vipassana in February this year, I reassured my mind that nothing dramatic could unfold in ten days. Still, my gut knew this country was always one headline away from <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/trial-by-fire">revolution</a>. By my third retreat, I was confident, even cocky.&nbsp; At that dinner, I joked: “What could possibly change? If Oli survived my first two meditation retreats, the world can hold steady for a third.” I should’ve known better. On 1 September, I was back at Shivapuri for the second time, my third retreat, with no expectations — only hope that ten days of noble silence would peel yet another layer from my mind.&nbsp; Vipassana is a paradox: brutally difficult, yet infinitely generous. It is the tool needed to tame and know your unconscious mind, and to know yourself even a little through it is a profound achievement. My room at Z House had the best view of the Kathmandu Valley. I developed a ritual: press my hands against my cheeks and stare down at the city. The city below looks chaotic, but somehow beautiful in its stubbornness, where pollution and pride coexist. From up there, it looked like no one was free, trapped in their egos, pettiness and misery.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250913090920_9e77930ed911289c05a731605157f402c06249347e33964dc59c58d32dc2a6d6.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20250913090920_9e77930ed911289c05a731605157f402c06249347e33964dc59c58d32dc2a6d6" data-rendition-name="original" width="3000" height="1300" loading="lazy" alt="Vipassana during Nepal revolution"> <figcaption>Those undergoing Vipassana in Sundarijal had no idea of the chaos and mayhem the country was undergoing. Photos: AARSALA ADHIKARI(Photo: Sonia Awale)</figcaption> </figure>  Then, softer thoughts of Metta and compassion would emerge. If only every single person could sit in silence and know their breath, just once. Blessed with ten days of Dhamma teachings on universal law, I imagined our 334 patriarchal parliamentarians and the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/house-of-cards?%2F">Oli, Deuba, Prachanda trinity</a>. UNSEEN CHAOS On the seventh and the eighth days of Vipassana (8–9 September) there was <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/kathmandu-burns-despite-pm-resignation">black smoke rising from the Valley </a>below. Why were people burning all that garbage? There was no traffic on the straight road down from Budanilkantha. There were gunshots, and I assumed locals were shooting at marauding monkeys. I mistook the sound of helicopters at night for flights circling after takeoff.&nbsp; On the ninth day and in the morning of the tenth, it rained heavily. I tried to spot Dharara like I did every day, but the city was shrouded in a blanket of thick black smog. Even after two days of heavy rain, the smoke had not been washed down. This did not make sense, but my mind had returned to the safe harbour of my meditation. Nothing to see here. On the morning of 9/11, the tenth day, as we emerged from silence, the hall outside filled with chatter. Many people left, weeping, overwhelmed by the experience of the past ten days. We joked about our hardships and dreamt of delicious food, feeling a wave of accomplishment after a documentary about how Vipassana had transformed Tihar Jail in New Delhi.&nbsp; The hall radiated with inspiration and hope. Then, as the film ended an assistant teacher made an announcement: “There are serious protests going on in the Valley. K P Oli has resigned as prime minister. There are no cabinet ministers. The military has taken over, and a curfew has been imposed.”&nbsp; The news hit like a lightning bolt. Mental tranquility gave way to gasps of “What the f**k?” In the main Dhamma Hall, some women erupted in applause. We had spent ten days cultivating Metta, only to step out and realise the world had erupted into chaos. We huddled, trying to piece together fragments of what was happening. The Valley was <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-turmoil-will-hit-tourism">still covered in black smoke</a>, the main road was still quiet. A neighbour turned up the radio, reporting deaths, destruction and curfew.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250913050944_ce09e04207ef5eb72ea55800b76df0c16a9d46a3eea957a4ecb0d67e978c2595.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20250913050944_ce09e04207ef5eb72ea55800b76df0c16a9d46a3eea957a4ecb0d67e978c2595" data-rendition-name="original" width="1440" height="1200" loading="lazy" alt="Meme doing the rounds on social media"> <figcaption>Meme doing the rounds on social media. </figcaption> </figure>  A first-time meditator, Shivani Karn, overheard a neighbour from wall cross telling his son that people had been shot and that he should not go to school any more. She had wanted to flee the Centre, but stayed on. Stranded foreigners from Argentina to China were bewildered and terrified. Volunteers debriefed us, recounting the shocking details: buildings burning, ministers’ houses ransacked, Oli fleeing, Deuba and his wife beaten up. The leaders were all in the Shivapuri barracks up the mountain. Over 15,000 inmates had broken out of prison. It was a catastrophe unfolding in real time. The city felt ripped out from a nightmare. In the common space, people complained about <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepal-s-gen-z-protest-turns-deadly">corruption and the ban on social media</a>. But an understanding emerged: both those in power and those who grant it are bound by the law of cause and effect. Driving down from Shivapuri on the morning of 12 September, my heart sank. The smog I had seen was smoke from still smouldering buildings. It was not garbage burning, but the rage of the people. Those were not people scaring away monkeys, but guns that killed innocent lives. The sound of aircraft were actually helicopters rescuing politicians.&nbsp; We drove past Singha Darbar, a charred ruin. Another Vipassana meditator, Anjali Baidya, shared a chilling memory. She recalled being 12 years old in 1973, watching from her home in Makhan Tole as Singha Durbar first caught fire. History had repeated itself 52 years later.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250910140912_e6bf05bfe95f519e05ab8d9016587211b241340fd23a0f9ae728e74747fc5f29.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="20250910140912_e6bf05bfe95f519e05ab8d9016587211b241340fd23a0f9ae728e74747fc5f29" data-rendition-name="original" width="8064" height="6048" loading="lazy" alt="Nepal in ashes"> <figcaption>Singha Darba, the seat of the government, set ablaze on 9th September. Photo: KAMAL PRASAI</figcaption> </figure>  One Bhatbhateni supermarket after another were scorched, police stations, government offices, once symbols of everyday life. There were soldiers everywhere, not police. &nbsp;Amidst the devastation, a deeper truth settled in. This, too, was Anicca — impermanence. Anicca teaches us that all things are constantly changing, including our thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations. Political systems, power structures, national crises are all transitory. This understanding is crucial for healing. When we cling to the idea that a leader, political system or ourselves are permanent, we set ourselves up for disappointment and anger when it inevitably changes. The Dhamma teaches that responsibility is shared. The anger and fear on the streets are similar to feelings many carry inside. We Nepalis have intergenerational trauma. What I saw was not an abstraction: the gunshots and chaos echoed the terrifying nights of 1 February 2005 in Panauti, a grim replay of the fear I knew as a child at Malpi school, huddling with friends for safety.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/what-next-nepal">What next, Nepal?</a>, Shristi Karki Our national history is a series of ruptures that become personal landmarks. I was nine years old at my aunt’s birthday party on 1 June 2001, when the celebration was abruptly called off and we were sent home into the silent shock of a royal massacre.&nbsp; This pattern must be broken, and it starts now. The path to national healing must begin with individual healing. We can learn from the story of Angulimala, a violent figure who was transformed by the Buddha’s compassion. The Buddha walked steadily toward him and said, “I have stopped, Angulimala. You must stop too.” Angulimala realised the truth, renounced violence, and was enlightened. Cycles of anger and conflict can be softened and transformed. Nepal’s long-term well-being depends on our ability to approach the Dhamma as a pragmatic tool. Inner calm can help us process collective trauma. By cultivating forgiveness and compassion, we can create a stability that begins within. True healing begins when we stop externalising our pain or intellectualising our emotions, and start nurturing our own inner peace. As the dust settles, the true noise begins: the roar within. We are left with a stark choice: remain trapped in this endless loop of rage, or we can deliberately choose to stop. The Dhamma is not some philosophy for a meditation centre; it is the raw truth of our applied wisdom. <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/madam-prime-minister-of-nepal">Sushila Karki, Nepal’s first female prime minister</a>, may have emerged as a new ‘messiah’ but we must begin to take responsibility and accountability. Change cannot come from chaos, it is a conscious effort we must make precisely when it feels most impossible.&nbsp; The path forward is not through the streets, but inward — into the ruins of our own self-righteousness. The disparity and deep-seated grudges are the quiet kindling that have brought this new revolution. The rage on the streets is about suppressed dignity, and a burning hunger for justice.&nbsp; It is time to check the recesses of our minds and hearts, sit down, breathe, and to ask: “When do we stop running, and when do we start healing?”&nbsp; Alisha Sijapati is a writer specialising in cultural heritage, and a former Nepali Times correspondent.

Vipassana during a revolution

After prolonged negotiations over the weekend, Nepal’s new <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/madam-prime-minister-of-nepal">Prime Minister Sushila Karki</a> on Monday appointed three members to her Council of Ministers, but the youth group that put her in power does not like her choice. The GenZ group that initiated the movement that toppled Nepal’s government accused Karki of not being consulted about the choice of Om Prakash Aryal, a lawyer who was helping with negotiating with the Army, as the Home and Law Minister.&nbsp; GenZ’s purported leader <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/who-or-what-is-hami-nepal">Sudan Gurung</a> led a group of his supporters and families of youth killed in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/raising-nepal-from-the-ashes">last week’s demonstration</a> at a midnight protest outside the prime minister’s residence, demanding Karki’s resignation unless she listened to them. Aryal is also a legal adviser to Kathmandu Mayor Balen Shah, who has supported the GenZ movement but refused their offer to lead the interim government.&nbsp; The other two ministers include former Finance Secretary Rameshore Khanal as Finance Minister, and the popular former chief of the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) Kulman Ghising as the Energy Minister, Urban Development Minister, and Minister of Physical Infrastructure and Transport. They were sworn in on Monday. While Prime Minister Karki has said she wants competent and honest technocrats in the Council of Ministers, GenZ has been pushing for candidates that do not seem to meet her criteria — including a military officer and Mayor Balen Shah’s candidate.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025091511090_f7db633bbf56c5e2a43b6cd248e522365f56cd34578d65cdeca243c65d807f6d.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="2025091511090_f7db633bbf56c5e2a43b6cd248e522365f56cd34578d65cdeca243c65d807f6d" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1365" loading="lazy" alt="new ministers being sworn in"> </figure>  Karki’s list is said to include retired Lt Gen Balananda Sharma, &nbsp;Magsaysay Award winner Mahabir Pun of the National Innovation Centre, former Education Minister Sumana Shrestha who quit RSP on Sunday and Dharan Mayor Harka Sampang. Karki met the government machinery on Sunday at her Singha Darbar office. Speaking without a prepared text, she admitted that there had been a “huge loss” not just to government buildings but also to official and court records during the 9 September arson attacks. “I am ashamed to say that there has been a systematic targeting of sensitive and essential government institutions, we will track down the perpetrators and investigate them,” she said. Karki also assured officials that she had no intention of staying on as prime minister beyond 5 March, the date she has set for early elections. She added: “The destruction by criminal elements has added to our challenges, but we have to choose but to unite and rebuild. This movement was about ending corruption, improving governance and equality. Help me achieve those goals.” <h2>KNOW YOUR MINISTERS</h2> Om Prakash Aryal Home Minister, Minister of Law  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250915110916_6bbaa39c523979ea1a3e85bd496232fa0dcb6152718ede106078bb5f3d069c3c.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20250915110916_6bbaa39c523979ea1a3e85bd496232fa0dcb6152718ede106078bb5f3d069c3c" data-rendition-name="original" width="960" height="955" loading="lazy" alt="Om Prakash Aryal"> <figcaption>Om Prakash Aryal</figcaption> </figure>  Back in 2016, <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/do-gooders-to-watch-out-for,3435">Om Prakash Aryal</a> filed a writ petition against the appointment of all powerful Lokman Singh Karki to the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), paving way for the impeachment of the head of the anti-graft body together with Prime Minister Sushila Karki, who was then Chief Justice. An advocate at the Supreme Court, Aryal gained widespread fame for his work in Public Interest Litigation. Most recently, earlier this year he filed a petition against then Prime Minister K P Oli and Minister for Land Management Bala Ram Adhikari, among others, for their alleged role in the non-implementation of Supreme Court order in the Giribandhu tea estate land scam in eastern Nepal. Aryal came from Gulmi to Kathmandu to be a singer, but ended up pursuing a career in law instead. Aryal also served four years in the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), and was based in Geneva with the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ). Rameshore Khanal Finance Minister  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250915110916_1655aeec3a17a048663b95c0dec3ab302300c51d61f6aed682b17fe5c1532c58.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20250915110916_1655aeec3a17a048663b95c0dec3ab302300c51d61f6aed682b17fe5c1532c58" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="666" loading="lazy" alt="Finance Minister"> <figcaption>Rameshore Khanal</figcaption> </figure>  Former Finance Secretary Rameshore Khanal has over 30 years of experience in the civil service, and led reforms in government accounting and reporting, public procurements, tax policy and administration. He also served as Chair of the Board in Agricultural Development Bank and was Board Director in Nepal Rastra Bank, Rastriya Banijya Bank, Nepal Telecom Company, and Nepal Airlines. He also served as an economic adviser to Baburam Bhattarai when he was prime minister in 2013. In October last year, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepal-in-the-red">he led the government formed</a> the High Level Economic Reforms Recommendation Commission. The 440-page recommendation released last month included review of the fixed exchange rate with India and the provision for national political parties to receive grants so candidates did not have to depend on business donors at election time. He has announced that he is not going to take a salary, official residence, body guard or official car for himself. Kulman Ghising Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Minister, Urban Development Minister, and Minister of Physical Infrastructure and Transport  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250915110920_7704ba4dd27f06d423852bc9792610cc89acdbee6ff0b380904479c095d328ab.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20250915110920_7704ba4dd27f06d423852bc9792610cc89acdbee6ff0b380904479c095d328ab" data-rendition-name="original" width="1057" height="769" loading="lazy" alt="Kulman Ghising"> <figcaption>Kulman Ghising</figcaption> </figure>  The man credited for ending 18-hour-a-day loadshedding in Nepal was also considered for the post of Prime Minister before Sushila Karki was chosen by the GenZ movement on Friday. Ghising is a two-time CEO of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) before <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/sacking-of-nea-chief-exposes-cronyism">his tenure was cut short</a> by the Oli-led governing coalition earlier this year and replaced by Hitendra Dev Shakya. Ghising’s removal was seen as being politically motivated, and outraged the public and commentators. Many expected Ghising to open his own party ahead of the 2027 elections two years later, but is seen to be close to the Maoist-Centre party. After being appointed NEA chief in 2016, Ghising cut off the dedicated electricity feeds to industries, and redistributed the saved power to the public — ending long power cuts. But he also imported electricity from India to ensure 24-hour supply during the winter dry season to meet demand. Several new hydropower plants came into operation during his tenure, and today Nepal had an electricity surplus.&nbsp; OTHER APPOINTMENTS Elsewhere, Sabita Bhandari Baral has been appointed Nepal’s first female Attorney General.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250915110920_4d60704a1e69309fdfb49a195f538c32159f27748fd2be88693c609ddb98d380.jpg" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="20250915110920_4d60704a1e69309fdfb49a195f538c32159f27748fd2be88693c609ddb98d380" data-rendition-name="original" width="730" height="506" loading="lazy" alt="Female attorney general"> <figcaption>Sabita Bhandari Baral</figcaption> </figure>  By Sunday, total casualties of the nationwide GenZ protests has reached 72. Prime Minister Karki has declared that bereaved families of those killed in the protests will be compensated while hundreds of those still receiving treatment in hospitals will be treated for free. &nbsp;

Nepal interim government faces first hiccups

While protesters were torching the Special Government Attorney Office at Mandala on Tuesday, they shouted slogans <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepal-s-gen-z-protest-turns-deadly">denouncing government corruption</a>. They did not seem to know that in reality the Government Attorney’s office was carrying out active investigations and prosecuting multiple cases of government corruption. Their case files have now been reduced to ashes. While attackers ransacked the building room by room and and burnt it down, they said they were protesting the government’s inability to catch the person who raped and murdered of 13-year-old <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/justice-delayed-and-denied">Nirmala Panta </a>in Kanchanpur seven years ago.&nbsp; In reality, the District Government Attorney’s Office has been carrying out and directing<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/justice-eludes-many-rape-survivors"> investigations against rapists and abusers</a> whose victims were even younger than Nirmala. As an ordinary Nepali citizen before joining the Government Attorney’s Office, I had read about &nbsp;Nirmala’s story in the media. It was a major case that shook the nation, and the biggest rape case I had heard about.&nbsp; But once I was behind my desk as a Government Attorney myself, not a day went by when there was at least one new rape investigation file. This was a serial horror on a nationwide scale. The <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/incest-sex-abuse,2547">rapists were not faceless strangers</a>: many were fathers, brothers, stepfathers, teachers, drivers who knew the survivors. I found all age groups from all parts of Nepal on those charge sheets. And every file I carried to the courtroom was in the hope of at least someone who wanted the crime against them recognised and the perpetrator punished. Now, all those files are gone. The news from Singha Darbar that the government’s data centre was saved from arsonists this week was a relief. But we lost all our records. The evidence was never digitised, there were no backup files. They lived only on paper, in ink, in fragile white file folders with green strings.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250914120920_353c6e03fa2f4cea8992c5c02ede101b4ad9ccc102f5af8407f333f518ef7200.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20250914120920_353c6e03fa2f4cea8992c5c02ede101b4ad9ccc102f5af8407f333f518ef7200" data-rendition-name="original" width="5000" height="3333" loading="lazy" alt="The day justice died"> <figcaption>Photo: HEMANTA SHRESTHA</figcaption> </figure>  When the building burned, so did the only record of those crimes and the identity of the criminals.&nbsp; Imagine entire basements filled with such files: each representing a victim, a face, a life. More than 10,000 such cases are now smouldering heaps of ash. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/kathmandu-burns-despite-pm-resignation">Kathmandu burns despite PM resignation</a> Singha Durbar can be rebuilt brick by brick, just as it was after the earthquake. Who is going to rebuild these case files?&nbsp; The social media is cruel: it shows homes of politicians stashed with cash and charred dollar bills. But the media did not show an entire building full of criminal case files going up in flames. The smoke that filled Kathmandu’s sky on Tuesday carried away with it the hopes of<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepal-s-chance-on-transitional-justice"> justice of thousands of victims</a>, mostly young women. Our duty as Government Attorneys is to direct criminal investigations, prosecute criminal cases, plead in courtrooms, make appeals. On a normal busy day we prosecute at least five criminal cases involving survivors and perpetrators. THAT DAY On <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepal-s-8-september-massacre">8 September</a>, when the GenZ protesters were gathering at the Mandala outside, we were at the Police Club, attending the first ever Women Government Attorneys’ Conference. We wore our brightest blue sari uniforms and pressed blouses. Our heads held high, we celebrated our success as government attorneys who had led the prosecution of the highest number of cases involving <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/not-just-16-days-against-gender-based-violence">violence against women</a>. But the day had other plans for us. By 4 pm the program was halted after protesters were shot outside Parliament. The Attorney General directed us to go home immediately. As the hall emptied, a small group of us young women officers and one senior female advocate walked together through Bhadrakali towards our office. There was an angry mob approaching us. The moment they saw us in our official dress, they turned on us with verbal abuses — words so horrendous that it would have been enough to prosecute a slander suit.&nbsp; Heads and eyes lowered we walked on. They started spitting on us. Obviously, they were pouring out their <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/genz-and-aragalaya?amp=1">anger against the government</a> on us civil servants. But they had no idea that the senior female advocate on whose coat they spat had pioneered the law granting Nepali women equal property rights. To us, she was not just a lawyer, she was a hero and a figure we had worshipped in our law books. Her name appears across Supreme Court documents for setting a precedent.&nbsp; We ran to save ourselves from their wrath and reached our Special Government Attorney Office. The mob stayed outside. We waited two hours in silence, praying fervently until the street was calm enough for us to slip away and find our way home. The next day, 9 September, was much worse. The protesters had already torched Parliament, Singha Durbar and the nearby Supreme Court. Then they came to set the Government Attorney Office alight. As a Nepali, I can understand the anger. But as a Government Attorney, I carry a deep scar. There is an immense void and sorrow. This is not about the loss of a building, or being spat at. It is about the silent victims whose stories were stored in all those thousands of files. Many of the survivors do not even know that their <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/hunger-for-justice">struggle for justice</a> has ended.&nbsp; We are government employees never affiliated with any political party, doing our work honestly and independently. In the name of demanding justice, they destroyed the very place that delivered it. Mamata Shrestha is an Assistant District Government Attorney.

The day justice died

Nepal is gradually returning to normal after curfews were officially lifted on Saturday following Prime Minister Sushila Karki’s appointment as temporary executive head following this week’s violent unrest that toppled the government.&nbsp;
Karki dissolved Parliament on Friday night immediately after she was sworn-in as per the demand of youth activists who staged the nation-wide anti-corruption demonstrations this week. The date of the election has been set for 5 March 2026.
Karki made the rounds of Kathmandu’s hospitals to meet with demonstrators who were injured during the protests on 8 and 9 September in which 52 people were killed. Karki is also drawing up a list of candidates to join the Council of Ministers to be announced on Sunday.&nbsp;
Meanwhile, the four main political parties in Parliament and their leaders have been self-reflecting, admitting their mistakes and expressing the need for reform and internal democracy.&nbsp;
But they have also issued near-unanimous denouncements of the decision by the interim government to dissolve Parliament, calling for the Lower House to be restored immediately.
‘The government formed from the streets in an undemocratic and unconstitutional manner bypassing Parliament is contrary to the spirit of the movement that has demanded good governance in accordance with Nepal’s Constitution prevailing laws,’ read a joint press statement issued by eight political parties on Saturday.
The leaders of the UML, including Prime Minister K P Oli who resigned on Tuesday, the Maoists and the Nepali Congress are still in the Shivapuri National Park military base, and appear to be incommunicado.
The parties continued: ‘We strongly demand the immediate convening of Parliament to create an environment where the demands of the people and agitating groups can be addressed through an elected institution.’
The Nepal Bar Council, the country’s legal body, joined the political parties in calling the dissolution of Parliament unconstitutional. Legal experts had expressed concern about the constitutional processes to ensure PM Karki’s appointment as executive head in the lead-up to her taking office.
‘Nepal’s Constitution is the result of a broad national consensus and reflects the aspirations of its citizens,’ the Bar’s press statement read. ‘Such acts erode public trust in democratic institutions and threaten the very foundation of our constitutional system.’
The President’s move to dissolve the House of Representatives is also contrary to the Supreme Court’s previous decision on the restoration of parliament, the Bar’s stated, referring to the top court’s verdict after former PM Oli dismissed Parliament in 2021.&nbsp;
The Federation of Nepalese Journalists echoed similar sentiments in its own statement on Saturday which read, ‘The Federation believes that the unconstitutional appointment of the Prime Minister against the Constitution and the dissolution of the House of Representatives, which is contrary to the previous precedent set by the Supreme Court, show ill will towards democracy.’&nbsp;
Meanwhile, the GenZ youth who had voted in favour of Karki to lead the transitional government welcomed the dissolution of Parliament, and continue to demand that the interim government investigate the shooting of demonstrators this week. They also want mechanisms to ensure accountability and zero-tolerance against corruption.
‘We call for an open, sustained, and participatory national dialogue with the Interim Government and all political actors, one that ensures the meaningful presence of indigenous youth and structurally marginalised communities whose voices are not only heard, respected, and embedded but are also actively consulted in the shaping of the policies, institutions, and decisions that will define Nepal’s democratic future envisioned by us,’ read a statement issued by the Indigenous GenZ collective on Saturday.&nbsp;
Across the country, authorities have also begun to launch investigations into the vandalism and looting during the protests, urging citizens to return stolen goods. A former lawmaker from the Nepali Congress, which was a part of the coalition with the UML has filed a complaint against Oli alleging that he personally issued the order to security forces to fire at protestors on 8 September.

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