Protests in Nepal, dubbed the “Gen Z protest” because so many of the participants are young people, continued to escalate on Tuesday with more reports of vandalism, arson, and fatal shootings by police.
Nepal’s Communist government was toppled by the protesters on Tuesday with the resignation of Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli.
The Gen Z protest erupted over the weekend after Oli’s government banned almost every major social media platform, including the most popular choice among young people, Facebook.
The government said the ban was necessary because the platforms failed to comply with a demand for registration, which was intended to crack down on disinformation. Critics said it was a naked power play to stifle dissent at a time when the government was embroiled in massive corruption scandals, many of them tied to Communist China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Monday’s protests swelled to enormous size and, when the crowd seemed intent on storming the parliament building in Kathmandu, the police switched from tear gas and water cannons to live ammunition. At least 19 deaths were reported, along with scores of injuries, inflaming public sentiment even further.
The protesters showed no sign of backing down after deadly clashes with the police. On Monday night, Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak became the first top government official to resign, followed on Tuesday morning by Prime Minister Oli.
Lekhak tendered his resignation during a Cabinet meeting at Oli’s home on Monday night, saying it was his duty to resign on “moral grounds” after the death of so many protesters.
Oli blamed “external infiltrators” for the increasingly violent protests, a charge echoed by military leaders after the army was deployed to restore order to the streets. Some of the Gen Z groups, in turn, said their peaceful demonstrations had been “hijacked” by “opportunists” who used the legitimate popular movement as cover to engage in vandalism and looting.
“Even the organizers had declared the protest a success and had urged people to return home. But infiltrators carried out acts of vandalism and arson,” Oli said on Monday night.
“I am extremely saddened that citizens lost their lives during today’s protest. I extend my deepest condolences to the families and relatives who lost their loved ones in this unimaginable incident,” he said.
The prime minister walked back the social media bans that triggered the protests, portraying them as a blunder by overzealous but well-meaning regulators, and vowed to launch an intensive probe into the protests.
None of this was enough to satisfy the protesters, or save Oli. There were more demonstrations and more acts of arson on Tuesday. Rajyalaxmi Chitrakar, the wife of former prime minister Jhalanath Khanal, was severely injured when her house in Kathmandu was set ablaze. Initial reports said she was burned to death inside the house, or succumbed to her injuries later in the hospital, but the most recent bulletins from Kathmandu media said she was alive and receiving treatment.
The homes of several other political figures were burned, including Prime Minister Oli’s house. Arson and vandalism were also reported at the federal parliament building, the Supreme Court, and numerous government offices. Some of these structures were occupied when they were attacked, and the occupants said they were beaten by the mob.
The Tribhuvan International Airport was closed during the protests on Tuesday. Several major airlines canceled flights to the Nepali capital until further notice, citing dangerous conditions around the airport.
Oli made a televised announcement that he would step down on Tuesday, after a swarm of protesters stormed his office while chanting anti-government slogans, including “Don’t Kill Students” – a popular battle cry for the demonstrators after Monday’s killings. Several parliamentary leaders also demanded Oli’s resignation.
The largest party in parliament, the Nepali Congress Party, said it might withdraw all of its ministers from Oli’s administration, form its own national government, and begin negotiating with the protesters. All 21 members of another party, Rastriya Swatantra, resigned en masse on Tuesday.
Oli soon presented his resignation to President Ramchandra Paudel. The letter said Oli felt his resignation was appropriate “considering the extraordinary situation prevailing in the country, and in order to facilitate further efforts toward a constitutional political solution and problem resolution.”
Oli was the head of Nepal’s Communist Party, rising to power as prime minister after the Communists formed an alliance with former Maoist rebels in 2018. The Communist-Maoist political juggernaut was supposed to be unstoppable, but the Gen Z protesters seem determined to stop them.
President Paudel on Tuesday told the protesters to be happy with their pound of flesh after bringing Oli down.
“As Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli’s resignation has already been accepted, there is a need for cooperation of all sides who love the country, people and democracy, to find a solution to the current stalemate,” he said.
“I urge everyone, including the protesting citizens, to cooperate for a peaceful resolution of the country’s difficult situation. I appeal to all parties to exercise restraint, to not allow further damage to the country, and to come to talks,” he pleaded.
The Gen Z protesters did not seem satisfied. Many pointed out that the social media ban was just the last straw, and the issue that truly animated them was corruption – a problem they did not believe could be addressed without a very thorough government housecleaning. Their favorite nickname for Oli was “KP Thief,” but they didn’t think he was the only thief in Kathmandu.
Thousands of protesters remained on the streets of Kathmandu on Tuesday after Oli’s resignation, blocking traffic around the capital so thoroughly that the army was obliged to ferry government ministers to safe houses by helicopter.
Graffiti on the wall of a shopping center calls for people to wake up and fight against corruption in Kathmandu, Nepal, on September 10, 2025. (Photo by Subaas Shrestha/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
There was some grumbling among the Gen Z crowd that Paudel appointed Oli to head a “caretaker government” for some unspecified interval, but the protesters also took a moment to savor their big win with victory chants. Many a selfie was taken, sometimes with burning government buildings in the background. Somebody wrote “WE WON” in orange paint on the part of the parliament building that wasn’t on fire.
No matter what acts of vandalism have been perpetrated during the protests, public opinion appeared to swing heavily behind the Gen Z movement after so many young demonstrators were shot on Monday. The Nepali Health Ministry confirmed 29 total fatalities since Monday, plus over 600 injuries, including both protesters and police.
The movement is highly proficient at using social media, which is a major reason why the social media ban incited such massive street protests. Gen Z social media accounts are now filled with protest photos and allegations of corruption against public officials.
Paudel said on Tuesday he was prepared to form a new government after Oli’s resignation, but the Gen Z movement appears to have little faith in his leadership, and no respect for his curfew orders. Protest leaders demanded “mass resignations,” and some demanded a new prime minister who would be acceptable to the movement, such as Kathmandu’s youthful mayor Balendra Shah, who is a rap singer in his spare time.
“This corruption thing has been in Nepal since a very, very long time, and I think it is high time that the nation needs to change. I really hope that it can bring something positive to our country,” a 14-year-old Kathmandu resident remarked to the BBC while cleaning up trash from the protests.
“People are hopeful now, after this revolution. There is hope for better governance… We feel like it was a lesson for leaders to improve themselves so the country can have a bright future,” said another young Nepali, who suggested Shah as a leader who might be able to deliver that future.
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