On 8 September, Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, erupted. Tens of thousands of young people rallied against poverty, corruption and repression.
Many protesters livestreamed the protests on apps the Nepalese government had tried to ban days earlier. Within 48 hours, parliament, the supreme court and the homes of top leaders were in flames.
Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli resigned and former Chief Justice Sushila Karki was chosen as interim prime minister through a vote on the gaming app Discord.
The protests were a result of decades of frustration. Nepal became a republic in 2008 after several mass movements for democracy. But the prosperity many expected has not become a reality.
Left wing political parties including Maoists such as the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist-Leninist have presided over neoliberal cuts and intensification of exploitation.
Nepal’s GDP per capita remains under $1500, youth unemployment is 20 per cent and at least six million Nepalese work abroad.
Barsha Rai, a social work student from Nepal, explained to Solidarity, “Inflation is high … your median, average household salary honestly can’t keep up … The fight is to create an environment in Nepal where students like myself don’t have to come abroad to study or work just to keep our families afloat.”
The gulf between the living standards of most Nepalese and the ruling class is stark. Originating in Indonesia and the Philippines, the #NepoBaby trend spread to Nepal, where social media posts highlight the flaunted wealth of the children of the rich.
One viral photo in Nepal showed the son of a provincial minister standing next to a Christmas tree made of boxes of luxury brands including Louis Vuitton, Gucci and Cartier.
Youth Against Corruption
On 4 September the government banned 26 social media platforms ahead of protests organised for 8 September. Despite that, tens of thousands of youth gathered on the streets of Kathmandu that day. An NGO, Hami Nepal, called the protest under the banner of “Youth Against Corruption”.
Police opened fire killing 19 people, including high school students. Police had killed 51 people by the end of the uprising.
“It was supposed to be a peaceful protest … but by midday the police forces started becoming more aggressive, and they started open firing on people,” said Barsha.
By the evening, Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak resigned and the government was forced to lift the ban on social media apps.
The next day, 9 September, tens of thousands more poured onto the streets, burning government buildings and politicians’ homes.
The Prime Minister resigned and fled to an army barracks. “We toppled the government on just the second day, which probably never happened in history,” Barsha said.
The Nepalese Army declared it would “take charge”. It dissolved parliament, instituted curfews and appealed to Hami Nepal for talks.
Hami Nepal hosted a chat room where users could vote between candidates for interim prime minister. More than 100,000 took part and Sushila Karki came out on top.
But the debates on Discord were about who would be the next prime minister, not about fundamentally changing the system.
This left Sudan Gurung, the leader of Hami Nepal, as the unelected negotiator with the army. Karki was not named prime minister until she got military approval.
Nepal’s recent history shows the danger of placing faith in politicians. From the 1990s to 2006 there were mass movements against dictatorship. The Maoists waged a “people’s war” in the countryside.
In 2006, millions joined mass strikes and protests that forced King Gyanendra to step back from absolute rule. In April 2008 the Maoists won the largest share of seats and the Constituent Assembly voted to abolish the monarchy.
But once in parliament, the Maoists abandoned radical transformation. They claimed Nepal was “not ready” for socialism in line with a stages theory, of more capitalism now, socialism later.
The Maoists ended up running Nepalese capitalism. There was no land reform, no moves to transform agriculture, no effort to break the power of landlords or expand production and jobs in the public sector. The uprising was the outcome of this betrayal.
For the first time in decades, young Nepalese believe in their power to shake governments. Barsha said, “It’s about time people start realising that everything that happens to them is political.”
The creativity, determination and hunger for democracy shown by the movement is an inspiration.
But the protests were limited by the leadership being left to NGOs and organisation being left to online platforms.
Real change cannot come from parliamentary compromise but from sustained struggle and organisations accountable to the working class itself.
By Jordi Pardoel
