16/09/2025

Protests and demonstrations in the region complement each other

 This year’s and last year’s protests and those before the coronavirus era and their beginnings in the Middle East and Asia complement each other. Not only that, they have the same social environment and the same economic and political basis.

 What happened in Nepal in recent days and led to the overthrow of power and change there it complemented the experience, courage and inspiration of previous events in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Iran and elsewhere.

There was immortality, unemployment, corruption, increased cost of living, low wages and lack of freedom, all of which are common among these countries.

In each case the specific grievances against the leaders were different, but the broader socioeconomic frustrations of the young people who revolted against an aging and corrupt political class were remarkably similar. All countries have growing youth populations – nearly 40% of the South Asian population is under 18 – but this so-called “youth dividend” is seen as being largely wasted due to poor education, lack of jobs, sustained low wages and poor living standards.

 Chittig Bajpai, a senior fellow for South Asia at Chatham House, said the youth-led movement emerging in Nepal, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka addressed “several structural challenges facing countries across the region their ambition, economic distress and demographic pressures.”

 For the majority of young Nepalese struggling with energy-sapping inflation, economic hardship and high youth unemployment – ​​driving millions to find exploitative and often deadly jobs abroad in places like the Gulf – images of wealth and luxury were damning proof that Nepal’s political system is broken. Nepalese authorities and politicians see the protests as a conspiracy and interference by anti-government parties, but in fact this is a big lie as 14 prime ministers have changed in Nepal in 16 years to solve the problems, but instead the problems have deepened.

 Ashish Pradhan, Nepal expert at Crisis Group, said: “There was a lot of chatter online about being inspired by Bangladeshis, by Sri Lankans and by what was happening with the student movement in Indonesia be.'” Anoja Pandey, 26, one of the faces of the Gen Z protests, maintained that the overthrow of the Oli government was not part of any pre-planned conspiracy. “The wealth of those in power and their access had grown tremendously; while others continue to suffer ,” she said. “Our generation, Gen Z, is bearing the cost of this and that’s what made us take to the streets.”