Wake-up call from Nepal riots
The spontaneous riots that have led to changes in government in the last three years in some South Asian nations have sent ripples all over the world. Sri Lanka and Bangladesh were the first to fall, and now it is the turn of Nepal. The riots in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, dominated the media […]
The spontaneous riots that have led to changes in government in the last three years in some South Asian nations have sent ripples all over the world. Sri Lanka and Bangladesh were the first to fall, and now it is the turn of Nepal. The riots in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, dominated the media space last week, especially on Monday and Tuesday, when it spiralled across the country. We saw videos of the country in flames. The parliament, the homes of politicians, the Prime Minister’s home, and many other government buildings were torched by the rioting youths. We watched politicians barely getting away with their lives by being spirited away by helicopters from burning residences.
Nepal was in dire straits. Within the two days, events moved swiftly, and by the end of Tuesday, the Prime Minister, Sharma Oli, had resigned. The country was tottering on the edge when the army took control of the streets and negotiated with the representatives of the youths to appoint an acting Prime Minister, dissolve the parliament and set a date for new elections early next year. The riots, which began because of a clash between the security forces and youths, styling themselves as Gen Z, protesting the government’s clampdown on social media platforms, went out of control with tragic consequences. Many were killed when the security forces opened fire on the rioters.
It reminds one of the Arab Spring, which began in Tunisia in December 2010 as a series of pro-democracy and non-violent resistance protests that ultimately led to the overthrow of the government. The Arab Spring was said to have originated from what might have looked like a petty incident. It sparked from the market, in a city in Tunisia, in which a young man, who sold vegetables, was said to have set himself ablaze to protest police harassment. This act of self-immolation rapidly caught attention in a country already mired in discontent.
It galvanised the frustration of young men across the country, quickly escalating demonstrations in the streets, culminating in riots and, in due course, a full-scale revolt, which led to the ousting of long-time dictator Ben Ali. The success of the revolutionaries in Tunisia emboldened others in neighbouring Arab countries to start their own. By the time the smoke cleared, five heads of government were removed from office, including Ben Ali of Tunisia, Muammar Gaddafi of Libya, Hosni Mubarak of Egypt and Ali Abdullahi Salef of Yemen. The Arab Spring also caused demonstrations and insurrections in several other Arab countries.
The riots aimed at bringing down governments in South Asian countries began in Sri Lanka, the island country that lies southeast of India. In 2022, for a considerable period, economic policy errors accumulated, resulting in serious political problems for the government of the time. Many years of excessive international borrowing, government overspending, and other imprudent actions, such as reducing taxes on high-income and corporate earnings in a bid to boost investment, have depleted the treasury.
As funds dried up, government activities came to a standstill. They could not afford the import of essentials such as fuel and foodstuffs. This became evident by the long line of vehicles at fuel stations and the unprecedented power cuts that affected daily life. Spontaneous protest sprang up, which gradually turned riotous. The family home of the Prime Minister, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the parliament and many other government buildings were set on fire. The Prime Minister resigned and fled the country.
In an interesting contrast, Bangladesh has experienced economic development and growth under the leadership of Sheikh Hasina, the Prime Minister, and her Awami League Party, which has been in power since 2009. However, by 2024, the economy had stagnated, with fewer employment opportunities, especially for young people. Also, there had been widespread grumblings at the high level of corruption and nepotism. Nevertheless, the immediate cause for the protests was the agitation against the quota system for public jobs, which set aside a percentage for the offspring of those who fought for Bangladesh’s independence in 1971.
The government removed the quota system in 2021, but it was successfully challenged in court by those who were benefiting from it. The quota system returned to the statute books. When the mass student-led protests started in Dhaka, the capital, the government’s response was swift and brutal, killing dozens of protesters and injuring hundreds. Matters escalated as student unions called out their members all over the country. They were joined by other youth groups, making a massive uprising. The protesters stormed the Prime Minister’s residence, forcing her to flee from the country.
A common thread running through most of these momentous events, which wrought immediate changes of government in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Nepal, was the role of the youth in leading the protests. Many opine that the youth, a substantial portion of the population, were the hardest hit by the consequences of their government’s actions and inactions. In Nepal, over 50 per cent of the population is under 30 years old, while in Bangladesh, the figure is 37 per cent, and in Sri Lanka, it is 30 per cent.
What happened in these countries serves as a wake-up call to other countries, not only in South Asia but also elsewhere, that share a similar demographic makeup and comparable economic and political challenges. The message to governments: face challenges squarely, change now, or you will be changed.