Nepal’s Gen Z uprising splinters as ideological cracks start to show

One month after Nepal’s youth-led revolt redrew the political map, competing visions for the future and the daunting challenge of turning protest into meaningful reform are casting uncertainty over the country’s political future. In the wake of the September uprising, which ousted the government of K.P. Sharma Oli and left more than 70 people dead, new Gen Z factions have proliferated, defined by their deep ideological divides. Groups with names like the Gen Z Alliance, Real Gen Z Nepal and Gen Z-Y-X Nepal are demanding everything from the preservation of the country’s republican constitution to the abolition of federalism – and even the restoration of a Hindu monarchy that was abolished in 2008 following a civil war. “We don’t want to undermine the constitution and the achievements gained from the past revolutions,” said Arnab Chaudhary, a 27-year-old lawyer from the Gen Z Alliance group and Indigenous Gen Z Collective. “We don’t want to destroy the existing system but strengthen it. The various groups calling to dismantle it are opportunists trying to use the movement to promote their ideologies and we won’t tolerate that.” Following last month’s widespread protests, former chief justice Sushila Karki was appointed interim leader, tasked with steering Nepal to elections scheduled for March 2026. Her government has won praise for initiating corruption investigations and detaining high-profile political figures, but criticism is mounting over delays in prosecuting former prime minister Oli, his home minister Ramesh Lekhak and the country’s security agencies for the deadly crackdown on demonstrators. Both politicians have denied any wrongdoing. Meanwhile, a protracted stalemate over plans to expand Nepal’s cabinet has fuelled further resentment. Many in the Gen Z movement, along with their allies, are demanding meaningful youth representation in government and state institutions. “This government was born out of the bloodshed of Gen Zs, so they should be included in the cabinet,” said J.B. Biswokarma, a Nepal-based independent political analyst. “This ensures transparency and also serves as justice to those who were killed.” Yet analysts say the Gen Z movement, which emerged spontaneously, has been hamstrung by a lack of cohesive strategy and leadership – even as it has succeeded in shaking Nepal’s political establishment. The country’s three major parties, long dominated by a handful of leaders, are now grappling with unprecedented internal dissent. On Tuesday, 79-year-old former prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, who was assaulted and had his house set on fire during the protests, resigned as leader of the Nepali Congress, following the earlier departure of fellow ex-leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal, 70, from the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) he founded in 1994. “The Gen Z movement has enabled party members, previously neglected and negated, to protest for internal reforms and leadership change,” Biswokarma said. “This is an accomplishment, but the Gen Z movement must also work to dismantle the entrenched social inequalities and patriarchal narratives to create a just and equitable society.” ‘We won’t stop’ Even as the other ageing oligarchs have been forced to step aside, 73-year-old Oli has refused to relinquish his role as chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist), stating in a defiant speech earlier this month that he would remain its leader. Analysts say this stance betrays his “autocratic characteristics” and is an insult to the Gen Z movement. Oli has also denounced the appointment of Karki as “illegitimate and unconstitutional” and called for the restoration of the country’s dissolved parliament. For activists like Chaudhary, Oli’s defiance was to be expected. “But we will continue to resist and retaliate,” he said. “We won’t stop.” The lack of consensus within the ranks of Nepal’s Gen Z protesters, combined with a reluctance to engage with the political establishment, could deepen polarisation, according to political anthropologist Jeevan Sharma, a professor at the University of Edinburgh’s School of Social and Political Science who specialises in South Asia. Any major deviation from Nepal’s constitutional order risked tipping the country into political chaos, he warned. “The road ahead is difficult,” Sharma said, envisioning political reform and a strengthening of Nepal’s democratic system as “the best-case scenario”. “In the worst case, it’s possible to see a new political formation and populist individuals emerging from the current interregnum, which will be a setback for Nepal.” Already, right-wing and monarchist groups are gaining traction. This week, Durga Prasai – a 54-year-old right-wing activist out on bail for fraud and inciting violence at a pro-monarchy rally in March – issued inflammatory warnings that the country “will be split apart” if the current political crisis persists. We are hopeful, but hope is not a strategy Arnab Chaudhary, Nepali Gen Z activist Gen Z activists, wary of such reactionary forces, fear a resurgence of the hardline elements they protested against, especially in the absence of a united youth front. Observers like Sharma believe growing polarisation could threaten Nepal’s fragile constitutional order and “give rise to other forms of counter movements”. To prevent further turmoil, analyst Biswokarma urged all factions – Gen Z groups, political parties and the interim government – to establish a “minimum common agenda”, pointing to the precedent of the 12-point agreement between Nepal’s various political parties and the Maoists in 2005 that paved the way for peace and a republican transition after the country’s decade-long civil war. “The government should facilitate dialogues between everyone regardless of the outcome,” he said. “If it doesn’t tactfully manage the rift between different Gen Z groups and the political parties, it could push the country into further turmoil, creating challenges to conduct the election.” Chaudhary, for his part, insists the Gen Z movements to which he belongs are open to dialogue, provided discussions focus on the shared goals of anti-corruption and good governance. “We are hopeful, but hope is not a strategy,” he said. “We are now working on a strategy that aligns with the democratic values and ideas of inclusiveness and social equality to create a country that we have long dreamed of.”

Nepal’s Gen Z uprising splinters as ideological cracks start to show

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}As the dust settles on Nepal’s massive youth uprising, the euphoria of revolution is giving way to confusion and division

As the dust settles on Nepal’s massive youth uprising, the euphoria of revolution is giving way to confusion and division