Kathmandu is on edge not because of “apps,” but because a generation raised on the promise of democracy and mobility has collided with an economy and political order that keep shutting every door.
It is tempting – especially from afar – to narrate this as a clash over digital freedoms. That would be analytically thin. For Gen-Z Nepalis, platforms are not just entertainment; they are job boards, news wires, organizing tools, and social lifelines. Shutting them off – after years of economic drift – felt like collective punishment. But the deeper story is structural: Nepal’s growth has been stabilized by remittances rather than transformed by domestic investment capable of producing dignified work. In FY 2024/25, the Department of Foreign Employment issued 839,266 exit labor permits – staggering out-migration for a country of ~30 million. Remittances hovered around 33% of GDP in 2024, among the highest ratios worldwide. These numbers speak to survival, not social progress; they are a referendum on a model that exports its youth to low-wage contracts while importing basics, and that depends on patronage rather than productivity
Following Nepal’s four-year IMF Extended Credit Facility (ECF) program, the government faced pressure to boost domestic revenue. This led to a new Digital Services Tax and stricter VAT rules for foreign e-service providers, but when major platforms refused to register, the state escalated by blocking them. This move, which began as a tax enforcement effort, quickly became a tool of digital control, and it occurred as the public was already dealing with rising fuel costs and economic hardships driven by the program’s push for fiscal consolidation.
That the crackdown and its political finale unfolded under a CPN (UML) prime minister makes this a strategic calamity for Nepal’s left. Years of factional splits, opportunistic coalitions, and policy drift had already eroded credibility among the young. When a left-branded government narrows civic space instead of widening material opportunity, it cedes the moral terrain to actors who thrive on anti-party cynicism – individual-cult politics and a resurgent monarchist right. The latter has mobilized visibly this year; with Oli’s resignation, it will seek to portray itself as the guarantor of “order,” even as its economic vision remains thin and regressive. This is the danger: the very forces most hostile to egalitarian transformation can capitalize on left misgovernance to expand their footprint.
Opposition statements recognized the larger canvas sooner than the government did. Pushpa Kamal Dahal (Prachanda) expressed condolences, urged action on anti-corruption demands, and called for removing “sanctions on social networks.” The CPN (Unified Socialist) and CPN (Maoist Center) statements condemned the repression, demanded an impartial investigation, and linked digital curbs to failures on jobs and governance.
Much more at the link, give People’s Dispatch the click they deserve for good work here.
The proximate trigger was regulatory: the government ordered 26 major social-media platforms to register locally and began blocking those deemed non-compliant, including Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, WhatsApp, X, and others. Crowds surged toward Parliament; police deployed tear gas, rubber bullets and, in several places, live fire. By late 9 September, at least 19 people were killed and well over 300 injured. Under pressure, the government lifted the social-media ban and Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli resigned.
Protests that burn the Parliament over a bunch of western social media apps being regulated is NOT a good sign
Basically all ways to engage in an informal economy and keep in regular communication with your people.
So, for us Westerners, it would be something like a ban on all cell phone service or cell phones because the technology has some Chinese components. You can no longer log into your credit card company’s website because of 2FA. Your work’s HR might have made it a requirement to have a 3rd party app installed on your phone where you get your schedule for the next week, so now what the fuck do you do. Being able to have a family members quickly Venmo cash to each other when in need, at the moment it is needed, is now gone.
“Proximate” is very important to that statement, because there were many other longstanding concerns like the article tries to stress, and I think it’s more accurate to say that it was the proximate trigger of the initial protest, and the cool zone was entered when the state killed over a dozen people and wounded hundreds more at that protest, including children.
“Proximate” is very important to that statement, because there were many other longstanding concerns like the article tries to stress, and I think it’s more accurate to say that it was the proximate trigger of the initial protest, and the cool zone was entered when the state killed over a dozen people and wounded hundreds more at that protest, including children.
General discontent was Ukraine’s protest and it would’ve blown over had unknown gunmen not shot a bunch of innocent people turning it from maidan protest to maidan revolution/coup.
In fact, a catalyst in most major revolutions has been a massacre of innocent people protesting resulting in events moving up to the next level.
I don’t support a protest that’s tearing down communist flags but also someone* said that shit like whatsapp is used by like everybody so shutting it down is like “you can’t make a living anymore” and not “you can’t have your media treats”
*in another thread talking about this earlier today
I completely support a protest that’s tearing down “communist flags” if the flags are of parties that clearly aren’t substantively communist.
Huge agree. A political party can call themselves anything. We are only “on the same side” if the party actually represents the interests of the working class.
Particularly when the opposition that will likely take power are the Maoists. If anything this is a massive blow to the centre left in the Congress and the right wing of the alleged Marxist-Leninists.
Particularly when the opposition that will likely take power are the Maoists
What makes you think that?
The two largest parties are no more and Maoist were the third largest have been mostly intact
MC are the only one left, they were also largely correct in critiquing both the corruption in UML and their coalition with the SucDems in the Congress Party. On the other hand they have their own flaws. They’re at least nominally heavily influenced in Gonzalist thought (which found more fertile ground against an absolute monarchy in an agrarian state) and that can lead to some excessively Ultra takes on occasion
There’s also the United Socialists who are a UML breakaway and in informal coalition with MC, being the faction that supported the short lived unification.
But honestly I want all three to overcome their differences, since I think even many UML cadre are communists in good faith.
Some say that the Monarchists might take advantage but that’s unlikely given that they’re only barely stopping Maoist Centre from rearming as it is.
Some sort of MC-US coalition seems like the best immediate outcome here, since there doesn’t seem to be any truly revolutionary organization leading the movement. The Maoists could turn back to that, I suppose, if you’re right about them being on the verge of rearming any minute. You’d think they would have been ready when this popped off then, though.
They’ve been very restrained and quite happy to let the MLs and especially the Congress shit the bed all on their own. This is at least partially because the current coalition was goading them into rearming in parliamentary debates, as a way of claiming they were violent radicals without a real praxis. Also the Maoists don’t have as much of an Urban base due to the whole being Maoists, so they’re relying on the US for urban support (and a significant portion of the protestors are United Socialist aligned) and the US is angling to reabsorb the fragmenting UML.
It actively halted any potential communication method between business and families, not just teens
It’s an extreme response specifically for this, but it’s not just because of this that the people essentially had a revolution, the government clearly pissed everyone off for years at this point
Following Nepal’s four-year IMF Extended Credit Facility
Is this another Maidan? This came out of nowhere and on the foot of tensions between east and west conviently located in a buffer state. It’s easy for those in the middle with little lived experience to see it from the outside but I hope Nepalese understand that what they think is going to be an accountable followup centered on “free speech” just very well be a western stooge that cracks down on entire subsets of the population and is even worse.
Be very weary of some rushed figure - especially some local two bit celebrity that is ready to lead.
there is already a local two bit celebrity ready to lead lol. Can look into Rabi Lamichhane
Dude came straight from US (some talk about him fleeing US due to debt) and even managed to enter political. Even managed to become home minister (under Prachanda’s) for a while but he really angered the establishment (KP Oli, Sher Bahadur) since he claimed to bring change, development, and every other buzz word. His would platform was the old system was corrupt and it needs to change.
He was 100% just an opportunistic that pissed off wrong people in wrong time. He is also neck deep in many many scandals and was in prison until yesterday. Now he would have been the perfect person with everyone’s support behind him but ironically his greatest achievement of getting the Home Minister position has lead to suspicion and distrust, since it showed his willingness to coexist with thr establishment. Now people just want him back in jail since the charges all seems legit.
Also think he is suspicion af, maybe not related CIA but won’t hesitate to sell out
Lamichhane rose to fame as the host of a television show
Nationality - American 2007-2017
Former chairperson of the Film Development Board part of the Asian Film Comission Network (HQ Busan Korea)
Board of Directors
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president - Korea
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VP - Taiwan
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VP - Japan
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Board Members - Philippines, Cambodia, Indonesia, Jordan, Nepal
Shah moved to the United States, and Poudel has largely remained absent from her daughter’s life. In 2019, she married Rabi Lamichhane, a media personality and politician, registering their marriage amid growing media attention.
Both Nikita Poudel and Rabi Lamichhane are divorcees with children from previous marriages. None of their children lives with them, and the couple has faced criticism for neglecting parental responsibilities and remaining distant from their children’s upbringing
Cookie cutter gusanos
Ironically his show was about exposing people that scammed and preyed on poor people and corruption in the lower political ranks; which is the entire reason why he gained so much popularity and won when he ran for election. After which he proceeded to scam thousands by embezzling cooperative funds leaving many people destitute.
Yeah they still pose real danger right now. Even tho he has been disgraced, he still has some support sadly.
He might even form alliance with Monarchist, who are also carefully playing their hand right now.
But all hope is not lost. Might make big update later
First we had a president comedian
Now we’ll have a TV show host
Coincidence? I don’t think so. ETERNAL JIHAD ON THE ENTERTAINMENT COMPLEX! (/s)
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I’d like to add some more points to this discussion. Nepal is a country with the median age of 25, youth unemployment rate around 25 percent, and an incredibly inefficient government. Western media trying to frame it as a protest over a social media ban is laughable to say the least. It didn’t help that the PM decided it would be a good idea to: mock the youth for, and I quote, “Valuing the jobs of a handful over national sovereignity” when they complained about the restrictions on social media, he then proceeded to let the police to open-fire at protestors, and not peacefully resign when it was clear that shit wouldn’t settle down. There is a reason police don’t use lethal force on protestors but here the geniuses in charge decided it would be fine to shoot kids.
There have been massive fucking scandals from the highest echelons of the political sphere in the past few years, some egregious ones being: scamming 800 people by presenting them as Bhutanese refugees to resettle in other countries, perpetrated by the home secretary and very likely linked to the minister of foreign affairs, transferring government land to private ownership by a collusion between members of the Congress and CPN ML party and big business owners.
Imagine living in a country where you can’t find a job, the GDP per capita is half that of India, politicians are clearly in their posts to squeeze as much money from it as fucking possible and, on top of that, the children of politicians, even those of lower ranks, are regularly flaunting their wealth on social media.
Trying to present the social media bill itself as logical would be valid if not for the fact that it is clearly a subterfuge to allow the government to remove things they don’t like, things that they deem, in many vague words, “violations against national security, integrity and hate speech concerns” or things that don’t “align with cultural values”. Reminder that the previous tiktok ban was under the pretext of “protecting social harmony” and blocking “harmful content and influence on youth”.
Nevertheless, I am reasonably certain at this point that after the first few burnings the revolt got co-opted, which resulted in the release of thousands of prisoners including the clown Lamichhane and a break-in into a police station that lead to guns getting out — he was in prison for embezzling cooperative funds alongside a group of other polticians and cooperative owners by the way, this shows how rotten the entire establishment is.
Also, there is no concrete leadership so a group of zoomies are in a live call in a discord server — fucking lol — about what to do going forward, with some incredibly naïve takes. Another thing that points to a three letter agency psyop is the fact that people refer to “decisions made by Gen-Z”, something without a figure-head for some reason; and I’m pretty sure that it doesn’t refer to the discord call zoomers.
Also, there is no concrete leadership so a group of zoomies are in a live call in a discord server — fucking lol — about what to do going forward, with some incredibly naïve takes. Another thing that points to a three letter agency psyop is the fact that people refer to “decisions made by Gen-Z”, something without a figure-head for some reason; and I’m pretty sure that it doesn’t refer to the discord call zoomers.
Okay I had the same impression until I actually listen to their talk. Having such serious talk in Discord is beyond cringe but they are actually Gen-Z, and thats where they are.
On the discussion side, it was a disaster for few hours but then everything started getting organized. It was less a discord and more like a radio talk show. People with real idea came forth to share with maybe 10k active listen on discord, and more than than in FB live pages.
I had been worried about no any organization yet, but it is slowly but surely forming as we look their discord talk with contempt. They have managed to reach out to all potential candidates, have a vote on whom to decide on and then went with the winner.
There were critique of the chosen candidate, a call for Balen to step up and generally a sane discussion on Balen’s unwilling to come forth and its effect. He shouldn’t focus on interim government patter but the upcoming election.
The call against corruption isn’t just a surface level platform, there were discussion on systematic change with corruption as the core rot and just how integrated it has become with the Parliamentary system. Now there is a real agenda for the Parliament to be dissolved, move away from parliamentary system and the most surprising of all, not repeat Bangladesh.
Don’t get me wrong, they are not Marxist or even leftist but they don’t inherently have to be just wanting accurate analysis of the world will move you to Marxism and that is what I hope to see and maybe contribute a bit.
Overview of topic covered today in discord . Maybe there might be something here. I hope so else its either Durga Prasai or Rabi.
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