{"id":304896,"date":"2025-09-16T18:41:27","date_gmt":"2025-09-16T13:11:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/?p=304896"},"modified":"2026-05-07T11:02:15","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T05:32:15","slug":"nepal-genz-was-protesting-against-a-corrupt-system-in-highlighting-social-media-ban-media-missed-the-point","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/nepal-genz-was-protesting-against-a-corrupt-system-in-highlighting-social-media-ban-media-missed-the-point\/","title":{"rendered":"Nepal GenZ was protesting against a ‘corrupt’ system. In highlighting social media ban, media missed the point"},"content":{"rendered":"

Trigger Warning: Graphic Imagery<\/strong><\/p>\n

What the world witnessed in Nepal last week was not just a protest against a social media ban, but a spontaneous outpouring of pent up anger at an allegedly failed system. An analysis of the idioms, motifs and visual representations of the GenZ uprising shows that calling it a protest against social media ban — as a section of the media did — was to trivialize it to an extent as to misconstrue it wholly.<\/p>\n

At best, the September 4 ban on certain social media platforms was a spark that turned an already smoldering fire into a blaze. A blaze fuelled by the rage of the country’s youth against systemic corruption, nepotism, economic failures, a privilege culture and so on.<\/p>\n

The turmoil in Nepal hit headlines worldwide and also in India on September 8, when 19 student protesters lost their lives<\/a> in clashes with security forces, and the streets of Kathmandu resembled a battlefield. Despite the violence and loss of lives, the protests continued on to the following day, ultimately leading to the toppling of Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli’s government. By this time, however, what began as a youth uprising against corruption, nepotism, unemployment and issues alike, had lost its way into the quagmire of anarchy. The Supreme Court, the Singha Durbar palace, which is the seat of the Nepal government, and the Parliament had been set fire to<\/a>. So were the houses of the Prime Minister and several of his cabinet colleagues.<\/p>\n

Kathmandu had fallen.<\/p>\n

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A photo widely viral on social media shows part of the Singha Durbar palace engulfed in smoke after being set afire by protesters in Kathmandu<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Anger at Corruption, Nepotism, Elitism<\/h4>\n

In July 2024, former UN Resident Coordinator Bishow Parajuli wrote an analytical piece in The Kathmandu Post titled ‘Corruption: Nepal\u2019s cry for help’<\/a>, highlighting public frustration with political parties, government officials, business leaders, and civil society actors in Nepal. Parajuli shows that anti-corruption institutions in Nepal are seen as ineffective, with leadership often compromised by political patronage, and efforts at reform stymied by threats of political destabilization. This entrenched corruption negatively affects development, jobs, health, education, and public infrastructure; major scandals routinely go unpunished, while both local and federal government remain plagued by graft. According to the analysis:<\/p>\n