NEPAL, September 12—Massive “Gen Z” youth protests erupted in Kathmandu and other cities on September 8 after a government ban on social media. Police fired into the crowd, killing dozens. Demonstrations swelled to tens of thousands even after the ban was lifted. In the next days, Parliament, the Supreme Court, political party offices, mainstream media outlets, and leading politicians’ homes went up in flames. Government leaders fled.
Many Nepalese youths had watched the uprisings in Sri Lanka (2022) and Bangladesh (2024). Again, a power vacuum existed. But instead of calling on working-class soldiers to join in communist revolution, student leaders called for new elections. They ran a poll on Discord and announced support for former chief justice Sushila Karki as interim Prime Minister.
Student organizers and media reports highlighted “anti-corruption.” But working-class youths were fired up by mass unemployment. They are enraged by #NepoKids whose wealthy parents get them cushy jobs and powerful positions. The masses of Nepali youth desperately need communism. Real communism, not the state-capitalism of the Nepali rulers’ Chinese allies. (More next issue).
Read our manifesto: Mobilize the Masses for Communism: here