Revolution Z

Chaerin Kang
Nov 12
3 min read

By James Yu Nov. 12, 2025

Fire doesn’t discriminate. It ravages everything in its path: good or bad; rich or poor. It’s fitting then that for better or worse—and I’d say worse—revolutionaries in Nepal have employed fire’s wrath as a weapon against the country’s deeply embedded inequality. On Sept. 8th, protests led by the youth in Nepal, which for decades has been dominated by the same three corrupt political parties, toppled the political establishment through protest and fire. The following day, Prime Minister K. P. Sharma Oli stepped down. Although the original protestors had advocated for peaceful demonstrations, the movement quickly turned violent, as activists began turning to arson against the government. While fighting for government accountability is a necessity for a well-functioning democracy, this change should never be achieved through reckless violence and arson.

The protests were initiated in response to a government ban on 26 social media platforms, a critical lifeline to many families in Nepal. On August 28th, Nepal’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology ordered mandatory government registration for all social media platforms operating in the country, prohibiting those who failed to comply. Combined with demands for political accountability and an end to institutional inequality, thousands of demonstrators organized in support for a reversal of the ban.

“Freedom of speech is a fundamental right crucial to the success of any democracy. It’s encouraging that students are taking charge in Nepal for their rights,” said Junior Vishnu Rao.

While demonstrations against government censorship and corruption are critical, they were quickly hijacked by violent extremism. After the government fired on a crowd of demonstrators and killed 19 people, protesters set fire to several key government buildings, including the Parliament building and the homes of political elite. Notably, protestors set fire to former Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal’s house, severely burning his wife. Other arson attacks destroyed grocery stores, killing many innocent shoppers. While violence conducted by the government against its own people is cruel and unjust, fighting violence with violence is not a solution. Arson attacks destroyed invaluable public property and monstrously ravaged innocent civilians caught in the crossfire.

Nevertheless, what is being dubbed the “Gen Z Revolution” in Nepal is indicative of a broader rise in youth activism globally. In Serbia, student protestors similarly rallied together against government corruption in the wake of a railway station roof collapse which killed 15 people and was attributed to government negligence. In the United States, college students nationwide held demonstrations against universities for their support for Israel during the country’s invasion of Gaza. Yet what sets apart Nepal’s revolution is its rapid success through violent and unique methods. Not only did the protests topple Nepal’s government in just two days, they also employed Gen Z staples such as the social media platform Discord to organize. Indeed, after toppling the previous government, youth protestors used a Discord poll to elect a new interim Prime Minister, opting for former judge Sushila Karki in a majority vote. Moreover, another staple of youth media, the manga series One Piece, has been adopted by the revolutionaries as a symbol of resistance. Student protestors at demonstrations held up flags with a skull icon from One Piece, representing the One Piece protagonists’ rebellious nature against the global government in the anime. In contrast to the more violent approaches employed by protesters, the use of media enjoyed by the youth to facilitate engagement is a much better approach.

“The protester’s use of Discord, while seemingly informal, certainly is a step in the right direction for getting the youth involved with politics,” said Senior Aarav Jamdar.

While features of the Gen Z revolution, including the use of new digital platforms used by the youth to increase civic engagement, are innovative practices that should be adopted by movements around the world to fight for freedom, the revolution’s violent methods are unjust and should be vehemently opposed.

About the Contributors

James Yu

Ad Manager

James Yu is a Senior at Leland High School and Ad Manager for The Charger Account. He loves listening writing sweet ledes! Outside of Journalism, he enjoys debating for the debate team, hanging out with friends, and sleeping.