Amish Mulmi (FB)
If what I felt on Monday [8 September 2025] was rage, there is only despair and fear today. The burning down of state institutions and public property [on 9 September 2025] means that we have gone backwards as a state. The gains – I know there was a lot of frustration at the federal system, but there had been several gains particularly at the local government level – we made in the last decade of this constitution are gone. The constitution itself is in unknown territory. No one envisaged a situation where the government and its institutions would be thrown out and burnt down by public rage, and now we are quite simply in a situation where the future is completely uncertain.
The 2015 constitution is defunct. The public rage that was so evident in yesterday’s riots has ensured it is no longer relevant. The destruction of businesses – and media houses like Kantipur – meant the rage against politicians also extended to anyone perceived as being close to and benefiting from the establishment. Almost every state institution – except perhaps the Army – has been affected to such a degree that one cannot even estimate how long it will take to bring back a semblance of normalcy.
We can all agree there was massive collective rage at the events of 8th September. There are several what ifs here – what if Oli had simply resigned that evening itself? What if he had called off the ban on social media as the youth marched to Parliament? What if the President had used his executive powers and dismissed the government as soon as the first signs of violent mobs going out of control and targeted state institutions were visible?
Now’s not the time unfortunately. What was meant to be an expression of the youth became a violent frenzy filled with rage, anger and murderous intent. The blame game has started: the Maoists did this. The rajabadis did that. The ghantis did this. The Prasai goons did that. I think it is futile to do this. As beautiful a faceless collective movement can be, it always has the potential to be hijacked by other elements. Young Nepalis must understand this is the way of politics: it is not as straightforward and binary as right and wrong. Young Nepalis must also understand that there is a massive difference between revolution and destruction, and ideology and blind belief.
I also see them making the same mistakes older generations have made: a desire to see someone as a hero figure, to follow in their footsteps, and to believe one person has the potential to change Nepal. At the risk of sounding like a boomer, this never happens. A movement can be born organically, but a revolution requires organization, and a vision for the future. As I heard the poet Ujjwala Maharjan say so eloquently yesterday on her social media, what is the sort of leadership the young people want? So far, all I have heard on this are the names of individuals, but not the ideals that the leadership should possess. Ideals, not individuals, make a leader.
So what now? The army, I hope, brings back a sense of control, but cynic that I am, I cannot help but remember the tendencies of military rule to devolve into something more sinister. The young people have to remain aware of this, and insist upon whoever they choose as their leaders that only democracy – representative, inclusive, progressive – can be the future. There are several names floating about as potential leaders, but to declare someone as a leader also means to outsource your decision-making instincts and responsibilities. The struggle will be to rebuild the system itself, this very state that we call Nepal. And that will be a much longer struggle. It’s always easier to burn a building down than to build an institution. To do so now, in the face of a constitutional absence, will be doubly difficult.
I would be lying if I said I am optimistic after yesterday’s widespread destruction. The old state – however corrupt and dysfunctional it was, it was still something we had a stake in – is no more. Everything now has to rise from the ashes. But if anything, Nepali people have also been resilient. They succeeded at a lot of things despite the state.
What if we can imagine a state that is not extractive, but a state that enables? To have a more representative democracy in which leaders actually listen to their constituencies? To be a more equitable society which incorporates not just the mainstream narrative, but also those of the marginalised and the minorities?
To do so means to look at the world with kindness, to believe not in revenge but in resolution, and to believe there can be a better Nepal than the one we burnt down. It is up to the youth now.
Dr Sanduik Ruit calling for restraint (The Kathmandu Post)
Dr Sanduk Ruit has appealed to Gen Z demonstrators to remain calm and refrain from damaging public property amid the ongoing political unrest. In a social media post on Tuesday, Ruit praised the younger generation for their courage in pushing back against corrupt leadership, but stressed that burning or destroying public assets was not the right path forward.
“Protecting public property is the foremost duty of every citizen. Let us neither cause damage nor allow it to happen. Let us show restraint,” he wrote. “Together, let us safeguard the nation and unite to rebuild it.” His remarks came as protests continued across the country even after Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s resignation earlier today.
At least 19 people were killed and more than 500 injured when police opened fire on Gen Z protesters demanding reforms and accountability on Monday. While demonstrations have persisted, public figures including Kathmandu Mayor Balendra Shah and Dr Ruit have urged the youth movement to channel its energy towards constructive change rather than destruction.
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After the truth-shower 