Chaos In Nepal: Gen Z Anger Turns Violent, Parliament Burns, PM Quits

KATHMANDU — India has tightened security along its border with Nepal as the Himalayan nation plunges into political and social turmoil following the resignation of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.

Oli stepped down on September 9, submitting his resignation to President Ram Chandra Poudel after days of massive anti-corruption protests that left 19 people dead. His departure came less than two months after he was elected Prime Minister through a consensus with the Nepali Congress, the country’s largest party.

The unrest, led largely by Nepal’s Gen Z population, has spiraled into unprecedented violence. On September 9, protestors stormed the parliament building in Kathmandu’s Baneshwor area and set it on fire, a day after security forces killed demonstrators trying to break in. Singh Durbar, the government’s main administrative complex, also came under attack, with its gates torched by crowds.

Reports of arson and vandalism spread across the capital and other districts. The homes of several top leaders — including former Prime Ministers Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Sher Bahadur Deuba, as well as President Ram Chandra Poudel — were targeted. Videos of Prime Minister Oli’s own residence in Bhaktapur being set ablaze went viral on social media.

The crisis took a tragic turn when Rajyalaxmi Chitrakar, wife of former Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal, died after protestors trapped her in her home and set it on fire, according to local media reports.

The government is facing resignations from within. Health Minister Pradip Poudel and Sports Minister Teju Lal Chaudhary stepped down, expressing regret over the use of force against young demonstrators. Lawmakers from the Rastriya Swatantra Party, Nepal’s fourth largest political party, also resigned en masse, demanding an interim government.

Why Gen Z is Protesting

At the heart of the protests is a generation that has grown up online but feels locked out of opportunity. Nepal’s Gen Z — those born roughly between 1995 and 2010 — has mobilized against what they call entrenched corruption, nepotism, and inequality. Many resent how political elites live in privilege while most citizens struggle in one of South Asia’s poorest economies.

Their demands have been clear: lifting the government’s temporary social media ban, which has since been revoked, and ending corruption. Online, the term “nepo kids” — shorthand for children of political elites accused of living off privilege — went viral in the lead-up to the protests, symbolizing their anger at a system they see as rigged.

With parliament in flames, ministers resigning, and the army urging calm, Nepal now faces one of its gravest political crises in decades. What comes next — whether an interim government, fresh elections, or further chaos — remains uncertain.