From Protests to choosing its leader: How social media is shaping Nepal

The scenes that played out earlier in the week in Nepal seemed unreal. Wads of cash scattered from a minister’s home, ministers and their families clinging to a rope from a rescue helicopter, a young man breaking into a dance against the backdrop of a burning Parliament building — it was a spectacle of defiance by the Gen Z.

 

Nepal was burning – in the line of fire were its political leaders and the elite. 

 

The anger and resentment towards the establishment had been simmering for some time. On social media, #NepoKids had dominated the conversation for weeks, with posts and videos drawing attention to the extravagant lifestyles of politicians’ children. 

The discontent spilled onto the streets of Kathmandu on September 8, as the government moved to shut down 26 social media platforms for failure to register in the country. It was the final straw that pushed people to the boil. The recall came, but far too late.

 

At least 51 were said to be dead in the clashes that erupted. On September 9, Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli resigned and the Army evacuated ministers as protests continued.

 

The whirlwind of events has thrust the role of social media into the spotlight — could a ban alone have sparked such outrage? Even as that was being debated, Nepal’s Gen Z reportedly picked Sushila Karki, a former chief justice, as interim prime minister on Discord, a virtual community hub for gamers.

 

 

Importance of social media in Nepal

 

From mobilising the protests to choosing the interim prime minister – Discord, Bitchat became virtual control rooms, even as familiar platforms like TikTok, Reddit, Instagram, etc. played their part.

 

Nepal has a high rate of social media use, hardly surprising given that the median age is less than 25 years.

 

DataReportal’s figures show that there were 14.3 million active social media user identities in Nepal in January 2025, translating to 48.1 per cent of the total population of the country at the beginning of the year.

 

For the loosely grouped Gen Z, social media is almost like a second skin, political analyst Sabyasachi Basu Ray Chaudhury, pointed out.

 

Kazim Rizvi, founder of public tech policy think tank The Dialogue, echoed the same views. Social media now functions as infrastructure for the youth everywhere, providing news, commerce, and political voice, he said.

 

In moments of economic or political strain, sweeping platform bans can be perceived as attempts to muzzle dissent and can exacerbate existing grievances, he added.

 

Software Freedom Law Center (SFLC) said that the ban was an authoritarian decision that contravenes both constitutional and international standards and is inherently repressive. “The protests have emerged from citizens’ legitimate calls for accountability, transparency, and action against corruption.”

 

The SFLC is a legal services organisation representing developers of free software/open source software.

 

 

 

Low opportunities, high remittances

 

Social media was an outlet for venting frustration over unemployment, corruption, and broken promises. With limited opportunities at home, a significant share of Nepal’s population has been driven to seek work in the Gulf countries and India, among others.

 

Remittances account for nearly 30 per cent of Nepal’s GDP, noted Sarbartho Mukherjee, senior economist at CareEdge. “Before Covid, remittances stood at $8 billion. By 2024, it had climbed to $14 billion, a sign of the continuing exodus.”

 

Mukherjee added that Nepal’s economy is also heavily reliant on tourism, which contributes about 7 per cent of the GDP. “But the sector never fully recovered from the Covid shock,” he said.

 

Tech, a tool for change

 

It’s not just Nepal. In the Global South, social uprisings have increasingly been fuelled by younger generations leveraging social and new media to demand political and economic change, Basu Ray Chaudhury observed.

 

“It began with the Arab Spring in 2010-2011, when new media was used to rally and organise protests. In recent times, we have seen it play out in Bangladesh, Indonesia and now Nepal,” he pointed out.

 

It's a big part of life, particularly for the younger generation. Therefore, as SFLC points out, banning social media deeply affects citizens because it has become critical for communication, mobilisation, democratic participation, and access to information.

 

India has seen internet bans imposed in pockets where tensions flared. However, according to Rizvi, the system works perfectly well in India and the nation’s governance processes are quite mature in comparison to its neighbours.

 

Whenever risks arise, Indian regulators rely on proportionate, targeted measures under established law- focused takedowns, blocking of apps in sensitive categories, and brief, localised and proportionate connectivity curbs rather than sweeping, nationwide bans, he said.

 

“Platforms are encouraged to meet compliance standards designed to curb fraud, online harms and coordinated abuse, while courts remain available for oversight and enforcement,” Rizvi added.

 

Moreover, as Basu Ray Chaudhury points out, India’s diversity is its greatest strength. “A brief ban in one pocket or so doesn’t resonate across the country.”