Former Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli seems to have walked down the same road as Bangladesh’s Sheikh Hasina, with strikingly parallel political trajectories now ending in turmoil. What began as simmering resentment among Nepal’s Gen Z—angry at rampant corruption, broken promises of the post-Covid recovery, and a sudden ban on 26 social media platforms—has exploded into a full-blown street revolt. The violence has already claimed more than 22 lives. Mobs torched the houses of ministers, MPs, and even former prime ministers, forcing many to flee to safer ground.

At its core, the crisis stemmed from the government enforcing sweeping rules without dialogue or transition. In a society where social media has become the primary tool of connection, protest, and survival, the Oli administration badly miscalculated the depth of resentment. Yet there is one striking difference from Nepal’s past upheavals: the absence of anti-India rhetoric. During my posting in Kathmandu from 1992 to 1998 while covering the restoration of democracy, I witnessed communists routinely accuse New Delhi of interference. This time, with communists in power, Oli has avoided pointing fingers at India — a welcome shift for bilateral ties. The Nepali Congress, traditionally closer to India, has also acted as a moderating influence. Meanwhile, Beijing has no incentive to encourage unrest as its relations with Kathmandu are currently smooth. For once, neither neighbour is being blamed, nor that neutrality is an opportunity Nepal cannot afford to waste.

With the police incredulous, the army has stepped in, urging protesters to abandon arson and destruction, and calling instead for dialogue. Yet even senior leaders have not been spared—an ex-prime minister from the Nepali Congress was injured in an attack, while cadres of the ruling Communist Party of Nepal (UML) and the Congress itself faced mob fury.

Nepal’s greatest challenge lies not just in quelling the violence, but in its leaderless character. The protestors—an amorphous blend of youth activists and anarchists—have no identifiable leadership to negotiate with. The original flashpoint, the social media ban, has already receded into the background. The demand now is larger: jobs,........

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