New Delhi, Sep 14 (IANS) After the shocking series of events marked by widespread violence and bloodshed in Nepal, the term ‘Gen Z’ emerges as a powerful entity, brimming with boundless, directionless energy that can be tapped by any force.
The term defines a new-age phenomenon, hitherto unknown, born out of the tech revolution that humankind is proud of, yet also one that opens the door to manipulation by creating a delusive world within. Gen Z may appear gregarious, but beneath the surface, there is little harmony — cutthroat competition is the core, and everything has to be in reel.
Nepal is perhaps the first country where the term “Gen Z” was used to label and define a situation. Bangladesh and Sri Lanka also witnessed unrest led by students, but those movements were not tagged as Gen Z.
In both countries, students played a big role in overthrowing regimes and installing new ones. Nepal’s situation, however, is entirely different.
The sudden surge of protests in Nepal, which led to the burning down of the three pillars of democracy — Parliament, the Supreme Court, and the Executive — can hardly be called a revolution. It was not merely the destruction of buildings or structures; it was more about the execution of a thought through the gullible minds of a generation which is not mature enough to grasp the consequences.
Nepal today stands damaged by its own youth, who should have been the nation’s building blocks.
In a democracy, it is essential to protest and express dissent. Saying “no” is vital, and the biggest weapon is the electoral system. Elections are the best way to punish bad politicians.
In India, Indira Gandhi was punished in 1977 when people believed she had erred, leading to her defeat. In 2014, the corrupt Congress-led UPA regime was voted out, and since then, the grand old party has been on a steady decline, leaning on smaller parties for survival.
In Nepal, voter turnout for the November 2022 House of Representatives and Provincial Assembly elections stood at 61 per cent — a healthy figure showing strong participation. If most of the electorate was willing to vote, why wasn’t that power used to vote out the “corrupt” leaders?
The previous KP Sharma Oli government erred by ordering police to fire at protesting youths. Had it been patient and sensitive, those killings could have been avoided. Once the deaths occurred during the crackdown, mayhem erupted.
September 8-10 turned into one of the darkest days for Nepal, with its democratic pillars destroyed by a few thousand angry, misguided young people who could not distinguish between a corrupt politician and Parliament, a corrupt judge and the judiciary, or a corrupt bureaucrat and the administration.
In India, when the farmers’ protest (2020–2021) turned violent and a section stormed the Red Fort, desecrating the National Flag, the government could have ordered a harsh crackdown. But wise leadership showed restraint, diffusing what had the potential to spiral into a major disaster and drag the country into a vortex of violence.
Before that, the anti-CAA protests launched by various Muslim outfits in December 2019 aimed to create a nationwide wave. Yet, through tactful handling, the Modi government contained the unrest, which fizzled out by March 24, 2020. The government’s position on the CAA was later validated, while the claims of its critics — including Leftist groups, Congress, and the then-ruling AAP government in Delhi — collapsed.
In both cases, external forces attempted to amplify the protests under the guise of human rights activism. Yet both failed due to effective handling by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.
Despite attempts to project these protests as referendums against the Centre, the Modi-led NDA returned to power in 2019 and again in 2024, while those who fuelled the unrest were rejected in the states.
Nepalese voters had the same choice through their electoral system — but they chose not to use it. Now, they are paying the price.
Who motivated the youths to resort to violence, or who decided to topple the pillars of democracy, may never be known. But the damage is done.
Protesters claim their demonstrations were peaceful — yet why were jails broken into and police stations looted? Why were Gen Z members seen carrying lethal weapons, looting, carrying gas cylinders and burning everything in their path?
The Gen Z protest in Nepal may or may not have been an experiment by some thought-provoking minds within or outside the country, but one thing is clear: the cult-making power of social media has been tested and exposed.
The power of such a cult has been demonstrated — and this is what nations should be alarmed about.
A thought created, propagated, and twisted to suit an agenda has the potential to harm a country. This is the new-age weapon. And there is no shortage of disgruntled or greedy groups, whether political, social or religious, ready to fall into the trap and unleash mayhem like witnessed in Nepal.
Nepal’s Gen Z may be celebrating today, believing they have toppled a corrupt regime, which they have done successfully, but the price they have paid is immense.
It has also raised fear of how social media can be used as the ultimate weapon to create an implosion in a country — no bombs, no missiles, no tanks or no fighter jets, just the live mass energies to be guided by a highly penetrative thought supported by twisted facts and figures.
(Deepika Bhan can be contacted at deepika.b@ians.in)
–IANS
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