Trouble in Bangladesh, Nepal’s Gen Z and lessons for Lanka

Since 2022, three South Asian nations –Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal have seen their governments overthrown by street protests. Today, Nepal a country which has violently changed government several times, is once again caught up in a wave of social unrest that has toppled the government of Prime Minister Oli.

The Nepalese unrest is being referred to as Gen Z -- a reference to those born in the internet era, from the mid-1990s through the early 2010s. A generation for whom being online is a way of communication as well as a creative way to make easy money. 

Nepal was, as we were in 2022 (when the ‘Aragalaya’ toppled the government of President Gotabaya Rajapakse) in the midst of an economic crisis brought on by unmitigated corruption. To refresh our collective memories, our country was faced with rolling 12-hour power cuts, had run short of food, transport had ground to a halt. Miles-long queues of vehicles around fuel stations were a common sight.

In addition,  rumour mills worked overtime claiming the wealth of the country  had been looted by the Rajapaksa clan (then rulers of the country).

Faced with public anger which fuelled mass protests, then president Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country, leaving his newly appointed premier Ranil Wickremesinghe the unenviable task of either guiding the country out of the prevailing chaotic situation or letting anarchy overtake the country.

Fortunately for Lanka, Wickremesinghe using his parliamentary acumen, Lanka’s military, a four billion dollar Indian credit line, an IMF bailout and a parliamentary majority comprising of his political opponents, was able to stabilise Lanka’s economy. 

He also oversaw a smooth transition of power via the electoral process, bringing the present NPP government into power and preventing a descent into chaos and anarchy.

By 2024,  Bangladesh was facing a similar situation. Swelling anger at growing corruption, economic stagnation,and  rising cost of living brought thousands of young people onto the streets of the capital and elsewhere in the country. Youth unemployment has surged past 28%. Foreign remittances, a lifeline for millions of Bangladeshis, dropped 11% year-on-year and over 2 million workers in the garment sector faced layoffs due to declining exports.

Unlike in Lanka however,  Bangladeshi premier Sheikh Hasina unleashed her military and police on protesters. The growing destruction and loss of life forced the  premier to flee the country and seek refuge in India. Unfortunately,  Bangladesh is still in crisis. The military-backed interim government that replaced the premier, has failed to stabilise the country, leaving the economy, security, and democracy in free fall.

Today, the army patrols the streets of Nepal. On Tuesday,  the prime minister quit as politicians’ homes were vandalised. Thirty people have died and more than 1,000  injured over days of violence.

In all three countries, initial demonstrations and protests were unorganised and peaceful, but were subsequently hijacked by particular political forces who unleashed violence and hijacked a peoples struggle. The BBC reported that Gen Z groups which spearheaded the protests distanced themselves from the destruction, saying their struggle had been ‘hijacked’.

In Lanka, though our Constitution is constantly vilified, it had in fact provisions to face a situation after the administration broke down. This paved the way for the formation of the NPP government a scarce two years after President Gotabaya fled the country. 

It is now nearly a year since the NPP government has taken power. The NPP was voted into power on a platform of reducing poverty, ending corruption, renegotiating the IMF deal and bringing down the cost of living.

Sadly, government now sings  praises of the IMF deal -- a single clause of which it was unable to renegotiate. It has, however, arrested a number of past ministers and even the past president on corruption charges.  But the cost of living continues to soar. 

Now it appears our government is so cut off from its voter-base that it wants to check the pulse of the people regarding the imposition of an over 6% rise in electricity tariffs. People can barely afford to eat today. Raising electricity tariffs will mean many homes will have their electricity cut.

Irrespective of age most people use mobile phones. Raising tariffs on electricity will effectively kill the use of social media. Let’s hope our government learns from the Nepalese experiment.