Nepal, sandwiched between India and Tibet (China), has returned to normalcy after two days of political unrest, where the young people hit the streets of Kathmandu and other important urban localities with various demands including accountability to the government. The Himalayan nation with over 30 million Nepali people remained under the control of the government armed forces and an interim regime got shaped in the evening hours of l2 September 2025. Nepal’s first woman chief justice of the Supreme Court, Sushila Karki was sworn in as the interim Prime Minister, where President Ramchandra Paudel administered the oath in the presence of many dignitaries. An alumna of Banaras Hindu University in India, Ms Sushila gets the primary responsibility to conduct national elections within six months.
Earlier, President Paudel and Nepali Army chief General Ashok Raj Sigdel appealed to the citizens to ignore all kinds of misleading and false information amid the turmoil. Announcing the acceptance of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s resignation, the octogenarian head of the state expected everyone’s support to amicably resolve the crisis. Meanwhile, Rajyalaxmi Chitrakar, wife of ex-premier Jhalanath Khanal, who was widely rumoured as burnt alive, is currently recovering in the hospital. The media reports suggested that the protesters set their residence in Kathmandu on fire while she was inside. Rajyalaxmi was even reported succumbing to her burn injuries.
Many ministers in the Oli-government resigned and left the country fearing the heat of angry agitators. However, the ousted premier is understood to be inside Nepal. Nepal’s legendary Communist leader and former premier Puspa Kamal Dahal (Prachanda) also continues to be in Kathmandu. Meanwhile, the country’s interior minister Ramesh Lekhak resigned on 8 September accepting moral responsibility for 19 unarmed people, mostly youth agitators, killed in police firing. They came out against the government’s sweeping ban on a number of social media platforms like facebook, instagram, whatsapp, youtube, snapchat, pinterest, reddit, linkedin, twitter(x), etc.
Initially peaceful in nature, the demonstration soon turned violent, following which the police resorted to brutal crackdown leaving over one hundred injured. The police actions flared up the situation and the next day thousands hit the streets of Kathmandu along with Pokhara, Biratnagar, Bharatpur, Butwal, Birgunj, etc. Later the agitating young Nepalis added more demands to prevent corruption in high places and deliver better governance in the south Asian country. The unprecedented crisis broke out on 9 September as hundreds of thousands of demonstrators gathered in public places and started ransacking government buildings including the Parliament, Supreme Court, ministers' office & residences as well as many political party offices.
Taking advantage of the situation, anti-social elements even helped a large number of jail-inmates to escape. Finally the Army was deployed and the situation came under control. The two-day violence snatched away the lives of over 50 people with over a thousand injured. The armed forces imposed nationwide restrictions on public movements particularly during the night hours. Some unpleasant visuals surfaced from the birthplace of Lord Buddha, where it was seen some angry dissenters physically abused a number of individuals including deputy premier Bishnu Prasad Paudel, foreign minister Arzu Rana Deuba, former premier Sher Bahadur Deuba along with his wife, etc.
The aggressive protesters even did not spare the media houses, as many targeted mainstream media groups like Kantipur (which publishes The Kathmandu Post, Nepalese daily Kantipur and nurtures Kantipur news channel) and Annapurna Media Network. Moreover, Kantipur television scribe Shyam Shrestha, Naya Patrika photojournalist Dipendra Dhungana, Nepal Press photographer Umesh Karki, Desh Sanchar photojournalist Barsha Shaha and independent media worker Shambhu Dangal were injured while covering the turmoil. Two visiting Indian journalists also faced intimidation, while reporting from the ground, during the turmoil.
Septuagenarian Oli, who led the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) government (with support from Nepali Congress), came to power for the fourth time upholding proximity to Beijing and very often he used to make anti-India statements. However, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his concern over turmoil in the northern neighbor with no delay. Terming the violence in Nepal as heart-rending, Modi condoled the demise of many young people in the conflict. Soon after Ms Sushila’s elevation, the saffron leader commented that India remains fully committed to the peace, progress, and prosperity of the people of Nepal.
