The 48 Hour Revolt of Nepal

 

The 48 Hour Revolt of Nepal

- BottleButea 

September 9, 20205 

The first Jana Andolan was against the Ranas.

The second was against the Kings.
This time, it is against corruption.

The protest, championed by youths and the new generation, was certain to have momentum. The violent killings yesterday became the perfect spice for a new uprising. The struggle did indeed succeed, the government collapsed. The PM resigned and, as per the chants heard in the street “ KP chor, desh chod” ( KP thief, leave the country ) he is suspected to have fled Nepal. 

The joy of the collapse was short-lived. The sky that should have been filled with new hopes and expectations, was filled with smoke and ashes from the burnt buildings. The people, desperate to be free from the government, now sought a structural figure, some authority. Reports kept surfacing about violence everywhere. The state was quickly slipping into anarchy, and the people wanted reassurance that stability would return. Looking at the arsons taking place one question kept hovering up in my head.

Did we really win? 

Ominous air filled the streets of Kathmandu. Everyone was aware of the new protest that was taking root after yesterday's events. The anger towards the government had reached a boiling point and was now being spilling in the streets.
Although banned, people remained active on social media. They continued bashing the government, I feared the worst. I firmly believed that we needed a peaceful transfer of power; nonviolent protest would only lead to greater loss in the long run, an event already detailed in the book Why Nations Fail by Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson. Constantly, through reddit, I tried to calm people down, but even I began to see that it was hopeless to convince them to be more peaceful. 

The government's effort had no effect in slowing them down. The ban was lifted, yet it was clear people had no intention to stop. One by one, they started to burn down politicians' homes. The media showing violent mobs torching everything. Protesters began targeting supermarkets. They started losing their sanity, acting like rash animals, their humanity slipping away. Reports started arising of people being burned alive, tortured to death, humiliated and mob justice taken over. If it hadn’t been for the few sane voices and peaceful protestors who still remained, the situation would have escalated much further.

The arson continued. Ministers started to resign from their post, and the people waited for the prime minister's resignation. But the protests became more dangerous. As the police seemed to give up, administrative buildings were burned. In the midst of it all, when everything seemed lost, the Prime Minister finally resigned. People believed things would now calm down. 

But they didn't. The arson continued.  According to my father, the atrocities were worse than what he had seen in past revolutions. Kathmandu now choked with black smoke. Everything was being targeted: the courts, Singha Durbar (our main administrative building), media, supermarkets, even criminals in the jail were set free. Looters and criminals found it the perfect opportunity to do as they wished. 

As the situation worsened, appeals began circulating, to stop and calm down. But it was clear that still on the street were not there for a just cause. They were enjoying the destruction, and wanted the entire country to burn to bits. I started to feel that the people were now seeing themselves above the law, or even more dangerously, as law itself. Their actions as divine justice. So, as much as I could, I asked people to share the slogan

“ Record the violence, Expose the Anarchy - No one is above the law.
Not the politicians,
Not the anarchists”

People refusing to deescalate even after the government collapsed, made people anxious. They started to speculate whether some other player was behind all of this violence. Was it the miracle of modern communication that allowed such an unorganized mass to wreak havoc on this scale? Or was there a mastermind orchestrating it all?

Social media began to be flooded with videos claiming involvement of Maobadis, terrorist turned political parties that were the violent force behind second andolan. People claimed that much of the party's infrastructure was left untouched in comparison to the other parties. Their history of violence, resemblance of their tactics, the protest of September 8 having many of its cadres in the front lines and their leader, Pushpa Kamal Dhal, disappearance fueled the suspicion. 

Other theories were also entertained, foreign power ( India, USA or both ) wanted the China friendly government to collapse, especially after the issue of Lipulekh started getting spotlight. Burning of administrative buildings, they said, could have been to erase crucial documents. A friend of mine even speculated that the fleeing Prime Minister Oli himself orchestrated the chaos. According to him, Oli wanted to ruin the country because he knew he would lose the next election and never be Prime Minister again. He had supposedly gone mad, only wanting the nation to burn—why else would he order police to shoot students? 

There were also rumors of military take over, or even  military-maobadi coalition which, they believed, would explain the army being so passive.

The anarchy grew worse. News of atrocities started to pour in, it was difficult to differentiate real news from fake. It was the perfect hot pot of propaganda from all sides. I remembered a post from an Indonesian protester who supported our cause, warning us of two things: the night and the propaganda. I finally understood what he meant.

As people desperately searched for security, the army finally released a statement: saying they will take control after 10 pm. People breathed a sigh of relief. Although the anarchy didn’t stop immediately, they were relieved that some sense of stability had returned.

Us Nepali like any other are uneasy of the new change that is going to take place. The rally lacked a clear leadership and clear demand. This has led to power vacuums, speculations and confusion. It got violent too quickly, causing millions in damage. Invaluable documents were destroyed. It is unclear how long will it take before the criminals who were set free will be brought back and people who committed arson, crimes and lootings in the name of protest will get caught. 

It is still unclear where the country is headed, but people still hope that the new revolution, headed by a younger and educated youth, will be better and with that they look forward to a New Nepal.