By Rabi Raj Thapa
The path of Nepali politics since the Gen-Z movement has been turbulent. The movement began after the disproportionate use of force and oppressive behavior that killed 76 youth protestors, mostly students, on September 8, 2025. The next day, the whole world witnessed the violent rage and fury of the people, who entered police premises, lynched and killed three policemen, and inhumanely treated many others. They looted over a thousand rifles and ammunition, broke open prisons and freed tens of thousands of prisoners. They vandalized supermarkets and burnt central secretariat buildings in Singhadurwar, the legislative building and the Supreme Court. Nepal experienced complete lawlessness and the absence of government until the Nepal Army rescued the prime minister and the president of the new republic. This was the first great and grand failure of the republican system of government in Nepal.
Nepali politics has gone through many such unpredictable political events, conspiracies, and upheavals in the past—some bloody and many bloodless silent coups. For example, what the present president did was a successful silent coup within the Nepali Congress party line. In this coup, the incumbent NC President Gagan Thapa successfully ousted the presumed invincible and most powerful senior political veteran and five-time prime minister, Sher Bahadur Deuba, turning all his coteries toothless and redundant.
In contrast, another three-time prime minister of Nepal, K. P. Sharma Oli, succeeded in defending his chairmanship but splintered and shattered the UML into disarray through his arrogance, foul language, and loud-mouthed rhetoric. Influential leaders of Tarai-Madhesi politics such as Upendra Yadav, Rajendra Mahato, and C. K. Raut were defeated by the newly formed and empowered Rastriya Swatantra Party in the 2026 elections.
Another chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) and one-time Supreme Commander of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has just retained the chairmanship of a new hybrid communist party, confining his once-legendary CPN (M) and his comrades to the history books. Still, he is going to be the only winning candidate from his side, a Robinson Crusoe in Nepal’s new Parliamentary Assembly.
There is a phrase originating from the French Revolution of 1789: “Revolution devours its own children.” This can be related to the Kot Massacre of 14 September 1846, a pivotal and extremely violent coup in which Junga Bahadur Rana, along with his seven brothers, massacred nearly 70 high-ranking officials, military commanders, and guards in Hanuman Dhoka. Within a few hours, this event completely transformed Nepal’s political mainstream.
Nevertheless, Nepal’s latest Gen-Z movement or revolution can also be compared to the Kot Massacre (Kot Parva) in this regard. Junga Bahadur then became a despotic ruler for 30 years, but his family itself was later devoured by rivalries among his own brothers and sons. Junga Bahadur’s precedent was followed by his cousins Bir, Khadga, and Chandra Shumsher, who killed Ranodip Singh to seize power. Later, Chandra Shumsher again ousted his own brother Dev Shumsher in 1901.
Another remarkable transformation of Nepal’s political system was the bloodless soft coup of 1962 by King Mahendra, which paradoxically continues to be vehemently criticized despite his diplomatic acumen in Nepal’s international relations and his role in the country’s development and modernization.
After the bloodless coup of 1962, the First People’s Movement of 1990 can be interpreted more as a political compromise than a violent revolution. It served the country relatively well until it was disrupted by the futile armed conflict initiated by the CPN (M).
Perhaps the most paradoxical transformation was the CPN (M)’s shift from a bloody armed insurrection to mainstream politics through the Delhi Compromise of 2005 between the seven political parties, which was later interpreted as Nepal’s Second People’s Movement. The Delhi Compromise led to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement of 2006, which alienated Nepal from its organic history and traditions, particularly Sanatan Dharma and the institution of monarchy.
Despite all these contradictions and complexities, the election of 2026 has swept away many such agents and facades along with their false pretenses and promises.
Now it remains to be seen how the new party and the government will deal with and operate under this dysfunctional constitution, which has failed to deliver on its promises and services for nearly a decade.
This could be a golden time and opportunity for the Rastriya Swatantra Party to demonstrate its dynamism and win the hearts and minds of the Nepali people. Their first task will be to prove that there is no predominance of foreign influence or hidden proxy power behind them, their success, or their future roadmap. Otherwise, they too may be devoured like their revolutionary predecessors.
It would be prudent for them to listen to all sides and ensure a harmonious transition by accommodating both the old and the new, including monarchical and Sanatani constituencies. Finally, and most importantly, they must show a genuine commitment to serve Nepal and the Nepali people by protecting Nepal’s national identity, national interest, and national sovereignty.
GOOD LUCK!
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