By Rabi Raj Thapa
August 5 has become a historic date in post-Gen-Z Bangladesh. The country marked the second anniversary of the Gen-Z movement’s success and the exile of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who is living in exile in India.
On August 5, Sheikh Hasina held a press conference and declared her intention to return to Bangladesh and face the consequences.
If she goes back, the police in Bangladesh will do the same thing they have been doing all along. Such is the nature of the police profession across South Asia.
This is the rule of the game in police forces where governments treat their police agencies, which are funded by the state, as the private property of political leaders.
In the last two years, Nepal has faced three violent riots in which successive governments failed badly, causing heavy loss of life and property, while blaming police organizations for the failures in all three cases.
On March 28, 2025, private and public properties were set ablaze and vandalized. A television journalist and Sabin Maharjan, an ordinary citizen, were killed. Shops and business complexes were looted and burned, while public and private vehicles were torched. Dozens were arrested, and many were indicted on serious criminal charges, including organized crime.
It is the prime responsibility of any government to shield its citizens from the vicious cycle of impunity and lawlessness.
When a government fails to fulfill its protective role and act responsibly toward its people, its legitimacy falters.
The Oli government paid a very heavy price for neglecting its prime duty and responsibility during the Tinkune incident. The incident boomeranged, and he lost his communist political empire to Gen-Z youths, who were no match for his political influence, political maneuvering and arrogance.
Now the ball is in the court of a young and educated Prime Minister, Balendra Shah. Has he repeated the same mistakes made by previous governments?
There is little difference between the Tinkune incident, the Gen-Z protests, and the incidents in Siraha and the Tarai. In all these cases, the local administration badly failed, police firing was excessive and unwarranted, and the government’s response to the incidents was merely an eyewash and ineffective.
People still have no idea about the outcome of the government’s measures or what steps have been taken to prevent and mitigate the possibility of such incidents in the future.
Policing and law enforcement are sciences and major instruments of public-order management. They are not simply about deploying police personnel in various uniforms to chase people with batons and tear-gas guns, fire live bullets, shoot at protesters rampantly, and then face charges afterward.
Today, police observers are finding it difficult to differentiate between the way the Balen Shah government is handling police organizations and the way the old Oli, Deuba and Prachanda governments did. There should be a visible difference between the approaches of Home Ministers Ramesh Lekhak, Bal Krishna Khand, Bam Dev Gautam, Govinda Raj Joshi, Khum Bahadur Khadka and Sudan Gurung.
It is but natural for senior police personnel to expect something different from a dynamic and vibrant Gen-Z Home Minister and Prime Minister, both in principle and in practice.
Comparatively, India has more guns, authority, protection and power than any other police organization in South Asia. Then what was the need for restraint in the use of guns and bullets during India’s Gen-Z protests? And was the outcome different?
The lesson is clear and evident to police agencies and governments across South Asia. This may be the first time that the Indian police have received so much accolade for restraining themselves from using guns and bullets in crowd control and public-order management.
It is a pity to see new Gen-Z leaders also falling into the same old track of sacrificing police officers as whipping boys for all government misgivings and failures.
There are many veterans in the Nepal Police who have been instrumental in training police forces in UN missions in Liberia and many other countries where Nepal Police personnel have been deployed.
The ad hoc transfer of officers who were on leave during the Siraha communal violence shows how insensitive the government is to the rights, sentiments and plight of police personnel.
Negative police narratives alone cannot change, correct or improve police performance and credibility.
Today, the Nepal Police, Armed Police Force and investigative agencies need to be professionally competent. They need more training, greater career opportunities and, most importantly, job security.
The writer is a former AIGP of the Armed Police Force who also served as a senior officer in the Nepal Police. He is a well-trained and experienced security expert.
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