The protest was scheduled in the morning around 11 a.m. from Maitighar, a protest hub, to Singha Durbar, central administrative hub including both the Prime Minister’s office and Nepal’s Parliament. 

Despite the ban, the march was organized through word of mouth and using VPNs to connect to different social media apps. Thousands of youth joined the protest with different placards with slogans of anti corruption and for democracy of the country. Talking more about the protest, Aryal said, “When the Gen Z protest began, it felt a spark of hope. Seeing so many young people come together with courage and energy, it gave me a sense of pride and belonging.”

As protestors came near the Singha Durbar, the police tried to disperse the protesters with tear gas, water guns and rubber bullets, but the tension escalated after live rounds were fired into the crowd. 

That day, at least 20 protestors, mostly students, were killed and more than 100 injured and recovering in the hospital. At night, the Home Ministry announced curfew and people around Kathmandu city were reportedly harassed by police officers. Around midnight, the home minister resigned and the government removed the bans on all social media, hoping it would calm public anger.

The following day, the whole of Nepal and its diaspora were grieving the death of the day before. Different photos and videos started circulating in media and international news such as BBC and The Guardian, drawing global attention.

 Despite implementing curfew in the major areas, thousands of youth again poured into streets, but now with the anti corruption slogan and slogans against the death of the protestors and seeking accountability from the government. Adding to this, Aryal also expressed her anger, “I was frustrated with the government’s harsh responses and the way they tried to silence the voices instead of listening but killing all those innocent souls.”

Started as a revolt to stop the corruption, it transformed into a political uprising with the resignation of PM Oli followed by different other key ministers. Throughout the day, all the major party leaders’ houses were vandalized and burned to ashes. Moreover, opportunists (political party affiliated members) blended with the youths and started to hijack the revolution, vandalizing and burning down the parliament (Capitol), most of the minister’s office, supreme court, police station, different hotels and malls. Moreover, they destroyed jails and released about 13,000 criminals nationwide. 

After escalating to this level, all the influencers and Hami Nepal, the organization who took the lead of this revolution, started to come out and requested to stop this vandalism. At 10:00 PM (GMT +5:45), the army took the responsibility in maintaining peace and order in the nation.

The whole country was in shock at how fast the government fell, as nobody had expected it to happen so soon. Nepal was now in need of an interim government to restore order.

Protest achieving its goal has a different perception. Some youths like Nirvigna Bhattarai say, “Yes, the protest achieved its goal, as the voice of people forced the leaders to step down, which showed people’s power is real.” Whereas, others like Prashiddhi say, “It is not yet over as the bigger goal of creating a lasting change with transparency, good governance and accountability. The protest was only the beginning.”

Various people suggested who should be the interim Prime Minister.The main suggestions were for Balendra Shah, rapper and mayor of Kathmandu Metropolitan City, and Sushila Karki, first female chief justice of Nepal. However, Mayor Shah recommended Chief Justice Karki for the interim Prime Minister, stating that she was non-political, independent and who knows the constitution and law. 

While President Ram Chandra Poudel was deciding whom to be the interim PM, youth all over Nepal started to volunteer to clean up different infrastructure, help police in arresting the fled criminals and regulating peace and order in the community.