Nepal's Youth Take on Government: Protest Against Social Media Ban Turns Violent

New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): Nepal's capital Kathmandu witnessed violent protests on Monday. A large number of youth took to the streets and started shouting slogans against the government. Some protesters reached the Parliament premises, to disperse them, security forces fired tear gas shells, fired in the air and used water cannons.

A young man died in clashes between protesters and police in New Baneshwar area. Civil Hospital Executive Director Mohan Chandra Regmi confirmed that the young man died during treatment, although his identity has not been ascertained yet. Several dozen injured are being treated at Civil Hospital, Everest Hospital and other local hospitals. The main reason for the protest is the demand to lift the social media ban imposed by the government. Since last Friday, the Nepal government had banned 26 unregistered platforms including Facebook, YouTube and X, which affected millions of users. There is a lot of resentment among the youth who depend on these platforms for entertainment, news and business.

Waving the national flag, the 'Generation Z' protesters started the movement by singing the national anthem and raised slogans against the social media ban and corruption. 24-year-old student Yujan Rajbhandari said, "We are not only angry with the social media ban, but are also raising our voice against the institutional corruption spread in the country." Meanwhile, 20-year-old student Ikshama Tumrok said that the authoritarian attitude of the government is unacceptable. She said, "We want change. Previous generations have tolerated this, but it should end with our generation."