PM Narendra Modi in a speech on Monday has pretty much put to rest the speculations of foreign involvement in the Nepal GenZ revolution. The Prime Minister of India showered the Nepali youth with praise for their cumulative effort in bringing Nepal back on track after the revolution.
Imphal, Manipur: PM Narendra Modi says, "…For the last few days, young men and women of Nepal can be seen working hard to clean and paint the roads of Nepal. I have seen their pictures on social media as well. Their positive thinking and positive actions are not only inspiring… pic.twitter.com/oWIVRqlrYe
— ANI (@ANI) September 13, 2025
He said, “For the last few days, young men and women of Nepal can be seen working hard to clean and paint the roads of Nepal. I have seen their pictures on social media as well. Their positive thinking and positive actions are not only inspiring but are also a clear indication of the new rise of Nepal. I wish Nepal all the best for its bright future.”
The Indian Prime Minister’s overtures towards the Nepali youth clearly indicates that he sympathises with their anger. He understands their motivations and the despair that prompted them to hit the streets.
Why the Comparison with Bangladesh is Wrong
Such appreciation by Prime Minister Modi was totally absent during the political turmoil in Bangladesh. When Sheikh Hasina was ousted as part of a calculated effort in 2024, there was an organised uprising that was violent beyond imagination. There were numerous reports about violence against Hindu minorities living in Bangladesh.
Even today, radical Islamist political parties in Bangladesh openly express their desire to implement Sharia law in Bangladesh. They do not talk about economy or how the country will run. But they have a crystal clear vision about what they want. A Sharia governed state. The kind of organization seen in the student protests of Bangladesh was clearly absent in Nepal.
ALSO READ: Narendra Modi congratulates interim Nepal PM Sushila Karki
There was a clear line of hierarchy in the Bangladesh protests. Everyone knew who the organisers were, the individuals leading the protests and who will negotiate with the Army once Sheikh Hasina was gone. Nothing of this sort was observed during the protests in Nepal.
What happened in Nepal was a spectacle of despair. It was a spontaneous outburst of violent aggression against the complete failure of governance. Then there was the disastrous handling of the situation by K P Sharma Oli and the Nepali police and the Home Ministry. Open firing by the Nepal police resulted in the death of 21 people and hundreds injured.
The Nepal GenZ protests wasn’t a Colour Revolution
But there has been a lot of buzz in social media and news channels with people drawing similarities with regime change in Bangladesh, and other parts of the world.
The Nepal “revolution” is a color revolution backed by Western NGO’s & Corporations. It has potential to shift to socialist revolution, but that depends on who seizes the power vacuum.
— Red Rifle Collective (@rrcollectiv) September 10, 2025
A thread 🧵:
A lot of people claimed that it was a US-engineered colour revolution in Nepal. According to them, brainwashed young people burning down the parliament and residences of top politicians clearly indicates external influence.
100% US-engineered Color Revolution in Nepal.
— S.L. Kanthan (@Kanthan2030) September 9, 2025
Standard playbook seen dozens of times around the world — young brainwashed people burning down the parliament and residences of top politicians; leader likely fleeing the country etc.
Now watch an American puppet sworn in as the… pic.twitter.com/s9S2YQEiGd
However, the recent remarks of Narendra Modi in a subtle manner highlight the underlying reason behind the revolution. The failure of Governmenance under K P Sharma Oli and the corruption within the circles of the Nepalese Elite.
The biggest indication that this wasn’t a ‘Colour Revolution’ is that the protesters never made an attempt to become part of the interim government. They could not even agree on who should be their representatives on Discord. In the end, after the violence escalated, they were practically begging the grownups to come back and take charge.
Political Chaos in Nepal after the end of Monarchy
The Political System of a country is a reflection of the society. Monarchy is a political system. Dictatorship is also a political system. Some countries function well under dictatorship . Some countries function well under democracy. And others function well under a Monarchy.
Nepal’s past has been violent. The transition from monarchy to democracy was violent in which thousands died. Nepal got itself a democracy in the end but it was an unstable democracy. Between 2008 to 2025, Nepal saw 14 different Prime Ministerial tenures.
In the past five years, Nepal has had four different Prime Ministers: K P Sharma Oli (Communist Party of Nepal- Unified Marxist Leninist), Sher Bahadur Deuba (Nepali Congress), Pushpa Kamal Dahal (CPN-Maoist Centre) and now Sushila Karki (Independent). KP Sharma Oli was Prime Minister 4 times and served a total of 5 years, 7 months, 23 days in four different terms.
ALSO READ: The Sunk Cost Fallacy of UPSC Aspirants: Why having a Plan B is important
There are grave economic problems in the country. Nepal is a heavily remittance based economy with remittances contributing around over 30% of Nepal’s GDP. That is quite alarming. The total number of Nepalis working abroad constitute 15-20% of the total population. Again that is a significant number of population living abroad.
Nearly 60% of the population depends on Agriculture. But political instability and corruption has stalled large scale development projects. This failure to diversify the economy and empower the youth was the real reason behind the Nepali revolution. Though the style of the revolution might have been influenced by social media, the core issues that angered the youth were very real.
