Subhechcha Ganguly 
Nepal’s political landscape witnessed a dramatic turn on Monday after Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli announced his resignation amid mounting pressure from nationwide protests led by Gen Z activists.
The unrest erupted last week after the government imposed a sweeping ban on 26 social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and X, for failing to register locally. The crackdown has been widely condemned as an assault on free expression, igniting unprecedented anger among the country’s youth.
The demonstrations, largely spearheaded by students and young professionals, have quickly spiraled into violent clashes with security forces. At least several protesters have been killed, while nearly 200 others have been injured in confrontations across major cities.
Amid the turmoil, an old video of a school student’s fiery speech has resurfaced online and struck a chord with many demonstrators. The boy, identified as Ora, delivered the address during his school’s annual programme. In the clip, his words grow increasingly impassioned as he challenges the nation’s failures and appeals to the younger generation to rise as agents of change.
“We are torchbearers of the future. If we do not raise our voices, who will? If we do not build this nation, who will? We are the fire that will burn away the darkness. We are the storm that will sweep away the injustice,” Ora declares in the speech.
The video, now viral across platforms, highlights long-standing frustrations over political instability, unemployment, and corruption—issues that protesters say mirror the very reasons they have taken to the streets.
Analysts believe Oli’s resignation marks only the beginning of a larger reckoning in Nepal’s governance, as the youth continue to demand systemic reforms and accountability.
