A social media timeline of Nepal’s Gen Z uprising
The charred remains of police stations, super markets, minister’s homes, the federal parliament, the Supreme Court and much else stand as stark reminders of five of the most dramatic and consequential days in Nepal’s history. Between 8 and 12 September, at least 74 people were killed and hundreds more injured as protests and public outrage swept across the country. The killing of 19 demonstrators by security forces on Monday, 8 September, ignited a nationwide uprising that toppled not only the prime minister, K P Sharma Oli of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist), but also the political establishment he represented.
In the chaos, the main symbols and seats of every branch of the government – the federal parliament, Singha Durbar and the Supreme Court – were set ablaze. Even the media, often considered the “fourth estate,” was not spared: the headquarters of Nepal’s largest media house, Kantipur Media, also went up in flames. By Friday night, Nepal had a new leader: Sushila Karki, the country’s first female prime minister, sworn in as the head of an interim administration tasked with steering Nepal to a fresh election.
Young protestors and activists, loosely organised under the banner of a “Gen Z” movement, have been central to these events. Nepal’s uprising is a case study in how the rising generation has built a parallel information ecosystem online, dismissing traditional media as compromised or slow and instead turning to influencers, independent journalists, digital collectives and each others’ personal feeds as sources of information and tools of mobilisation. Here, hashtags stood in for megaphones, memes became manifestos, and screens served as the public commons as much as – if not more than – the streets.
This timeline traces how Nepal’s Gen Z uprising unfolded — day by day, post by post, from Monday morning to Friday night — across the country’s digital realm.
14 July 2025
K P Sharma Oli of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) is sworn in as prime minister for the fourth time at the head of a new coalition government with the Nepali Congress.
via Instagram
2024–2025
Nepal sees multiple high-profile corruption scandals and allegations.
One major scandal involves the businessman Min Bahadur Gurung, the owner of Nepal’s largest supermarket chain, donating land and funds to the ruling CPN(UML) for the construction of a new party headquarters. Gurung was earlier sentenced to prison and fined for his involvement in the Lalita Niwas land embezzlement scam, before being released on bail.
6 August 2025
Instagram introduces repost feature, enabling rapid dissemination and amplification of posts on the platform. This replicates a similar feature on TikTok, one of Nepal’s most widely used social media platforms.
via instagram
August–September 2025
Student-led mass protests in Indonesia over nepotism and lavish government perks. “Nepo Baby” trend continues on Indonesian social media, highlighting favouritism for children of top political leaders.
via Instagram
#NepoBaby trends on Nepali social media. Viral posts highlight the lifestyles and wealth displayed online by the political and business elite, contrasted with the poverty and struggles faced by ordinary Nepalis.
via TikTok
4 September 2025
Nepal’s government blocks multiple social media platforms (including Facebook, Instagram, X, WhatsApp and YouTube) for failing to register in the country as required by an earlier government directive. VPN use surges to circumvent the block.
TikTok, Viber, Discord and other popular online platforms remain accessible. In 2023, the Nepal government had banned TikTok, citing disruption of social harmony. The ban was lifted six months later after TikTok completed registration in Nepal.
via Instagram
7 September 2025
Hami Nepal, a humanitarian and activist group that will become the clearest public face of the Gen Z movement, posts announcement of protests on 8 September, with a Discord channel as a central organising and communication hub.
via instagram
Information on the protest is spread via social media.
via instagram
8 September 2025
Morning
Peaceful gathering of protestors at Maitighar Mandala in central Kathmandu.
via instagram
Protesters, many in school and college uniforms, march towards the federal parliament complex and breach police barricades.
via instagram
Afternoon
Some protesters begin smashing the perimeter walls and climbing over the main gate of the parliament complex. Protest organisers allege infiltration by outside elements. Police deploy crowd-suppression measures including tear gas and water cannon.
via instagram
Police at the parliament complex open fire with rubber bullets and live ammunition.
via instagram
Multiple deaths and injuries (Warning: Graphic content).
Kathmandu Chief District Office imposes curfews across parts of Kathmandu until 10 pm.
Evening and night
Hospitals overwhelmed with the injured and blood supplies run critically low. Allegations of Armed Police Force personnel entering hospitals to beat up protesters and fire tear gas.
Prime Minister Oli calls meeting of the cabinet and National Security Council.
Resignation of Ramesh Lekhak as home minister.
via instagram
Growing calls online for the resignation of K P Sharma Oli.
via instagram
Prithvi Subba Gurung, a minister in Oli’s cabinet, dismisses any possibility of the prime minister’s resignation.
via Facebook
Police disperse sporadic gatherings.
via Instagram
Government lifts block on social media platforms.
9 September 2025
Early Morning
Indefinite curfew imposed inside Kathmandu’s Ring Road.
via Instagram
Unrest spreads across cities across the country, including Kathmandu, Butwal, Pokhara, Biratnagar, Chitwan, Jhapa, Itahari and Nepalgunj.
Morning
Sit-in protest by Gen Z activists at Maitighar Mandala is interrupted by police. Hami Nepal server on Discord emerges as a main node of organisation.
via Discord
Sushila Karki, former chief justice, recorded on the street amid protests denouncing Oli government and holding it responsible for the deaths. Video goes viral.
More ministers submit resignations.
via Instagram
Crowds begin to surround and vandalise the residences and properties of ministers and major political leaders, including Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal, alias Prachanda. Security forces are overwhelmed.
via Instagram
Oli evacuated from his residence. Other ministers also airlifted to safety from their official quarters.
via Instagram
Afternoon–Evening
Bullets fired at protesters in Jhapa
via Facebook
Protestors break into the home of Sher Bahadur Deuba, president of the Nepali Congress, and Arzu Rana Deuba, his wife and the serving foreign minister. The two are thrashed before being rescued by army personnel.
via Instagram
Political party offices attacked and burnt.
via Instagram
Oli’s private residence is set on fire.
via Instagram
Ministers’ quarters in southern Kathmandu raided and set on fire.
via Instagram
K P Sharma Oli resigns as prime minister around 2.30 pm. Moved to a safe location.
via Instagram
Afternoon–Evening
Vandalism, looting and arson attacks target private businesses, including those perceived to be politically connected or compromised. Headquarters of Kantipur Media, Nepal’s largest media house, vandalised and set on fire. Outlets of the country’s largest supermarket chain, Bhat Bhateni, looted and burnt. Fire and burglary at the home of Binod Chaudhury, billionaire head of Chaudhary Group and a member of the lower house of parliament.
via Instagram
Some Gen Z groups plead for restraint via social media.
via Instagram
Arson and vandalism of police stations, administrative offices and government buildings across the country. Protestors loot firearms from security forces. The federal parliament, the Supreme Court and Singha Durbar – the seat of the executive government – are set alight.
via Instagram
via Instagram
via Instagram
Numerous jailbreaks occur across the country. Officials release Rabi Lamichhane, leader of the upstart Nepal Swatantra Party and widely seen as a challenger to the old establishment, from detention at a prison in Kathmandu, where he was being held on charges of financial fraud. (Lamicchane voluntarily returns to prison the following week.)
via Facebook
Night
Ashok Raj Sigdel, chief of the Nepal Army, addresses the country via social media. Army deploys at 10 pm to enforce curfew and restore order.
via Instagram
10 September 2025
Country-wide curfews with army personnel controlling movement.
via Instagram
Citizens begin cleaning up damage in their neighbourhoods.
via Instagram
Some firearms looted the previous day are turned over to the army.
via Instagram
The army chief holds talks on a way out of the political crisis with the president, Ram Chandra Poudel, and Gen Z representatives. Durga Prasai, a royalist firebrand, is also invited, sparking concern and rumours of a possible effort to bring back Nepal’s deposed monarchy.
via Facebook
Extensive discussions on the Hami Nepal Discord server as Gen Z movement formulates its demands. These include the dissolution of parliament; an interim government led by a person of the movement’s choosing; a fresh election within six months; and a full investigation into the protest killings, with accountability for those responsible.
via Discord
via Instagram
Online poll begins on Discord to select the Gen Z movement’s preferred candidate for interim prime minister. Sushila Karki emerges as frontrunner.
via Instagram
Information on Karki starts circulating widely online.
via Discord
Balen Shah, independent mayor of Kathmandu who defeated two establishment candidates in a 2022 municipal election after a highly popular online campaign, voices support for Karki.
via Facebook
Sudan Gurung, the most visible leader of Hami Nepal and the Gen Z movement, backs Shah for a five-year term as prime minister following a fresh election instead of a six-month term heading the interim government.
via Instagram
11 September 2025
The Nepali Army issues a public statement urging citizens not to believe or spread false information, addressing rumours that the military was preparing to “usurp all executive power through a coup.”
Civil society groups release statements calling for a resolution to the political crisis within the bounds of Nepal’s 2015 constitution.
via X
Questions grow over the president’s seeming disappearance from public view, with calls for him to take clear charge of transition negotiations and address the country to allay fears of military control. Poudel issues a public statement past 9 pm reassuring citizens that he is working to find a solution that will preserve peace and democracy in the country.
via Instagram
Talks between the president and Sushila Karki stretch into the night. Rumours swell of an impending coup to restore the monarchy. Many stay up late awaiting a decision on the interim prime minister.
Into the early hours of 12 September, news circulates of the talks being paused until the morning.
via Instagram
12 September 2025
Talks continue through the day and into the evening. Sudan Gurung sits vigil in the president’s office until agreement is reached over a new interim prime minister.
via Instagram
Sushila Karki is sworn in as interim prime minister in the evening, with an agreement to dissolve parliament and hold fresh elections. She becomes Nepal’s first female head of government.
via Instagram