A big change is being seen in the politics of Nepal these days. Today, the same youth who rode the wave of support of Gen-Z youth to reach the post of Prime Minister of Nepal, Balen Shah, have come out on the streets against him. The recently formed Balen Shah government is facing the first and biggest challenge of its tenure.
The root of the dispute is the removal of slum dwellers and homeless people from their places without any concrete rehabilitation plan. On Sunday, hundreds of youth under the leadership of Joint National Squatters Front protested fiercely in the capital Kathmandu. Let us know why thousands of people became homeless and why questions are being raised on the government regarding rehabilitation. What impact can this protest have on the image of Balen Shah, his government and the politics of Nepal? In which direction can this dispute go next…
Where did the controversy start?
Thousands of people becoming homeless The foundation of this entire controversy was laid in April this year, when the Kathmandu Metropolitan City Police launched a major encroachment removal operation in the Kathmandu Valley and other parts of Nepal. According to media reports, the structures of about 2,600 families were demolished in this campaign, due to which about 15,000 people were directly affected.
Of these, about 325 evicted families were forced to live in different temporary holding centers in Kathmandu. The crisis deepened when on July 2, the Nepal government ordered that these homeless people should vacate these holding centers by July 6. About 60 families refused to leave, saying they had no other place to hide their heads.
incidents inciting agitation
The situation went out of control last Friday (July 10). There was a sudden flood in Kathmandu where about 150 displaced people were living in a temporary settlement. The security forces somehow evacuated the people from there safely. The next day, when a group of Gen-ji activists arrived there to take stock of the situation, the police resorted to lathi charge to drive them away. In this action, a young worker suffered serious facial injuries and had to be admitted to the hospital.
Self-immolation and increasing public anger
The excesses of the police have taken the anger of the youth to its peak. The protesters allege that the evicted people are being kept in inhumane conditions. During this period, some very painful incidents also came to light. This month, 25-year-old protester Ganesh Nepali set himself on fire in Kathmandu after a dispute over police installing a wheel lock on his motorcycle. In the last few days, two people have lost their lives in self-immolation incidents, while another person is seriously injured.
The protesters are now demanding an end to atrocities on the poor, respect for human rights, a stop to illegal arrests and compensation and shelter for the displaced. Many journalists, students and activists covering this case have been detained by the police.
Impact on Balen Shah’s image?
This entire incident has become a big political headache for Prime Minister Balen Shah. Nepali Congress President Gagan Kumar Thapa has strongly criticized the government for the arrest of the workers and demanded their immediate release. This fire of protest is not limited to the capital only. In Kosi province, about 206 km from Kathmandu, 26 people protesting in support of detained Gen-Z activists were also arrested on Sunday.
Is history repeating itself?
This entire movement is reminiscent of the ‘Gen-G’ protests that took place in September last year, which ousted the government of former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli from power due to corruption allegations. Interestingly, Balen Shah, who was the mayor of Kathmandu at that time, had openly supported those young protesters and on the basis of that popularity, he reached the pinnacle of national politics.
Balen Shah has been known as a reformist leader. Due to his urban development programs, Time magazine also included him in the list of the world’s top 100 emerging leaders in the year 2023. But now after sitting on the chair, he is facing the same public anger. Earlier in April this year also, the Shah government had to face huge public protest over the imposition of customs duty on Indian goods and allegations of corruption against the Home Minister. Now this new Gen-ZZ revolution in favor of the homeless is a strong message for Balen Shah that the youth power which has placed him at the pinnacle of power can stand against him with the same strength.
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