Nepali youth have successfully navigated the immediate post-change challenges despite global speculation.
Gen-Z’s choice, the widely respected Sushila Karki, was appointed as the country’s 42nd prime minister on Friday. The former chief justice has been tasked with holding elections by March 4, 2026. She has six months to set the country on a vibrant democratic path. Nepal faces the major challenge of repairing its broken economy. And delivering the equality and justice its youth fought for.
Nepal’s army chief Ashok Raj Sigdel rightly deserves respect of pro-democratic forces in all over the world. He brokered talks among political stakeholders of the Himalayan nation. General Sigdel provided democracy a chance to shine in a country that transitioned from centuries old monarchy to democracy in 2008 after nearly a decade long civil war. Global and regional powers including the US, China and India refrained from intervening, realising the fury of the youth.
Hami Nepal:
Normalcy is returning to Nepal. Hami Nepal led the change. Safak Workers Street Committee, citizens who marched for change under the Straw Hat Pirates’ Jolly Roger flag all deserve applause. They effectively used social media platforms, from Discord servers to Instagram, to drive this movement.
Nepal saw the third popular youth-led uprising in South Asian region after 2022’s Aragalaya in Sri Lanka and July Revolution (2024) in Bangladesh.
Sri Lankans elected the progressive government of Anura Kumara Dissanayake with a landslide majority in September 2024. The interim government of Muhammad Yunus has promised polls in Bangladesh in February 2026. Fixing their economies poses a major challenge before both nations. Sri Lankan economy has become a toxic mix of unsustainable borrowing, poor fiscal management, and external shocks. The country needs liberation from the global lenders and it should be free in national policymaking. People-led government can achieve the goal with political willpower.
South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC):
The people of South Asia need vibrant democracy, connectivity, and peace — and for this, SAARC must transform from a dormant body into an active forum. The youth-led changes have clearly rung alarm bells among the status quo and anti-democracy forces in the region. Yet, it seems the tech-savvy generation will not stop from achieving their freedom from oppressive regimes.
By: Iftikhar Alam
