Nepal is no stranger to political instability. But even by the country’s standards, the upheaval of the past 48 hours offers a stark view of how anger, bottled up among young people who have long felt betrayed by their elite, can explode in ways that are impossible to predict. On Sunday, the now former prime minister, K.P. Sharma Oli, was mocking youth who were planning a protest the following day against corruption and nepotism. Some 36 hours later, he had to resign after what started out as street protests rapidly spiralled into a violent face-off that even bullets could not quell. A day after police fired live ammunition, tear gas shells, and water cannons at protesters, killing at least 19 of them, Nepal’s youth returned to the streets, defying curfews and unleashing a tornado of uncontrolled rage that rulers in country after country in South Asia are getting to know well. They torched the homes of prominent politicians, an office of the Nepali Congress — a part of Mr Oli’s ruling coalition — and the Parliament building. They even set a building hosting Nepal’s biggest media house on fire. Kathmandu’s airport was forced to shut down. Some reports suggest that mobs broke into homes of prominent politicians, attacking their families.
The protesters have demanded not only the resignation of the government but also of all members of Parliament. They want fresh elections and they want those who ordered the firing on protesters on Monday to face justice. It is unclear whether Mr Oli’s resignation and the decision by many of his ministers to quit will placate the protesters. Other questions still await answers as well: was an initially peaceful protest hijacked by elements that precipitated the clashes, as some organisers of the protest movement have suggested? What made Nepal’s security forces choose to break from traditional law enforcement methods and open fire on their fellow citizens? What will Nepal’s political class do next? Since 2008, when Nepal abolished the monarchy, it has had 14 governments, and not one has completed its term. India has been a key player in helping Nepal develop its democracy. New Delhi must now make it clear to all stakeholders that its friendship is, first and foremost, with the people of Nepal, not any political group. Nepal’s leaders must also learn from what Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have witnessed in recent years: there is a limit to people’s patience. When they lose fear of their rulers, it is time for the rulers to fear them.