The presence of the Nepali Army on the streets should not be mistaken for military rule even though the current violence is worse than the unrest the Himalayan nation witnessed during the monarchy’s collapse in 2008, an Indian settled in Kathmandu told The Telegraph Online on Friday.
“Do not confuse this [the current situation in Nepal] with military rule. It is not a military rule or martial law. The army is doing its best to restore the country back to a new civil order,” said Ashok Verma, who runs an advertising business in Nepal’s capital.
Daily life, Verma said, has been brought to a grinding halt. Curfew has been imposed in major cities and towns. Shops, offices and schools are closed.
“All kinds of activities have been stopped. If you are a business owner, or an employee, then you have no option than to sit at home watching social media platforms to get the current updates,” he said.
Safety remains a serious concern, he said.
“On the first day of the protests, at least 22 people were shot dead, including school children aged between 12 and 18, and nearly 400 people were injured,” Verma recalled.
He warned that vigilante groups had also infiltrated the demonstrations, making the situation unpredictable and unsafe.
Amid the turmoil, several incidents involving Indian nationals have been reported. Rajesh Gola, 57, from Ghaziabad, died after leaping from a burning hotel in Kathmandu, a number of publications reported on Friday.
She and her husband, who remains hospitalised, were staying at the Hyatt Regency when it was set ablaze during violent clashes.
An Indian tourist bus returning from the Pashupatinath Temple was attacked near Sonauli on September 9, with protesters pelting stones that injured several passengers, including women and elderly travellers.
The injured were admitted to a hospital in Kathmandu, while others were flown back to India on a special Air India plane arranged with the help of the Indian embassy and Nepali authorities, PTI reported.
Verma said that although some sporadic incidents targeting Indians had occurred, there had been no major surge of anti-India sentiment so far.
He noted that both the Indian embassy and Nepali Army had issued helpline numbers for citizens seeking assistance. Special flights have been arranged for stranded tourists as Kathmandu airport remains closed to regular international traffic.
The unrest has also hit close to Verma’s home, which is located just 500 metres from the Nepali Congress party headquarters in Kathmandu.
He recounted how a large mob of Gen Z protesters stormed the area and torched everything inside the party office, underscoring the scale of the violence.
The violent agitation by Gen Z demonstrators demanding political reform and an end to corruption has surpassed the chaos of the fall of the monarchy, he said.
In 2008, Nepal brought an end to more than two centuries of royal rule after a decade-long Maoist insurgency that claimed over 13,000 lives and mass protests that forced King Gyanendra to surrender direct power, opening the path toward a republic.
On May 28 that year, the 601 member Assembly voted by a margin of 560 to 4 to abolish the monarchy. King Gyanendra was ordered to leave the Narayanhiti Palace within 15 days and the building was later converted into a museum.
Seventeen years later, the “Gen Z” protests erupted following a short-lived government ban on social media, quickly spreading from Kathmandu to other major centres including Pokhara, Butwal and Birgunj, and taking shape as a movement against corruption and nepotism.Thousands poured into the streets and demonstrations turned violent in pockets.
Security forces opened fire to disperse crowds, sparking nationwide anger. Crowds set fire to parliament buildings in the capital Kathmandu on Tuesday. Protesters set fire to government buildings, offices of major political parties, and the homes and offices of top political functionaries, including several former prime ministers.
Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli resigned and youth-led protesters have since demanded the dissolution of parliament and amendments to the Constitution to reflect the will of the people.
The death toll from the protests has been pegged at 51 and political negotiations have begun to form an interim administration.
For now, Verma remains confined to his home, watching developments unfold with a weary impatience, fearful for the fragile shape of the days ahead.
“It is nowhere close to normalcy,” he said.