When the Young Rise: Why Movements Like Nepal’s Matter

As I reflect on Nepal’s Gen Z protests, one truth stands out: when power fossilizes, the young rise. Renewal is not chaos — it is the essence of human existence. Watching the young flood the streets is not just about politics in Nepal; it is about the deeper cycle of renewal that defines human existence itself.

Power has a tendency to fossilize. Leaders get comfortable, then self-serving, and finally detached. Institutions, instead of serving people, start serving themselves. This is not unique to Nepal; it is the story of governance everywhere.

But when the old turn rigid, the new inevitably pushes through. Time does not wait. Every generation brings its own storm — disruptive, messy, uncomfortable — but also necessary. These storms are not the end of order, they are the renewal of order.

Nepal’s protests may be called a “Gen Z uprising,” but the deeper truth is timeless: societies need their young to shake the system, to clean out the dead wood, and to remind leaders that power is a responsibility, not a permanent right.

Movements like these are the backbone of checks and balances. They do not guarantee perfect outcomes — sometimes they lead to chaos, sometimes to reform — but without them, stagnation turns to rot. And rot, left unchecked, costs far more than protest ever will.

That is why such movements matter. They are not just about Nepal, or Bangladesh, or Sri Lanka. They are about us all. They remind us that human existence itself depends on renewal — on the courage of the young to say, enough.