Youth is still fighting for clean governance

Sri Lanka in 2022, Bangladesh in 2024, and Nepal this week—each has seen public fury boil over into the streets, culminating in the ignominious exit of leaders once thought invincible.

In all three countries, it was the youth—mostly students—who rallied ordinary citizens, weary of corrupt and inept politicians indifferent to their hardships, to demand a better standard of living.

In many ways, these upheavals resemble a Gen Z version of the Arab Spring—a digitally native generation channelling frustration through online platforms such as TikTok and AI tools while pressing for accountability and change.

Over two decades ago in West Asia, it was Millennials—particularly those in their late teens and early 20s—who harnessed the first wave of social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to topple decades-old autocratic regimes in Tunisia and Egypt, jolting many others.

The difference is that their struggle was for democracy itself.

By contrast, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Nepal have long been democracies (with Bangladesh having seen periods of military rule).

But for this aura-farming generation, quiet quitting in the name of democracy won’t cut it.

The message is clear: Deliver clean and efficient governance, economic growth, and opportunities for a decent life—or perish.

Nepal has indeed made remarkable progress in reducing poverty—almost wiping out extreme poverty—thanks largely to foreign remittances. Yet the Himalayan nation continues to lag behind its regional peers.

Anguish had been simmering over a stagnant economy, declining exports, and slow job creation—exacerbated by years of political instability since the 2001 royal massacre and the eventual fall of the monarchy in 2008.

What rubbed salt into the wound was the unabashed display of wealth by the children of political elites, mockingly dubbed #nepokids.

So when the K.P. Sharma Oli government moved to ban 26 social media platforms—lifelines that allow millions of Nepalese to stay connected with relatives working abroad, who make up an estimated 14% of the population—the volcano erupted.

Yet conspiracy theories run deep—blaming Nepal’s two quarrelling neighbours and even a faraway superpower. Some have even tossed around the word “toolkit”.

My take: This is a protest of the people, by the people, and for the people of Nepal—driven by frustration at being left behind while the rest of the world strides into AI and the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Politicians must pay attention to Abraham Lincoln’s timeless warning from 1858: “You can fool all the people some of the time and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.”

For India, which shares a roti-beti bond—deep cultural, familial, and economic ties—with Nepal, the unfolding crisis presents a delicate challenge. Every move will be watched closely, and likely met with wariness, even suspicion.

New Delhi’s wisest course may be restraint as retired Chief Justice Sushila Karki takes over the reins of governance.

On that note, a look at some of the other headlines of the week:

Embattled Emmanuel Macron has appointed former defence minister Sebastien Lecornu as France’s new prime minister. He succeeds François Bayrou, who lost a confidence vote over plans to rein in France’s deficit.

Lecornu now faces the unenviable challenge of steering France out of financial turmoil by forging a consensus in a fractious parliament to pass the 2026 budget, which is likely to propose reducing spending by €44 billion ($52 billion) to tackle national debt. The plan has already triggered mass protests.

Critics say this entails cutting salaries and pensions but spares the wealthy. If this feels like déjà vu, you’re not wrong. Back in 2018, Macron faced the massive “Yellow Vests” protests over rising fuel costs and economic inequality.

This time, it’s more complicated since Macron lost his majority in parliament after the 2024 elections.

Staying with Europe, Russia has been testing the limits of its aggression again. This week, a number of Russian drones actually entered Polish airspace. Yes—you heard that right: Poland, a member of the US-led Nato alliance.

It wasn’t a drill, though there were rumours that the drones were part of a Russian-Belarusian exercise and that some had malfunctioned. But 19 separate intrusions into Polish airspace, and debris from 16 drones found across the country, tell a very different story.

This is being called the biggest Russian violation of Nato territory since the Ukraine war began in 2022. Tensions are now sky-high.

Nato has scrambled F-16s and F-35s and launched a full air-defence setup.

Europe sees it as a straight-up test: Russia probing whether Nato is actually ready to strike back if pushed.

Poland even invoked Article 4, calling a meeting of all member countries to decide the next steps.

This drone drama comes just weeks after Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump met in Alaska, supposedly trying to chart a path to end the Russia-Ukraine war.

Talking about tensions, temperatures went up several notches in West Asia too this week when Israel targeted Hamas leaders in Qatar.

The tiny emirate, which houses the biggest US base in the region and is seen as a strong ally of the US, has been busy working out a peace deal that includes the return of Israelis taken hostage during Hamas’s 7 October 2023 and a ceasefire.

This week, as Qatari negotiators ended their meeting with senior Hamas officials, Israeli missiles slammed into a residential complex where the Hamas leaders were believed to be holed up. The Doha attack—daring and brazen—was in the works for more than two months.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made it clear that international borders are no protection for Hamas. Earlier attacks killed Ismail Haniyeh in Iran and Saleh al-Arouri in Lebanon.

Striking Qatar, then, is a whole new game. And for what? The strike didn’t even take out any Hamas leaders.

Leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS) met this week to condemn US President Donald Trump’s coercive trade tactics—both Brazil and India have been hit with the highest US punitive tariffs of 50%.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva emphasized, “We need to stick together,” pushing for deeper trade and financial ties within BRICS to withstand the protectionist pressure.

Chinese President Xi Jinping echoed the sentiment, calling on BRICS to unite and defend global trade rules.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi skipped the meeting, with foreign minister S. Jaishankar representing India instead.

Trump views BRICS as an anti-America group attempting to bypass the dollar for their own currency and has already threatened additional tariffs. And much to the US’s dismay, BRICS is growing fast. It expanded last year to include six new members: Saudi Arabia, Egypt, UAE, Ethiopia, Indonesia, and Iran.

Meanwhile, Trump’s trade adviser Peter Navarro added to the drama, labelling BRICS “vampires” draining the US through “unfair trade” and claiming that none of them could survive without selling to the US.

The overall takeaway: global trade is getting very messy.

The suspect in the killing of Conservative activist and US President Donald Trump supporter Charlie Kirk has been identified as Tyler Robinson and is being held in Utah County Jail.

Kirk, 31, co-founded the conservative youth group Turning Point USA. He was rushed to the hospital after being shot, but didn’t survive.

Trump, who himself survived an assassination attempt while on the presidential campaign trail in July 2024, condemned the “demonizing” of political opponents.