Political Turmoil Grips Asia: Nepal Rocked by Gen Z Unrest, India Faces Electoral Manipulation Allegations, as Violent Protests Emerge as a Global Model for Change

Political Turmoil Grips Asia: Nepal Rocked by Gen Z Unrest, India Faces Electoral Manipulation Allegations, as Violent Protests Emerge as a Global Model for Change

RMN News Report Highlights:

• 🔥 Nepal’s Gen Z Protests Escalate: Demonstrators have resorted to arson and vandalism, including setting fire to President Ram Chandra Poudel’s home and damaging residences of former prime ministers, putting immense pressure on Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s government.
• 🗳️ India’s Electoral Manipulation Alleged: A new “Smokescreen” report claims the Modi-led BJP’s electoral dominance is based on “fabricated factors masking electoral manipulation,” including alleged EVM fraud and manipulated voter rolls.
• ✊ Violent Protests as a Model for Change: The “Bangladeshi and Sri Lankan models” show that violent public protests can succeed in overthrowing corrupt rulers and restoring democratic systems in authoritarian nations where peaceful dissent fails.
• 🚨 India Faces Dire Democratic Backsliding: The “Smokescreen” report concludes that India, with 1.4 billion people, suffers from “unprecedented poverty, corruption, inflation, unemployment, lawlessness, and religious animosity,” and asserts that the BJP cannot win elections without alleged fraudulent practices.

By Rakesh Raman
New Delhi | September 9, 2025

Kathmandu, New Delhi, and Dhaka – A wave of political instability and intense public discontent is sweeping across South Asia, highlighted by escalating protests in Nepal, a damning new report alleging widespread electoral fraud in India, and the success of violent public uprisings in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. These events collectively paint a picture of nations grappling with questions of democratic integrity, governmental accountability, and the power of popular movements.

Nepal Protests Escalate to Arson and Vandalism, Oli Government Under Siege

In Nepal, massive protests led by Gen Z activists have pushed Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s government to the brink. The unrest dramatically escalated, with demonstrators engaging in arson and vandalism across the tiny Himalayan nation. This surge in protest activity followed Oli’s decision to revoke a ban on social media, a move reportedly aimed at addressing a key demand of the younger generation, yet which preceded the current escalation.

The scale of the protests was underscored by demonstrators setting fire to and vandalizing the home of President Ram Chandra Poudel. Social media videos depicted protesters moving through the President’s residence, causing significant damage. Additionally, the residences of former Nepali Prime Ministers Pushpa Kamal Dahal (Prachanda) and Sher Bahadur Deuba, as well as Energy Minister Deepak Khadka, were also damaged.

Prime Minister Oli was reportedly under immense pressure to resign, with a growing number of ministers stepping down and distancing themselves from the government. In response to the intensifying situation, a curfew has been imposed in several parts of the country, including the capital, Kathmandu, after demonstrators threw stones and marched on the streets for a second consecutive day. While police attempted to push back protesters, they largely appeared to refrain from using force as the anger of the demonstrators increasingly targeted the “unpopular” Oli-led government.

New reports suggest that within hours of violent anti-government demonstrations, Prime Minister Oli resigned from his post amid growing calls for his immediate departure on Tuesday (September 9).

“Smokescreen” Report Alleges Widespread Electoral Manipulation in India

Adding to the regional political flux, the RMN Foundation and RMN News have announced the release of a new political research report titled “Unveiling the Smokescreen of Indian Democracy: Fabricated Factors Masking Electoral Manipulation“. Authored by national award-winning journalist Rakesh Raman, the report asserts that India, the world’s most populated country with nearly 1.4 billion people, is experiencing an “unprecedented debate regarding the integrity of its electoral process”.

The “Smokescreen” report contends that the electoral dominance of the Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is not solely based on genuine popular support, but rather on a “sophisticated, multi-layered strategy involving a ‘smokescreen’ of manufactured narratives and alleged widespread electoral manipulation”. The report details a four-pronged strategy allegedly employed by the Modi regime to deflect criticism and maintain power.

Beneath this political façade, the report outlines claims that the BJP’s electoral success is driven by alleged fraudulent practices, specifically concerning the integrity of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and manipulated voter rolls. It points to the “Vote Chori” (vote theft) campaign, spearheaded by opposition leader Rahul Gandhi, which alleges “huge criminal fraud” in the 2024 polls, accusing the BJP and Election Commission of India (ECI) of collusion.

The report also highlights the “Selective Wins” theory, positing that the BJP selectively manipulates EVMs to win crucial state and national elections, while allowing opposition wins in less critical states to maintain the illusion of a fair democracy. It concludes that the current political landscape paints a grim picture for India, where nearly 1.4 billion people are described as suffering from “unprecedented poverty, corruption, inflation, unemployment, lawlessness, and religious animosity”. The report asserts that “without EVM manipulation, electoral roll frauds, bribes to voters, threats to voters, etc.,” Modi and the BJP “cannot win even a single election”.

Violent Protests Confirm Failure of Peaceful Dissent in Authoritarian Regimes

Further highlighting regional instability, an analysis from RMN News titled “Violence in Bangladesh Confirms Peaceful Public Protests Fail in Authoritarian Regimes” suggests that in many autocratic nations, violent public protests can succeed in restoring democratic systems where dictators are “hell-bent to destroy the democratic structures”.

This assessment follows months of violence and civil unrest in Bangladesh, which culminated in Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s resignation and flight from the country on August 5, 2024, fearing attack by protesters. Reports suggest hundreds died in clashes, and protesters broke into and vandalized her residence after her departure. Critics alleged Hasina extended her rule with a rigged 2024 election in which most of the opposition did not participate.

The events in Bangladesh are described as a “virtual action replay” of similar unrest in 2022 in Sri Lanka, where “belligerent protesters” forced then-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa to leave the island nation. Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani also faced public anger and fled for his life as the Taliban took over. These instances confirm that in authoritarian nations where justice systems have collapsed and crooked politicians win elections fraudulently, violent protests can restore democratic systems.

The report contrasts this with the failure of peaceful protests in almost all countries where citizens are deprived of their fundamental rights. In such nations, protesters are often “brutally attacked by the police and security forces which act like cruel mercenaries deployed by the tyrannical rulers to crush the peaceful protests”.

Examples cited include Russia, Belarus, China, Hong Kong, India, Israel, Myanmar, Brazil, Thailand, and Venezuela, where peaceful protesters face police brutality, arbitrary arrests, torture, unlawful prosecutions, and even death penalties. In Venezuela, large-scale protests took place after the incumbent Nicolás Maduro was deceptively declared the winner by the government-controlled National Electoral Council in the 2024 presidential election, a result the U.S. refused to accept as representing the will of the people.

Signs of French Revolution

It is observed that when protests turn violent, the protesters are often “allowed to freely move forward to dethrone the corrupt rulers”. This “Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan, and Nepali models of public protests” are seen as potentially successful in autocratic nations. These violent protests are even compared to the French Revolution, which led to the Storming of the Bastille and the beheading of King Louis XVI, establishing fundamental principles of liberal democracy after a decade of violent protests by commoners. The French Revolution model is now inspiring commoners in underdeveloped economies such as Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, India, Nepal, and Pakistan to achieve democracy and economic stability.

While a similar resistance movement is expected in India and Pakistan due to corrupt and cruel rulers failing to maintain peace and economic stability, the report notes that the political situation in India under PM Modi is “worse,” yet there is no demand for his resignation due to “extinct” opposition parties and “timid” people who “never hold sustained demonstrations”. The report alleges that Modi, in collusion with his ministers, bureaucrats, police, and courts, has reduced India to a “lawless state”. It suggests ordinary people in India must form groups and protest for Modi and his party to resign, advocating for a council of domain experts to run the government.

By Rakesh Raman, who is a national award-winning journalist and social activist. He is the founder of a humanitarian organization RMN Foundation which is working in diverse areas to help the disadvantaged and distressed people in the society.

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