State repression during the GenZ protests on September 8 fueled more intensified demonstrations the following day, on September 9, and led the country to what is in front of our eyes. Dozens of lives were lost, hundreds were severely injured, and private and state property worth billions of rupees were destroyed within less than 48 hours. While a judicial inquiry commission is investigating the details of the event, everybody is analysing the incidents and the aftermath from their own angles. After a few days, as if the physical infrastructure were more valuable than human lives, many began questioning the Nepal Army's ability to provide security, citing its inaction when protesters vandalised Singha Durbar, the Federal Parliament, the President's Office, multiple ministries, and courts. The media also highlighted the issue so much that the army decided to give its official response publicly to clarify that it did its best based on how the situation evolved that day. This article is written to highlight a lesser-discussed – or almost ignored – fact from research studies that shows the perception of citizens towards different institutions in the country, including the Nepal army, media, and political parties. Kathmandu University School of Arts (KUSoA), together with other partners, has been conducting periodic, nationwide surveys since 2017. The surveys are conducted to collect public opinion on various contemporary issues, such as the country's overall situation, security and conflict resolution, identity and social relations, participation in governance and politics, economic outlook, and access to information. 'A Survey of the Nepali People in 2022' is the latest in the series, where 7,056 respondents from 588 wards across all seven provinces participated. Results from this survey research, which were released in January 2023, show that the Nepal Army is the most trusted institution, with 91.2% of the respondents saying they fully or moderately trust the Nepal army. In the list of 19 different entities towards which the level of public trust is measured, the media (television, radio, and newspapers) is third in the list, with 88.8% showing their trust, while the political parties are at the bottom, with only 44.4% expressing their trust. What is more noteworthy here is the trend: the public trust towards the Nepal Army is increasing (88.8% in 2017), while it is decreasing for the media (92.2% in 2017) and highly decreasing significantly for political parties (64.3% in 2017). After the violent confrontations with other armed forces on September 8 and the vandalism that followed on the 9th, citizens breathed a sigh of relief when the Nepal Army announced that it was taking the situation under control from 10 p.m. Some groups of demonstrators were even seen requesting the army to take over the nation to save it. Those criticising the army earlier were indeed not satisfied with its response, but social media users were happy about the army choosing the lives of citizens over the buildings. These further support the research finding about the public trust towards the Nepal Army. What was clearly visible during the protests is that saving the physical properties like Singha Durbar and so on by the army would not have been possible without the use of excessive force on the demonstrators, as the army itself has said. If the institution that citizens trust the most used lethal force, and there was confrontation with the army too, who do those analysts think would have taken the situation under control on the evening of the 9th? No voice was heard against the army on the evening of the 9th for imposing a curfew. Anybody familiar with the results from the survey research stated above, and those who wish for a peaceful resolution of conflicts, would not expect the most trusted institution to turn against those people who trust them. Similarly, political parties (and individual politicians too, for this matter), whose public trust is the lowest according to the survey research, criticising the army are still trying to argue that their lives come first, the physical properties that used to provide them all the luxuries come second, and the lives of ordinary citizens come only after that. They fled first, and now they are arguing why infrastructures were not saved by the army, even at the cost of additional lives of the demonstrators. How ridiculous it is that those who have the least trust, and are even losing it further, criticise the institution that citizens trust the most. This shows that all such analyses and criticisms are merely based on what they personally think without even a basic knowledge of what ground research hints at. The figures regarding the level of public trust mentioned above are not just a one-time research finding. Latest findings from 2025 are yet to be published, but four identical surveys conducted periodically since 2017 are showing consistent results: that the Nepal Army is among the most trusted institutions, while political parties are the least trusted institutions by the public. The key takeaways from the survey research for the three institutions can be summarised as follows: (a) the Nepal Army should continue working with its faith to retain the high public trust. (b) political parties, as the least trusted institution, may be digging their own graves even deeper if they keep on putting all the blame for their own failure on another institution rather than taking responsibility for their wrongdoings. And, (c) whether the media are going to help the political parties gain more public trust, or they are further losing their own trust, will depend on how they allocate their space and time for the issues of public interest and importance. In conclusion, actions driven and analyses backed by systematic, scientific research findings, as well as rational time and space allocation for such scientifically verified information, will help maintain national harmony. This is what all concerned stakeholders should keep in mind before making any decisions regarding their actions. Acharya can be reached at aacharyaaaditya@gmail.com