In the absence of an organisation representing the Gen Z, which the earlier revolutionaries had, it is unlikely that the Gen Zees will register a majority victory in the elections
Nepal is known as the land of Mount Everest, the tallest peak in the world. It is also known as the birthplace of Gautam Buddha, an icon of peace and compassion. More recently, it has come to be known as the land of Gen Z after its young generation dismantled the coalition government of the Nepali Congress (NC) and the Unified Marxist-Leninist (UML) that boasted of a near two-thirds majority in the Parliament. The group had been protesting against the rising corruption in the country for some time so that they did not have to forcibly leave their motherland just for an education or employment. As ill luck would have it, what triggered the protests against the government, leading to the death of 25 Gen Z youths on the very first day, was the ban on social media that impacted the Gen Z heavily.
Consequently, the home minister resigned on the first day of the massacre. It was followed by the resignation of the Prime Minister, K P Oli, the following day. It led to arson and looting of the Parliament building, Supreme Court, and the historic government secretariat, the Singha Durbar, together with other government and private buildings.
A new interim government, headed by former Chief Justice Sushila Karki, was sworn in by President Ram Chandra Paudel by exercising the inherent constitutional right and dissolving the Parliament with a solitary mandate of conducting the national election on March 5. It has, however, been opposed by the deposed prime minister labelling it unconstitutional and duly demanding the reinstatement of the dissolved Parliament.
The Gen Z movement erupted in Ladakh, India, later spreading like a wildfire to Madagascar. It was also seen in Indonesia and later in Brazil. Prime Minister Modi has hailed the critical role of India's Gen-Z in reshaping the country's space sector. Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi expressed support for Gen Z and the youth of India, believing they will use their power to protect the constitution and democracy.
The movement impacted the existing Nepali parties beyond imagination. It led to the extinction of some, such as the Maoist Centre and Nepal Samajbadi Party headed by Madhav Nepal. These two formed a new party named the Nepali Communist Party by cobbling other small left parties. Others like the Rastriya Swatantra Party and Bibeksheel Sajha have merged with each other. Some Madhes-based parties have also followed suit.
Monolithic parties like the UML have become a double header with a new group led by Iswor Pokharel emerging strongly to replace the old one led by Oli. The NC is an exception in this regard as it has managed to put a united stand despite differences seen for or against the regular convention. So is the monarchy supporter, Rastriya Prajatantra Party, which has remained fairly intact.
Despite such national and international influence of the Nepali Gen Zees, it remains to be seen whether they can realise their dream of sweeping corruption from the country. Corruption is defined as the use of public office for private gain. In other words, is is the use of an official position, rank, or status by an office bearer for his own personal benefit. It manifests in the form of bribery, extortion, fraud, embezzlement, nepotism, cronyism, appropriation of public assets and property for private use as well as influence peddling. It is existent in all countries though in varying degrees. In Nepal, it is rampant, which is reflected by its ranking at 108th out of 180 countries surveyed by Transparency International, the vanguard of corruption around the globe.
Corruption depends on economic rent, discretionary powers, and accountability. Economic rent, also known as monopoly profit, is like the higher value of an urban land when compared to a similar one in a rural area. The more the opportunities for economic rent exist in a country, the larger will be the corruption. Similarly, the greater the discretionary powers granted to administrators, the greater will be the corruption. However, the more the administrators are held to account for their actions, the less will be the corruption.
Pessimists opine that it is not possible to tame the monstor that is corruption. Optimists, however, believe that corruption will be remedied to a great extent if there is a good leadership, credibility like clean leadership, people's participation, and oversight bodies like the Commission for the Investigation of the Abuse of Authority. But if the leadership is corrupt, all the other aforementioned entities become helpless. This is one of the reasons for the prevalence of nation-wide corruption in Nepal.
If we peep back into history, we can see that the movement leaders have secured a landslide victory in the following election. The examples are the NC after the People's Revolution of 1950 and the NC again after the People's Movement of 1990. The MC created a similar feat after the Republican Movement of 2006. If history is any indication, the Gen Z should also register at least a majority victory. They could then come to power and execute programmes to make their dream come true.
But in the absence of an organisation representing the Gen Z, which the earlier revolutionaries had, this cannot be said for sure. This is more so when some Gen Z groups and their supporters like Miraj Dhungana and Kul Man Ghising have already formed a new party. In that case, the old parties are likely to emerge victorious in the forthcoming election on the strength of their robust organisation. If the old parties come to power again, alleviating corruption may remain merely as a slogan, which may invite yet another movement in the near future.
