Burning Nepal

Chinmay Prasun Biswas :

Nepal, officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal is a landlocked country in South Asia. Mount Everest, the world’s highest peak, is located here. Up to May, 2008 Nepal was a constitutional monarchy. On 28th May, 2008 the Nepalese parliament amended the constitution and transformed Nepal into a republic.
This country is now under serious crisis.The government of KP Sharma Oli has blocked 26 social media platforms including Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn, Reddit, WhatsApp and Snapchat. As a result, Nepal is now burning due to suppressing the voice of democracy.
The country’s highest court observed the proliferation of unwanted content on social media evading government’s scrutiny. The court has ordered that all social media platforms, both domestic and foreign, must get registered with the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology before carrying on business in Nepal. These organisations were given a 7-day deadline from 28th August. That deadline expired on 3rd September midnight but Meta (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp), Alphabet (YouTube), X (formerly Twitter), Reddit or LinkedIn did not respond to that order.
In a ruling the Supreme Court ordered the government to shut down the services of social media and online platforms. On the other hand, TikTok, Viber, WiTalk and Popo Live have already registered themselves with the government. According to Telegram and Global Diary, these companies are currently awaiting government approval.
On 3rd September government spokesman Mr. GajendraThakur said that the government expected domestic and foreign IT and online companies to extend their cooperation to the government within a specified time. Otherwise the government will take action accordingly. Most of the companies have disobeyed the government’s order. So, it was decided to impose a ban on those companies.The ministry directed Nepal’s telecom department to deactivate the banned platforms from 4th September. Mr. Gajendra said the ban will be lifted as soon as the registration process is completed. Services of the permitted companies will be restored to normal.
According to government sources, the Nepali Congress-CPN (UM) coalition government wants to increase monitoring on advertising and content on all online platforms operating in Nepal. This step has been taken to bring technology companies under the control of the country’s laws. The Supreme Court has emphasised regulation of online media in the wake of multiple petitions filed since 2020. The cases have strongly demanded restrictions on advertising and content broadcast on unlicensed platforms in Nepal.
The government’s decision has caused anger among a section of the Nepalese people, particularly the youths. A section of civil society has expressed apprehension that this ban will disrupt communication with millions of Nepalese living abroad. More than seven million young Nepalese stayabroad for higher education or employment. It is claimed that thousands of families have been cut off from their relatives due to this sudden decision of the government. Moreover, thousands of Nepalese are directly dependent on Facebook and Instagram for earning. The government has closed their sources of earning. The anger of Nepalese content creators and internet influencers is growing.
Experts think that the Supreme Court has taken such a decision without assessing the impact on people. This unscrupulous decision will damage Nepal’s democratic image. It will create a negative perception about Nepal in the world. People associated with the Nepalese media believe that this will have long-term consequences. The Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) condemned the Oli government’s decision of trying to interfere with the freedom of the press and citizens’ right to information.
FNJ General Secretary Ramprasad Dahal said, “The hasty move to ban social media and online platforms without making alternative arrangements has curtailed freedom of expression. The government is also trying to restrict civil rights.” He alleged that the government is trying to influence the fundamental right to information that the Constitution has recognised.
The Committee to Protect Journalists and Access has called the government’s order to impose restrictions exaggerated. It has called for transparency and restoration of services, comparing it to the silencing of the public. Supporters of freedom of speech have opposed the government’s restrictions saying that under the coverage of restrictions the government is actually working to silence dissenting voices.
Some civil rights organizations think that due to the government’s unrealistic conditions different domestic and foreign platforms have refused to comply with the government’s directives. The Nepalese government’s proposed supervision and control strongly aims atsuppressing public opinion.
This is not the first time that a social media platform has been banned in Nepal. In November 2023, the then Pushpakal Dahal government banned TikTok, which drew widespread criticism across the country. The ban was lifted in August 2024 after TikTok agreed to register itself in Nepal.
But this time the protest has taken a violent turn.Thousands of protesters, mainly youths, gathered on the street to protest against ban on social media and corruption among government ministers and senior officials. The government took a tough stance to subdue the protest. At least 51 persons were killed in clashes between protesters and security forces.
At last, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has resigned. Even after his resignation, vandalism and arson attacks continue. The protesters set fire to the presidential office Shital Niwas, prime minister’s house, central office of the ruling coalition partner Nepali Congress Party and IT minister’s house. After chasing and beating, finance-cum deputy prime minister Bishnu Prasad Paudel was thrown into a river. On the backdrop of widespread violence government has withdrawn that order but it has proved futile. Violence still continues.
An order of the Supreme Court has triggered the turmoil in Nepal. People have disobeyed that order. We can remember a very famous song composed by noted musician Salil Chowdhury – O justice, people will judge you, they are now awakened.
Situation in Nepal is very much similar to that of Bangladesh in July-August 2024. A video shows some ministers trying to escape on a helicopter. As preferred by the student protesters, former Supreme Court Chief Justice Sushila Karki has been nominated as head of the interim government. But a news report informs that her husband Mr.Durga Prasad Subedi was involved in a plane-hijacking in 1973.

(The writer is a former Commissioner of Taxes.)