In Nepal, a protest movement in early September 2025 escalated into a spontaneous insurrection in response to police violence, culminating with the burning of the parliament and an array of government offices, police stations, party headquarters, and politicians’ mansions. Within a day and a half, Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli had fled and the government collapsed. But toppling a government is only the first stage of a much longer struggle; within this unrest, monarchists, neoliberals, and radicals are competing to determine the future of Nepal. To get a clearer understanding of the background of the insurrection and the dynamics within it, we interviewed Black Book Distro, an anarchist collective and library in Kathmandu.

The insurrection in Nepal is part of a series of uprisings that have swept Asia over the past few years. We can trace the trail of sparks in Southeast Asia from the toppling of the president of Sri Lanka in 2022 to the 2024 uprising in Bangladesh and the uprising in Indonesia in August 2025, not to mention the ongoing civil war in Myanmar. Since the fall of the Nepali government, fierce protests have broken out in the Philippines as well. All of these are responding to widespread economic hardship and the failure of politicians’ promises.

The complicity of institutional communist parties in the massacre that catalyzed the uprising should remind all aspiring revolutionaries that it is impossible to solve the problems of capitalism simply by wielding the violence of the state—even if you have “communist” in the name of your party. The challenges that capitalism is creating for people demand more radical changes than can be achieved with police weaponry and policy proposals within the halls of power.

Likewise, this insurrection should give pause to politicians and police all around the world who imagine that they can pillage and terrorize with impunity. Today, the money they obtain may insulate them from the consequences of their actions—but tomorrow, all bets are off.

None of these revolts have yet achieved all of their aims, but as people around the world struggle with oligarchy and state repression, each of them offers lessons.

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Introduce your project. Who are you and what are you doing?

We are Black Book Distro, an anarchist collective and library based in Kathmandu, Nepal, dedicated to radicalization through education on leftist history as well as active engagement in popular struggles and movements that we feel align with our goals (the Gen Z protest, the Meter Byaj movement,¹ Guthi movement²). We speak to you as an anarchist movement under the suppression of a failed and corrupt communist regime and Congress.

Give us a short overview of social movements and struggles in Nepal over the past decade or two. What have been the major concerns driving popular unrest?

Following the Maoist revolution,³ Nepal has experienced waves of social, economic, geographic, and political upheaval. Key issues include rampant caste discrimination, a deadly epidemic of migrant worker trafficking fueled by lack of opportunity at home, routine border conflicts with our nuclear-armed neighbors, and political corruption so brazen that it has allowed pro-monarchy sentiments in the country to make a terrifyingly powerful comeback.

Popular movements for change have included the Madhesh struggle for rights and dignity,⁴ protests against COVID-era corruption under the “Enough Is Enough” banner, nationalistic disputes over border areas like Lipulekh,⁵ doctor KC’s hunger strikes for improved health infrastructure,⁶ resistance to predatory mortgage interests, and defense of communal lands belonging to the Newar people. These struggles are driven by a complex social fabric still shaped by patriarchy, caste, and religion, amid constitutional efforts toward representation, freedom of expression, economic liberty, and federalism.

The major political organizations are the Congress, Maoist, Marxist-Leninist parties, as well as royalist factions. Below these are independent youth groups, leftist spaces, and Indigenous community groups. Historically speaking, most protests have been led or influenced by the major political parties, though spontaneous youth and grassroots initiatives have increasingly acted independently (including the recent “Gen Z” uprising).

How do you understand the goals of the grassroots participants in this uprising? Are there multiple currents with different or conflicting goals?

The current “Gen Z” movement has its roots in the 2019 youth-led “Enough Is Enough” movement, which focused on social justice and environmental issues amid revenue mismanagement during the COVID-19 crisis. This initial uprising consisted of multiple independent youth groups supported by ordinary citizens, liberals, and far-left spaces, without a central leadership. Since then, the government has continually intensified its online surveillance and totalitarian crackdowns on the youth, fueling the movement to become what it is today. Their chief demands are freedom of expression, anti-corruption measures, and full government accountability, with no involvement from established political parties. The tragic shooting of peaceful protestors, including students inspired by the philosophy of the anime series “One Piece,” ignited widespread outrage.

The insurrection was decentralized and spontaneous, culminating in the burning of parliament and most government offices, politicians’ houses, police stations, and party headquarters, causing the government to be toppled in less than 35 hours. Diverse currents exist within the movement: monarchists seeking to restore the king to the throne, centrists aiming to gain influence within a new neoliberal government, and far-left radicals pushing for genuine federalism, secularism, and the inclusive participation of marginalized communities. This multiplicity of goals reflects the complex aspirations and tensions within the movement.

As we understand it here from very far away, communists in Nepal conducted a resistance movement for many years before gaining state power in 2006. We have the impression that internal conflicts within the revolutionary movement as a whole resulted in a series of compromises between the communists and the Nepalese ruling class. How have these compromises affected Nepalese society, specifically including the radical grassroots movements that participated in the popular struggle, as well as labor unions and other groups?

The Maoist insurgency’s success relied on its opposition to the “Panchayat” system, a feudal agricultural structure of oppression by upper-caste elites allied with the monarchy over the common folk. However, once in power, many Maoist leaders compromised their revolutionary goals to maintain control, gradually adopting capitalist practices that mirror the same Panchayat system of oppression they claim to have destroyed. These compromises have undermined their credibility with the masses, and the Maoists are now widely viewed as corrupt politicians rather than revolutionaries.

Meanwhile, human rights abuses by military and police forces have been widespread, and justice remains elusive for victims on all sides. The tarnished image of leftist politics has given space to the Monarchist movement; even the recent Gen-Z movement has intentionally barred political parties and unions from participating, due to fears that these entities would impose self-serving agendas. Though this shielded the movement’s integrity, it has made it harder for genuine leftist radicals seeking change to organize. Fortunately, the anarchist movement is emerging quietly, with growing acceptance, despite some misconceptions equating anarchism with chaos.

How did the ruling coalition emerge? How do you understand the difference between the two communist parties, and what is the role of the Congress Party in the ruling coalition?

The ruling coalition emerged to secure a parliamentary majority amid a fragmented multiparty system after the war. Both communist parties have embraced corruption and capitalist practices, with the UML [the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist)] currently being the more organized of the two. Because of their misuse of communist ideologies and corrupt histories, the communist movement is rapidly losing ground, and party members are often mocked when they claim communist identities. The Congress Party, with its historical role in “officially” ending the Rana regime and Panchayat system, remains the leading neoliberal force in the government. In 2008, Maoists and Marxist-Leninists allied to outvote the Congress Party, and in 2024, Congress and Marxist-Leninists allied to outvote Maoists. While ideological differences once divided them, these distinctions have all but completely faded in the eyes of the people.

Both India and China belong to the powerful industrial and trade bloc known as BRICS. How does this affect ordinary people in Nepal? Which groups aspire to capitalize on the overthrow of the Nepalese government?

The impact of BRICS membership on ordinary Nepalese is not yet clear, with political and intellectual circles divided. Some view BRICS as a means to reduce US hegemony, while others see it as extending Chinese authoritarian influence. The Nepali government has been cautiously monitoring the evolution of the India-China relationship and has yet to decide on whether to participate in BRICS.

It remains uncertain which groups will ultimately benefit from the toppling of the government, but no political decision in Nepal is made without the involvement of the Indian intelligence agency RAW [Research and Analysis Wing]. The CIA [Central Intelligence Agency] also likely plays a role, consistent with its history in global revolutions. Major dangers include royalist factions potentially gaining power with Indian backing, driven by extremist Hindu nationalist politics, and the resurgence of old political elites without substantive change. While a military coup was a real threat, thankfully it did not occur.

Nepal being a landlocked country with social and economic dependency on India has seen some shift in Chinese investments, with connecting highways being opened through Nepal. While China and India sharpen their rivalry, Nepal, unlike other nations sharing the border with the geographical giants, becomes an arena of control and balance…

Both powers have thus far avoided open conflict, turning Nepal into an arena of geopolitical balancing between India and China. Nepal, geographically trapped between these two nuclear giants, has limited options to resist their unending tug of war. India’s fuel blockade after the 2015 earthquake was clearly a power move linked to the Madhesi movement, which India unofficially supported. China exerts influence by urging the Nepalese government to control protests related to Tibet. Cultural ties and open borders make India’s influence more pronounced, whereas Chinese investments, such as highway projects under the Belt and Road Initiative, are broadly welcomed by the population as opportunities for economic independence from India.

Many Western leftists look at the relationship of Nepal to China and India—both of which are trading partners of the US and Israel, though China is perceived as a geopolitical antagonist of the US—and conclude that the insurrections in Nepal and Indonesia must be CIA-backed color revolutions designed to install Western-aligned dictatorships. What do you think about this?

While foreign influence from India, China, and the US is undeniable, reducing the uprising to a CIA-backed color revolution dismisses the genuine anger and sacrifices of Nepali people. Millions mobilized to burn down parliament buildings, government offices, and political leaders’ homes—not because foreign or domestic organizations told them to, but because of decades of government failure and corruption. Labeling this movement as a color revolution undermines our solidarity with similar grassroots movements across the globe. Activists from Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka celebrate each other’s struggles without dismissing them as foreign plots. This is a people’s uprising born from experienced injustice. If these uprisings are color revolutions, then powerful global movements like the Arab Spring and Black Lives Matter would be as well. It’s time for Western observers to support these struggles rather than delegitimize them.

What connections do you see, if any, between the uprising in Nepal and the preceding uprisings in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Indonesia? In what ways did those inform the popular imagination that helped to produce this revolt? What are the differences between the Nepalese context and those other contexts?

The uprisings share clear commonalities including widespread corruption, exclusion, entrenched power held by nepotistic families, government censorship, and heavy foreign interference. Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and Nepal each have histories of communist movements and their eventual failures. An interesting connection between Nepal and Indonesia is the presence of active anarchist movements and the cultural influence of the anime “One Piece,” which symbolizes for the youth in both countries their fight against authoritarianism.

The key difference is that Nepal’s communist movement successfully came to power but subsequently became corrupt and abandoned its promises, fueling popular disillusionment, whereas in Indonesia and Sri Lanka, the communist government failed to come to power.

On the basis of your recent experience in Nepal, do you have any advice for people who are participating in grassroots resistance in other parts of the world?

Effective resistance must combine organized education, agitation, and readiness for spontaneous mass insurrection. Preparing people to push societal movements in the right direction is critical, especially to manage the power vacuums created when a government collapses, which are often seized by capitalist forces aiming to restore the old order. Old elites will try to reclaim power, but the revolutionary population in Nepal has demonstrated a fierce refusal, destroying infrastructure and physically confronting leaders.

However, this uprising was not fully prepared for what happens next. Until now, our efforts have focused mainly on education and protests, without envisioning post-collapse structures. Our advice to comrades worldwide is to prepare not only for revolt but for non-hierarchical structures and societal rebuilding once regimes fall.

What are anarchists and anti-authoritarian groups doing in Nepal? What concrete things can we do to support anarchist and broadly anti-authoritarian efforts in Nepal?

Anarchist and anti-authoritarian groups in Nepal are conducting workshops, talks, screenings, exhibitions, music events, as well as direct actions in the street. The majority of our anarchist collectives believe in organization without hierarchy, fostering open conversations even with communist radicals who genuinely seek egalitarian societies. We believe solidarity within the leftist movement is essential, so we judge by actions rather than ideology alone. To support these efforts, we urge spreading awareness about ongoing human rights violations, including the deaths of at least 72 protestors, many of them youths, killed for demanding an end to corruption and totalitarianism. Those responsible must be held accountable and justice pursued without delay.