Statement on Nepal’s September Uprising: Beyond Spontaneous Rebellion | Radical Socialist

The September 2025 uprising in Nepal forced Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli from office and left nineteen young people dead in the streets of Kathmandu. This event requires serious analysis from those committed to real social change. While we stand with the youth who risked their lives against a corrupt and violent state, we must also honestly assess what this movement achieved, what it failed to accomplish, and what it reveals about the possibilities and limits of spontaneous rebellion today.

What the Uprising Revealed

The immediate trigger, a ban on social media platforms, seems trivial until we understand its significance. The Oli government’s attempt to silence online criticism revealed a fundamental issue- Nepal’s ruling class, despite having a formal democracy, governs with the same authoritarian tendencies as the previously established monarchy. Politicians who once rallied people against royal autocracy have since become a closed group, sharing power among themselves while accumulating wealth that is disconnected from productive activity.

When young Nepalis saw the children of political leaders displaying luxury goods and taking foreign vacations on Instagram and TikTok