In the 48 hours that Nepal’s Gen-Z revolution unfolded, one question echoed across the country: “Where is their Lenin?” But perhaps that question missed the point. For decades, every Nepali revolution has been undone not by its enemies but by those who claimed to lead it. This time, the absence of a single figurehead was not a weakness; it was the movement’s greatest strength.
When the protests subsided, one name began to circulate: Sudan Gurung, head of the youth-led organisation Hami Nepal. But Gurung did not lead the uprising; he emerged only after it was over, more as a spokesperson than a commander. His late prominence was proof of what made this revolt different. By refusing to anoint a leader, Nepal’s young protesters broke with a past where power was always concentrated in the hands of a few. They showed that change could emerge from the collective rather than the charismatic.
Yet the same revolution that reimagined leadership also revealed the enormous human cost of reclaiming power. In both human and economic terms, it was among the most destructive 48 hours in Nepal’s history. At least 74 people were killed and about 2,113 injured in the clashes.
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