On September 12, 2025, Nepal witnessed an unprecedented moment in its political history as Sushila S Karki, a former Supreme Court justice, was sworn in as the country’s interim Prime Minister. The swearing-in of Karki, who at 73 became the first woman to hold the post, capped a week marked by extraordinary youth-led unrest and a government collapse that left the Himalayan nation at a crossroads.
The turmoil that brought about this change began innocuously enough, with a social media protest targeting the lifestyles of so-called "nepo kids"—children of the elite benefiting from family connections. But Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s abrupt decision to ban all social media apps that failed to comply with new government rules proved to be the spark in a tinderbox. What started as a digital rebellion quickly spilled into the streets, morphing into a violent and militant uprising across Nepal’s cities. According to Reuters, security forces responded with gunfire and tear gas as protesters set politicians’ homes and government buildings—including the parliament itself—ablaze. The human toll was heavy: at least 72 people, including three policemen, were killed, and over 1,300 more were injured during the two-day wave of violence on September 8 and 9.
The chaos culminated in the ouster of Prime Minister Oli and his cabinet on September 9, leaving a power vacuum that protesters and the nation at large scrambled to fill. But in a remarkable twist, the platform that became central to the country’s political deliberations was not a traditional party headquarters or parliament chamber—it was Discord, an instant messaging and voice chat platform more commonly associated with gamers than government-making.
Discord’s journey from niche gaming tool to center stage in Nepal’s political crisis is a story in itself. Founded in 2015 by Jason Citron and Stanislav Vishnevskiy, Discord was designed to help gamers communicate more easily. “I think at the time we had maybe six users,” Citron told The New York Times in 2021, reflecting on its humble beginnings. But it was Discord’s unique features—community “servers,” real-time voice chat, and flexible moderation—that allowed it to grow beyond gaming. By May 2024, the platform boasted over 200 million monthly users, and during the Covid pandemic, it became a digital gathering place for young people to socialize and organize around shared interests.
In the aftermath of Oli’s resignation, one Discord server in particular—run by members of the NGO Hami Nepal—emerged as the nerve center of the protest movement. The server swelled to over 145,000 members in just four days, its membership watched by Nepalese national television and livestreamed by news outlets. The discussions were often chaotic, sometimes hijacked by trolls and non-Nepalese participants, but they represented a new kind of grassroots, decentralized political engagement. “This was an organic, decentralised protest across multiple cities—not a centrally organised movement,” 26-year-old protester Bishal Sapkota told ABC News Australia. “Frankly, the protesters didn’t expect the government to fall within just two days, so they were somewhat unprepared for this rapid success.”
With the country’s parliament in disarray, the Discord server became an unlikely digital parliament. “The Parliament of Nepal right now is Discord,” Sid Ghimiri, a 23-year-old content creator from Kathmandu, told The New York Times. The group’s moderators, including high school graduate Shaswot Lamichhane, worked to simulate a kind of mini-election, deliberating on possible interim leaders. The list of candidates included public figures such as cricketer Sagar Dhakal and former electricity chief Kul Man Ghising, but it was Sushila Karki who ultimately emerged as the consensus choice in an informal poll.
Of course, the Discord group did not claim to represent the entire country, nor did it have the authority to install a new government. But its influence was undeniable. Nepal’s military, which had assumed de facto control in the absence of a functioning government, met with the server’s organizers and tasked them with suggesting a candidate who would be acceptable to both protesters and the armed forces. On September 11, after Karki’s name was put forward, she secured the approval of President Ram Chandra Poudel and Army chief General Ashok Raj Sigdel. The very next day, she was sworn in as interim Prime Minister, charged with steering the country toward elections scheduled for March 5, 2026.
The scale of the destruction wrought by the Gen Z protests was immense. Protesters set fire to the homes of political leaders, government offices, business establishments, and shopping complexes. The interim government, under Karki’s leadership, quickly established a taskforce to assess the damage to structures under its jurisdiction, a necessary first step toward national recovery.
In an important gesture of regional solidarity, India stepped forward with an offer of assistance. On September 21, Indian Ambassador Naveen Srivastava met with Nepal’s Energy Minister Kulman Ghising in Kathmandu to discuss bilateral cooperation on energy and water resources, as well as the progress of joint projects. According to sources at Nepal’s energy ministry, Ambassador Srivastava assured Ghising that “India is ready to extend help in the reconstruction of various structures damaged during the Gen Z protests, if Nepal makes a request.” The meeting also touched upon the potential for increased electricity exports from Nepal to India, a topic of growing importance as Nepal seeks to rebuild both its infrastructure and its economy.
India’s pledge of support was widely reported by outlets including Business Standard and Devdiscourse, which noted that the offer is contingent on a formal request from the Nepalese government. The gesture underscores the interconnectedness of the region and the importance of cross-border cooperation in times of crisis. For Nepal, the task ahead is daunting: to heal the wounds of recent violence, restore public trust, and lay the groundwork for free and fair elections next year.
As Nepal moves forward under Karki’s interim leadership, the country faces a moment of both peril and possibility. The recent protests have laid bare the frustrations and aspirations of a new generation, while the use of platforms like Discord has demonstrated the power—and the pitfalls—of digital democracy. The coming months will test the resilience of Nepal’s institutions and the capacity of its leaders to chart a path toward stability and renewal.
In the end, the story of Nepal’s Gen Z uprising and the rise of Sushila Karki is a vivid reminder that in the digital age, political change can come from the most unexpected places—and that the voices of ordinary citizens, amplified by technology, can reshape the fate of a nation.