- 11 months ago
Nepal continued to witness violent protests, triggered by a social media ban, on the second day with two people being killed and KP Sharma Oli resigning as the Prime Minister.
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00:0022 people have lost their lives over 300 injured the number rapidly growing by the hour hello
00:25and welcome I'm Sonal Mehrotra Kapoor this is five live we've been tracking from the
00:29past 48 hours the very volatile situation that is unfolding in Nepal it started by some social
00:36media companies and their apps etc being banned but now as it turns out as we are in day two of
00:44these protests that the situation is much deeper the escalation of events goes much deeper as well
00:51what exactly unfolded these protests that has now led to not just the resignation of the Prime Minister
00:57his residents set on fire the Parliament there set on fire as well what exactly happened in Nepal is
01:05this an uprising of sorts that's undertaking in Nepal as we speak this the time when Nepal come
01:12in on comes in its own and demands a new governance as well what next all these very critical questions
01:19we'll take a look at on the program today but let's first quickly tell you what exactly is the situation
01:25as we speak now amid the intensifying protest the Nepal Parliament building has been burned down
01:30and destroyed visuals here show the Parliament building was set ablaze by protesters also some
01:36drone footage has come out in the past 24 hours that shows a smoke rising from Kathmandu skies as
01:42unrest continues let's move on to that one as well that's the drone picture that shows you smoke that
01:49is rising in from the Nepal capital from multiple locations not just one let's move on to the next
01:55one where it talks about tensions escalating as Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli's private residence in
02:00Balcote has been set on fire by the protesters we have somebody who was right there when it happened
02:06and he'll join us on the program let's move on to the next one vandalism by protesters at Supreme Court
02:11as well at the Attorney General's office that has been caught on camera as well so multiple outfits
02:18it's not just the political class it's the judiciary as well and now some reports coming in of some media
02:23houses being burned down as well the next one let's take you to that as an outcome of everything that
02:30has happened in the past 48 hours KP Sharma Oli the Prime Minister has resigned and post that what you see on
02:38your screen right now is a celebratory March that is being held in the capital of Kathmandu
02:43all right so those are the big big five takeaways at the moment let's cut across to give you some live
02:55visuals as well like we said it started why it started because the news that first came in was
03:01that 26 social media platforms have been banned in Nepal they've been taken off on everybody's phone
03:09so we thought it was a Gen Z protest a Gen Z coming out to say don't take away our right to just be on
03:16social media platforms very quickly what became very clear was the fact that it was not Gen Z alone
03:23there has been an undercurrent of undercurrent of revolt that was brimming in the and boiling the
03:32blood of Nepalese questioning governance questioning corruption questioning joblessness as well all of
03:38that came together and the tipping point there became social media apps actually getting bad the result
03:46of that violent protests one that have taken away 22 lives and left over 350 people injured the number like I said
03:54escalating the worrying part at the moment is that despite the resignation of the Prime Minister which was the
04:02primary demand remember it all started yesterday if I could recap for you the Home Minister first resigned then the
04:09the Prime Minister today afternoon around three o'clock resigned as well but even then the protest did not stop
04:15it had gone so wild without a leader without a face guiding them that it spread across cities across not
04:24just politicians but spread to judiciary to media houses as well so that's of what you have at the moment
04:32Nepal is burning it's on a boil and they are not done just yet what will it take to bring back this
04:41country some form of order into this country now very interesting conversations have been happening what
04:48you see it's also cut across to the Hilton hotel in Kathmandu which has been set on fire the house and the car
04:55of Prakash one Singh was the deputy prime minister of of all the government set on fire as well Nepal
05:04protesters are as we speak holding a victory rally at the moment they feel they have won but perhaps the
05:12message is not gone all across that country because other parts of the country remain to be under unrest
05:21that's the visual on your screen that's the Hilton hotel in Kathmandu which has been set on fire now
05:30why why are people really doing this what we figured out so far is that people are angry when this entire
05:39Nepo kid hashtag actually took over and maybe we can move on to that part of the story while we wait for our
05:46reporters to actually come in what actually caused it you see that on your screen these are kids in
05:51school uniform these are parents who have all came out in protest all of them very upset with the way
06:01governance was done in Nepal and why it all started with the hashtag Nepal kids now what exactly is
06:10Nepal kids Nepal kids initially done as a satire on the political class of of Nepal who seemed to be
06:21going out enjoying all the luxuries but back home situation remained grim we'll get into we'll get into
06:29that Nepal kids hashtag in just a bit but let me cut across now to Amit Bharadwaj who's joining us live
06:34from Kathmandu Amit thank you so much for being here I firstly just want to find out if you're okay
06:42give us your location and tell us what exactly is the sentiment on ground as we speak
06:47volatile sonal it's volatile I don't know for a word which can explain it better than what I see right
06:59now on the streets of Kathmandu right now that's how these things are the pune the smoke that you see
07:07coming out that's in the bar the area where the government of Nepal was located it has been taken
07:12over and the jubilee now on the streets of Nepal are celebrating on their motorbikes are taking out
07:22victory matches on the putli salak which essentially took you to the power corridors of Nepal and that
07:29has been now completely taken over by these protesters for our viewers understanding will
07:34continuously keep on getting you the sense of things on the ground that's a traffic post which
07:40has been tumbled down there was an attempt to set it on fire obviously it's made of iron and steel the
07:46fire didn't go on for long there's another police barricade which has been tumbled down again an attempt
07:52to set it on fire or on the other side as well there's another I we can continuously hear you
08:00know last sounds coming promising the bar area so I would say in the last 10 minutes this is I think
08:08third or fourth blast sound which I have heard and we do not know as to what's happening on the other
08:15side but clearly we have been told not to move further towards that area as things aren't are
08:22pretty unpredictable at this point in time these are the younger I miss hold on when you say when
08:29you say blast sounds elaborate on that a little bit what do you mean blast sounds because as we
08:36understand victory rally has been taken out so the protesters know that the only government has fallen he
08:42has given in his resignation what are the protests still about well you know the blasts that I'm
08:52hearing is coming from the Singh Darbar area that could be the case of you know maybe the gas cylinders
09:00or something put inside the conflicts which are now because of the fire blasting on their own or
09:06something else we do not know what exactly is happening on that particular area the smoke has
09:12engulfed the entire stretch around Singh Darbar right now as far as the protest is concerned what we
09:19see is you know the protesters say that their intent is that there should be complete political
09:26transition transformation in the in and the state of Nepal and they are saying that you know all the
09:32political class be it the party in power that is the communist Marxist Leninist group or the Nepali
09:40Congress or those in the opposition for that matter Prachand who is the former Prime Minister of Nepal
09:47all of them at certain points in time have formed government with each other and that is why they want
09:53the complete ouster of the government and the political class number one number two the parliament
09:59must be dissolved that's the strongest sentiment at this point in time as we watch out for what's happening
10:05around me as well because you know we do not know how things are going to unfold from here on
10:12but what these protesters want and are demanding is that the parliament has to be dissolved
10:19the political class will have to give in to the genzies or the younger group the youth of the country
10:26and they have hope from leaders such as Balendra Shah who is an independent political leader
10:33there's another breaking news coming in just stay on with us more resignations is coming and wow this
10:39is the Nepal president Ram Chandra who has also resigned now Nepal as we speak has no president and no
10:49prime minister both of whom have resigned now uh what we are looking at Amit over here is an absolute takeover
11:00by the people they have not just taken over the streets of Nepal they have taken over the political
11:08leadership across the spectrum so now who is just help me understand this who's running the show
11:16when the prime minister and president both have resigned who's running the show
11:19literally nobody at this point in time no one it's the genzi crowd of Nepal which thinks they are in
11:31power in control but i think their sense will prevail by tomorrow morning and then the army will kick in
11:38and along with that balendra leaders such as balendra shah or balen shah who is popularly known in
11:43katmandu will be speaking to these genzi crowd who are roaming on the streets of katmandu right now
11:51and they are in a mode of celebration but possibly by the end of the day as the night chips in
11:57there could be a better sense that will prevail because even balendra shah has said that you know
12:02there's no point to damage the property here on because it's your own tax money which is going to
12:10fire which is being set ablaze so i believe and we can hope that better sense will prevail but the crowd
12:17have equal kind of participation from men and women from boys and girls and that too i've seen through
12:25the day uh sonal you know when i was standing in front of the parliament this morning uh what i could
12:30see was that a class 10 student was protesting there and right next to him was a uh you know somebody
12:36in his 20s who lost his younger brother yesterday and even then he was uh at in front of the parliament
12:43uh you could see how the smoke is still coming out of the singh darbar area which means that uh
12:50it's far from over but the uh marches victory matches continue all right amit stay on with us
12:57pankaj das is also joining us uh pankaj take us through up all right okay uh we'll try and connect
13:05that line we have four reporters in nepal tracking exactly minute to minute update for you but because
13:11of signals etc what's happening is that we're losing out connection with our reporters as well
13:18and also keeping ensure that they are safe there seems to be because this is a crowd that has gone
13:23wild this is a crowd that does not know where to stop this is a crowd which has had its way and
13:29an even in way of victory continues to destroy buildings government offices judiciary political
13:35party media houses anything that comes in their way so we don't know what next is going to happen but
13:42let's quickly bring in prashamba uh we've got a protester from uh katmandu actually joining us prashamsa
13:56i'm told is her name uh hi there please tell us where you are right now what's your location
14:02what exactly is happening and i firstly want to understand this you guys have had your way right
14:08you want to douche of the government the prime minister is gone the president is gone his practical
14:13entire cabinet is gone including some of the ministers who are injured what next to what
14:18end will the protesters take this okay hi i am in um frame right now i just um i just came from the
14:27protest where people are uh you know they're gathering um protesting against whatever is happening so uh to
14:35answer to your question what next uh we are figuring the way out uh we don't want this we don't want
14:41the control of the country to go to military we don't want the control of the country to go to some
14:45old politicians who have already uh exercised this power and abuse this power our main intention is to
14:51bring new pieces forward and our main intention is to bring people who think for the country forward
14:57yeah so what does that mean prashamsa help me understand this uh who is in charge we don't know at
15:04the moment because the president has handed his designation so has the prime minister uh from
15:09what i am understanding there is no one leader or one face uh around whom the young in the young and
15:17the restless in nepal have actually rallied themselves so who is it that you really want to see in power
15:23now or is there ambiguity over that we don't know okay so it's not real it's really not clear among us as well
15:31about who we want to see in the power because there are a lot of people that we have in mind there are
15:37a lot of people who are very uh selflessly doing for the country but then uh to and to give the exact
15:44answer about who we want there to leave the country it's really not clear because it's not just me it's
15:50the whole nation whole uh zenzi of the nepal that is protesting against the corruption so we really don't
15:57know we are yet to figure it out prashamsa can you tell me one thing when was the first time you heard
16:03about the protest what made you join the protest the first time i heard about the protest was uh on
16:10tiktok it was uh right after the social media ban people were already so so so frustrated with the
16:16corruption and everything that was going on and with the um with everything with the protests that were
16:21happening in indonesia and philippines uh we got uh we got to see the rise in indonesia and philippines
16:29so we thought why not in nepal because we are going through the same pain we have been going through
16:35so why not in nepal and that's when we started the trend of corrupt talk in in tiktok especially in
16:40tiktok and when all the crowd they just had access to tiktok so we all went on tiktok and we saw the trend
16:51happening left and then yeah all of this happening and with with us uh you know being able to see where
17:00our taxes money how how rampantly they were wasting our money taxes money and how corrupt the government
17:08was we were very frosty days so okay i also know that before tiktok there was this nepal kids
17:17hashtag that was going around yes that was a big conversation now rumor has it that it is to stop
17:24that conversation that the ban was put into place in the first place right is there any truth to that
17:31and when you say i also saw nepal kids being retweeted by people who want monarchy back in nepal is that
17:37something that the young sort of relate to no we as younger generation we don't relate to any monarch
17:44intention which we we don't relate to that we we have disowned that principle you know of monarchy
17:51uh yes the corrupt talk yes the nepal kid hashtag nepal kid was trending on tiktok and it was trending on
17:58insta as well and uh somehow we can we we exactly don't know why the social media was banned but we can kind of
18:05connect the dots because as soon as the the hashtag nepal kids was uh you know um trending
18:13suddenly all the social medias were banned so we we kind of can connect the dot but it has not been
18:19confirmed by the government itself okay uh my last question then really what i'm looking on screen right
18:26now looks like a horrid picture people are burning properties they've not spared hospitals parliament
18:33judiciary media houses nothing this is a crowd that has gone wild this is a crowd that does not know
18:40where to stop a lot of violence here also needs to be condemned don't you think yes yes yes i do think so
18:48uh while we protested against the corruption while we uh you know succeeded in that um there is also
18:55the feeling of sadness that we feel uh in some portion and we failed to control the crowd uh i feel
19:02like some kind of filter infiltration has happened because this is not us this was not what we intended
19:07this was not what we went there for uh it was uh it is personal view okay it is purely personal view that
19:15uh we saw some kind of infiltration uh in between because uh vandalism and you know uh targeting the
19:23parliament force that that is not what we intended that was not at all our intention that is not why we
19:29started uh the protest
19:38thank you so much for joining us there uh prashamsa there and we're talking about vandalism let's bring
19:43you some more news that has come in now more breaking news coming in updates from nepal as it
19:48continues to boil this is the former nepal pm jalanath's residence has been now set on fire his wife
19:57said to be critically injured the protesters set fire to the house while the former pm's wife was still
20:05inside she has sustained severe burn injuries and has been rushed to the kirtipur burn
20:13hospital now situation is getting grim by the hour and what you see now is a worrying worrying trend
20:22because this is the crowd this is violence blatant violence and now we are looking at injuries on the
20:30other side injuries to politicians and burn injuries to their families the situation really seems to be
20:41getting out of control here completely in nepal ashish shirvastabh now joins us live from katmandu
20:50ashish just take us to where you are exactly at the moment uh the sense we are picking up here is
20:56that despite the resignations of the president of the prime minister dono ke resignation
21:03protest
21:08i am
21:12There is a municipal corporation office which has been set on fire by the protesters here and you can understand that the protesters are here and they are just protesting against them.
21:27The protesters are here and they are just protesting against these comments and that's why this is an essential and protesters are here and they continue talking about the situation which has occurred here in Nepal.
21:54They pass this Lombani district and where this municipal corporation office which has totally ventilated and set on fire and this individual could be seen through this activity.
22:06So this individual can even understand the protesters are waiting then when this rain will go down and that's why they can start against this process.
22:17But this time, the visual could be seen in the municipal corporation office of the Lombani state and where the protesters are on fire.
22:32So the situation is very different here and the protesters still are fighting and they are still doing it.
22:41They see that Dumbans and now it's a raining fan and the people are still here and they are just waiting because they are just waiting.
22:51Dumbans and now you can name your name.
22:59The people are protesting and they are protesting here and the protesters are not going to back the house and they are just still here and they are waiting there and they don't know what they want to do.
23:10Even after this protest is going on here and the protesters are not going to back their house
23:16and they are just still here and they are waiting there and don't know what they want exactly
23:21because this time the minister's office, which I just want to show you,
23:26which is in Lumbani state and where I am standing on BP,
23:31so this kind of condition and the situation has occurred here.
23:35Over to you.
23:38Stay back here.
23:41All right, that was Ashish giving us some live update over there.
23:44So let's just take a pause here.
23:46We've seen a lot of visuals.
23:48We've seen a lot of updates also coming in the past half an hour to an hour.
23:53Let's quickly sort of go back and get a bird's eye view.
23:57Just at the moment as we speak, nobody, nobody seems to be in charge of what's happening in Nepal.
24:05There is no intervention taking place.
24:08In fact, the crowd has gone from just doing a victory parade to going down and burning even more.
24:14This crowd, this very angry, agitated crowd, perhaps for all the right reasons that they have behind them,
24:22who does not know where to stop and the vandalism, the burning, the injuries and now some casualties also could be underway because of these protests, not from the police, but from what the protesters are doing, setting houses of ministers with their families still inside on fire.
24:41Now, the situation is extremely tense, and we'll try and get you more updates into who is in charge.
24:48We don't know, but we'll try and get more updates on that.
24:51Meanwhile, let's also cut across to former Miss Nepal, Suresha Sreshta is her name.
24:58She joins us now live from one of the protest sites.
25:04Sureshta, thank you so much for being with us.
25:07I quickly want to first understand from you, where are you at the moment and what do you see around you?
25:12So, I'm in the Baneshwar area right now, midway between Baneshwar and Maitigar, and right now, all the administrative buildings, the government buildings, they are on fire, especially the parliament buildings, Singh Adarbar, they're on fire.
25:29Okay, so we'll try and put that full frame as well for you to see the location where she's at, and she can actually show you where she is and what exactly is happening.
25:38Request our producers to do that, but take us through what exactly is happening.
25:44Who are these people protesting?
25:46We keep going back to the hashtag of Nepo kids who are very angry about the way the government was being run, and only power, influence, and luxuries in the hands of the few.
25:56This is people reclaiming that. Is that correct to understand?
26:02I don't think this is a fight about monarchy or anything.
26:05This is rather a fight against corrupted system.
26:09We want directly elected PM and an interim government.
26:12That is the actual want from our country.
26:15It is an anti-corruption movement without any other vested interest towards monarchy, any other inclination towards monarchy.
26:22And, yeah, it might have started from a social media ban, but that was not the major issue.
26:26It was rather the corruption that has been going on and people are frustrated with it.
26:29The last straw was the social media ban where people felt their voices were oppressed, and that was the reason.
26:36All right, appreciate you doing that with us at the moment, and you are right when you say that this is not about the social media ban at all.
26:45But what will it take for situations to calm down now?
26:49As you know, the Prime Minister has resigned, the President has resigned.
26:52And has that information not reached the protesters?
26:55Well, I really hope that the Nepal army or the Metropolitan will come and take some action in regards to the chaos that's happening right now.
27:17Because I think people are still enraged, and the momentum is still going on because of that rage.
27:23But I highly condemn violence or any sort of vandalism.
27:27I do not support that.
27:28I'm somewhat out of the protest area already right now.
27:33But there are still people in the streets.
27:35Some are rejoicing, some are vandalizing, because, of course, it is also coming from the systemic oppression going on for years,
27:42and people are just venting out their frustration at this point.
27:44But because this is supposed to be a youth-led movement, a faceless, leaderless movement,
27:49I'm really hopeful that today's movement will be successful.
27:53And the success is not determined just by the resignation of the PM,
27:56but rather it is determined by what outcome this will bring in the nation,
28:00for the development of the nation, and what are the steps that are going to happen next.
28:03And our demands have been very clear.
28:05We want a directly elected PM and an interim government.
28:08It's a faceless, leaderless movement, you are saying, and you don't know when this will actually end.
28:16Well, that's a worrying, worrying sign.
28:19But, you know, you have such a powerful platform.
28:21You've traveled the world with your pageants.
28:24You have influence.
28:25What exactly do you want to say to people if they're watching any of this right now?
28:30Well, I believe that yesterday I had made a video which went pretty viral in regards to the international falling out
28:41because there was a severe violation of international human rights.
28:46And now, though our protection of the innocent 16, 18 and more lives that float across the country,
28:52it's still not been answered.
28:55Their souls can still not rest in peace until and unless the ones who violated these international human rights
29:04of shooting children who are in their school uniforms, dressed in school uniforms,
29:08near children, even minors, I think they should be held accountable.
29:12Resignation is not enough for us.
29:13I want to understand from you, you are Miss World, you are Miss Nepal, and you are there on the street.
29:25You are protesting as well.
29:28Tell us what prompted you to actually get there, what slogans did you raise,
29:33and what exactly is the end result of all of this?
29:36The slogan that I held was very much clear to the protest.
29:45It aligned with the protest, which was simply about anti-corruption, stop corruption.
29:51That was the banner I was holding.
29:54That was the slogan I was going by.
29:56And I believe all of our youths, we also stood by that,
30:00who came with pure intent for the protest,
30:02because there's a lot of false international claims going on that it is regarding the social media ban,
30:07but it was not the social media ban.
30:09It is the corruption that people are so frustrated with over the years,
30:13and that was the whole motive behind it.
30:15My phone broke down because we have been here in the protest side for quite some time.
30:18There have been attacks made on us from the police side,
30:21and we are here running here and there,
30:24so it's because of that, in that process, yeah.
30:28Miss Nepal, as we speak, is on the streets, protesting.
30:31Her phone has broken down.
30:33And she says that she's been protesting for the past two days.
30:36We'll continue to do so till the time justice is achieved.
30:39But who's defining justice here?
30:41No one really knows.
30:42But take us through, who do you think is this one person who can unite Nepal today?
30:49A Nepal which is so broken right now, so agitated, so angry, and ready to destroy things.
30:57Is there one leader, one person who can unite Nepal today?
31:01I think it's a pretty difficult question to ask right now
31:10because there are a lot of youth leaders, a lot of youth activists that we look up to.
31:18I've also mentioned before, one of such is our Commander Metropolitan Mayor, Balan Shah,
31:23that a lot of youth are looking up to right now.
31:25But I would still want to keep myself neutral in that.
31:28And I just want to say that we need to have a directly elected PM, whoever the majority supports.
31:34And the youth, at least the youth should come up.
31:36It should not be the same corrupted faces all the time.
31:39Youths who have education, who have the diligence,
31:42who have the willingness to do for the betterment of the country, they should step up.
31:47Suresha Shrestha there.
31:48Miss Nepal, very used to having makeup on her face,
31:52very used to be keeping very prim and proper, traveling the world.
31:56But today she's on the streets as well, asking and saying the same things
32:01that the youth of Nepal is actually asking for, demanding an end to a corrupt government.
32:07So thank you so much for joining us and take care of yourself.
32:10She was telling us that her phone also broke while there was a scuffle
32:14which happened with the police over there.
32:18But at the moment, there's no police on the streets.
32:20Clearly at the moment, it's a complete takeover of the people of Nepal
32:24in various of their institutions, including the houses of ministers,
32:27including the parliament, including the Supreme Court,
32:30and including media houses as well.
32:33Let's get some more voices now.
32:36Joining us next is Rose Kendall.
32:37She's a social media influencer, economist, and activist over there.
32:43Hi, Rose.
32:43Thank you so much for your time.
32:45At the moment, when you see these visuals of your country burning on a boil,
32:51I wonder what the sentiment is.
32:53Is it one of relief that you've had your way,
32:56or is there one of worry that people don't know where this will go,
33:00where this will end?
33:01There is definitely a sentiment of worry because watching the infrastructure break down,
33:09watching fire break down in different parts of Nepal is definitely a heartbreaking scenario.
33:15But it also gives us relief and a sign of hope because Gen Zs and young people
33:21came out on the streets yesterday as a peaceful protest against corruption.
33:25And our voices, although met with violence, was heard and ended up being heard by a lot.
33:33However, a lot of our requirements, a lot of what we have wanted from this protest have been given to us.
33:40Yet we are waiting on other things, such as an interim leader for our country.
33:47And the violence seems to be escalating, which is one of our biggest worries.
33:52We do not want this to happen.
33:53And so that particular thing is definitely worrisome.
33:57What's worrisome to me, Rose, at the moment is the fact that nobody knows who is the interim government.
34:04Nobody knows who will bring in peace.
34:07Nobody knows where this will end.
34:10This is an uprising of sorts, if one can call it.
34:13This is a uprising of the youth of Nepal.
34:16And you're right, there is hope in it.
34:18But clearly, this level of vandalism will not take you anywhere.
34:23Absolutely, you are right.
34:24This level of vandalism now, it definitely has to be stopped.
34:28We definitely need a leader to come out and put an end to all this.
34:32Although it's hard because there's a lot of people out on the streets.
34:37And we don't have a government right now.
34:39So it will be difficult to predict what's going to happen.
34:42And this is also a first time in the history of Nepal.
34:45And nothing like this has happened before.
34:48So it definitely, you know, this type of uprising and this potential of army taking over, this type of stuff hasn't happened in Nepal before, you know.
34:57So it's definitely very difficult to predict what's going to happen next.
35:01I do support and believe that we need to have a directly elected prime minister, just like my friend Sarisha said here.
35:07I think we need to focus on that.
35:09But how will that even happen?
35:11I want to go back a little bit, rewind a little bit, Rose here, because very hard to predict what's going to happen next.
35:18But I want to get down to the genesis of how it all started.
35:21Can you go back in time and perhaps tell me the first post, which was about this uprising that you saw?
35:28When was it?
35:29Whose handle was it from?
35:31I'm just trying to get a sense of who started this protest.
35:36Absolutely.
35:37I was I remember seeing a comment regarding this on my videos when I posted it on TikTok.
35:44At first, I thought it was one of those bad comments.
35:47However, I started seeing public influencers also speak about it.
35:52And then I thought to myself, oh, this is actually legitimate.
35:55There was a source.
35:56However, it's very difficult to figure out what the exact source of this was.
36:00I do know there is an organization called Hami Nepal.
36:03And we have a leader, Mr. Gurung, who stood up fiercely for the peaceful protest.
36:07And it gathered traction because people connected over the sentiment of frustration of seeing, you know, lack of capital expenditure being pushed, being directed towards infrastructure and other development that we need.
36:20But seeing the kids of, you know, the politicians living lavishly and yet gaslighting us into believing that, you know, that's their own money.
36:30But we have the we have the proof.
36:32People have the proof.
36:33People have the just the receipts, you know.
36:35So, yeah, that's how that's how it got traction.
36:38Rose, could you repeat that name once for me?
36:40The first leader you saw this comment on and the organization, if you could just repeat that.
36:44Yes, absolutely.
36:46The organization is called Hami Nepal.
36:48They have an Instagram page and the leader of that peaceful protest of the group is a social group.
36:57I believe his name is Sudhan Gurung.
36:59So it's Mr. Sudhan Gurung.
37:01You can definitely find his page on Instagram.
37:04All right.
37:05We'll definitely look into that.
37:07But also, Rose, as we sort of take this conversation forward, I want to understand from you.
37:11Currently, it looks like there was a peaceful protest that was called upon and then people just joined in and took over.
37:21And currently, that taking over, the boiling of anger has just gone wild to the degree that it's gone into a situation of self-harm.
37:31I'm just trying to understand what happens next.
37:35You're right, Nepal hasn't seen an uprising of this scale in its recent history.
37:41Absolutely.
37:44This type, this level of uprising is definitely worrisome.
37:48And we had planned a peaceful protest, but we were infiltrated by different political parties, even yesterday, that triggered police and that led to violence.
37:58There are allegations of it being pre-planned.
38:01However, there needs to be a proper investigation on that.
38:04But today, yes, it has been infiltrated by many more people who were angry at the government, and they have been vandalizing different properties.
38:13And we need to make an end to this.
38:15We have been, I myself have been sharing different videos, stories urging people to stop doing this.
38:22And our mayor and other public leaders have also spoken about stopping the vandalism and stopping using our excessive force.
38:32That's what we were protesting yesterday, and we're using excessive force today.
38:35We need to put an end to this.
38:37We would also really benefit from, you know, more awareness and everyone that can help us right now.
38:42All right, Ros, thank you so much for joining us and stay safe and good luck.
38:48Good luck to the country, because we don't know where this is going to go, but we'll be tracking all the updates right here on India today.
38:54Let's cut across to some more guests now.
38:56Darshan Pranjuli, he's an activist in Kathmandu.
39:00He joins us live now.
39:02Darshan, where are you exactly?
39:04What is happening?
39:05Why haven't people stopped with the vandalism, despite having got everything that they wanted?
39:14Yeah, because the situation is out of control and there is no leader.
39:19And everyone is calling out for Balen, but I think the Nepal army chief also, you know, have established a statement calling,
39:29like they would help in this transition of power.
39:33Or, so there are, I mean, the Banesur area, there are people in the streets roaming around with waving flags that have won the war.
39:42But still, there is a lot of vandalism that's going on.
39:45They are targeting individuals and other people's house as well.
39:49So the situation is out of control, but I'm safe.
39:54I just, just five minutes ago, I was just in front of, you know, parliament's building, it's on fire.
40:03And I mean, everybody of, you all know that what happened with all the leaders that, that were, you know, were beaten, like brutally.
40:13That was not supposed to be happening, I think.
40:15But it's a, I mean, nobody controlled it, right?
40:18So there was no leader, so these incidents took place.
40:23Darshan, do you see, do you think you have anybody, one person, one leader, one face or one organization in mind who has the potential to unite Nepal today?
40:35Does somebody like that, is there somebody on the top of the minds of the people?
40:40That everyone is counting for Balen Saha, you know, the mayor of Kathmandu, Kathmandu metropolitan city, the former rapper, is what Genji and, you know, especially people who are now vandalizing these properties could listen to.
41:05But I don't know how, how it's going to be controlled because, you know, army, I mean, if you look at the South Asian region and this kind of situations, if you look at the recent, you know, example of Bangladesh, then for some time, at least two, three days, you know, Nepal army can, you know, help in this transition.
41:24And also the, the demand is that the directly elected president for this transition government, maybe Balen could be the one.
41:34That's only I can say for now.
41:37So, Darshan, thank you so much for joining us.
41:40Let's cut across to some more updates coming in from Nepal.
41:43This is a protest, of course, that has turned into a massive chaos.
41:47Nightmarish scenes have been seen on Nepal streets.
41:50Former Prime Minister's skin has been targeted by the mob.
41:52Now, the former Prime Minister also left in a dioba, who has been left in a bloody mess.
42:00Former PM, Kaplan's wife, has suffered burn injuries.
42:05And what exactly is happening, we don't know.
42:08This is a massive uprising of sorts, which is soon, and I use that word carefully now, could be turning into an anarchy in the name of a revolution, in the name of protest.
42:20This is a protest, which seems leaderless, faceless, lots of actors have jumped in.
42:28But what exactly is happening, what's going to happen next, is anybody's guess really.
42:33We still don't have one single voice that has called for calm.
42:37We don't have one single voice, which has said that they are trying to make peace, or trying to bring in peace in the country.
42:48As we speak, the Prime Minister, the President, most of the Cabinet have resigned.
42:55Some of them have faced severe injuries.
42:58The kin of some of the ministers have got burnt injuries because their homes were burnt out.
43:05What you see is just the tip of the iceberg, just what we have managed to report so far.
43:10All right, so those were all the live updates.
43:17Let's sort of zoom out a little bit from the situation and tell you what happened.
43:24What happened that led to this revolution, this uprising?
43:28It isn't just a sweeping social media ban that led to Nepal's youth taking to the streets.
43:33Anger over systemic corruption and privilege for the political NEPO kids, that hashtag, remember I told you about,
43:40was brewing and ultimately culminated into an unrest.
43:44Over the past few days, videos with hashtags such as NEPO kids, NEPO babies, politicians, NEPO baby, Nepal have flooded social media.
43:55Users have raised questions over whether politicians' children succeed because of privilege rather than hard work.
44:05One placard that you will see on your screen also carried by the posters read that the leader's children return from abroad with Gucci bags while the people's children return in coffins.
44:18This comes against the backdrop of the economic struggle and widespread poverty and unemployment across the country.
44:24Youth unemployment is at its peak, 19.2% amongst those aged 15 to 29.
44:32This has forced, had forced actually, many young Nepalis to take risky jobs, including fighting as missionaries in the Ukraine-Russia conflict.
44:41Nepalis on social media have now contrasted this extravagant lifestyle of the politicians' children with the daily hardships faced by ordinary people.
44:53Those singled out include the families of the Prime Minister, Oli, of former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Dehobar and Pushpa Kamal Dehel as well, Prachanda as he is known as.
45:03Now, protesters have also accused, you're seeing some of those videos on your screen right now,
45:07protesters have also accused the political NEPO kids of enjoying benefits from corrupt, wealthy families,
45:14linking it to the wider anti-corruption anger driving the movement.
45:19The NEPO kid, NEPO baby campaign has trended on TikTok and Reddit over the weekend and struck a chord with Nepal's youth as well.
45:28Let me take a pause now and let you take a glimpse of some of these videos that started the unrest in Nepal.
45:36What are you doing today?
45:37You're a very good guy.
45:38What are you doing today?
45:39Daddy.
45:40I'm going to be a good guy.
45:41Daddy.
45:42Hayat?
45:43Hayat Ma.
45:44Suntha, you pay five percent tax.
45:47Ok.
45:48Thank you daddy.
45:49Come.
45:50Hey dad.
45:51My applause to where you are and I want to go to Harvard.
45:54Harvard.
45:55Suntha, you pay agricultural tax.
45:59You pay for $100.
46:01You pay for $100.
46:03I don't want to go to Harvard.
46:06You pay for your friends.
46:07No problem.
46:08Dad, I don't want to go to Nepal.
46:09I want to go to Pakistan.
46:10Dad, I want to go to Pakistan.
46:11Dad, I want to go to Pakistan.
46:12What are you doing today?
46:13Where are you from?
46:14Vietnam, Bali, Thailand, where are you from?
46:15Where do you come from?
46:16Listen.
46:17I'm going to get a ticket and ticket.
46:19Yes.
46:20Enjoy.
46:21Thank you dad.
46:23Dad.
46:24I'm going to make a business plan.
46:26You're a good guy.
46:27I'm going to work for 10 years.
46:28I'm going to work for a couple of dollars.
46:30$120.
46:31What are you talking about?
46:32What businessmen are you talking about?
46:33Listen.
46:34You don't have to worry about your budget.
46:36You don't have to worry about your budget.
46:39Okay, sir.
46:40Okay, dad.
46:41Dad, dad, dad.
46:42I'm going to be viral in social media.
46:44Viral?
46:45Yeah.
46:46What are you talking about, sir?
46:47No, no.
46:48Dad.
46:49Yeah.
46:50How are you talking about your dad?
46:52Ha ha ha ha.
46:54Social media.
46:57So that's how it started.
46:59These videos went viral, which led to people getting even angrier.
47:03And many say these videos were the reason behind the ban first.
47:07That was just the tip of the iceberg.
47:09Perhaps the nail in the coffin, which really got people out on the streets
47:13and really, you know, opened the floodgates for everybody to come out and protest as well.
47:18Let's cut across to some more live images.
47:20This time we have an eyewitness.
47:22Narendra Role is his name.
47:24He's joining us from right outside the residence of now the former Prime Minister, Mr. Aulis.
47:31This is in Bhaktapur in Nepal.
47:33Narendra, take us through where exactly you are and what do you see around you?
47:37So, I am in front of the K.P. Sarma Ovi house.
47:45This is a prime minister, the former prime minister, K.P. Sarma Ovi house.
47:51Balfour Bhaktapur.
47:52He is a private house.
47:55I am in front of K.P. Sarma Ovi house.
48:00Which is burning.
48:01Which is burning.
48:02Which is burning.
48:03I am in Bhaktapur.
48:05Bhaktapur.
48:06Which is K.P. Sarma Ovi.
48:07Iron house.
48:08His private house.
48:09Now, his house is burning.
48:11So, Narendra, who are these people that are burning the house of Mr. Auli?
48:17Are they from a particular outfit?
48:19Are they from a particular background?
48:21Any organization?
48:22Can you tell us more about who they are?
48:29I think mostly the people are, they are not voters of any political party.
48:36They are student.
48:37They are independent people.
48:40They are against the government and they are irritated with this government.
48:45They are shouting against K.P. Sarma Ovi.
48:50And they are against corruption and the lifestyle of political leader and their son.
48:59And what do they want, Narendra?
49:01If you could translate some of those slogans for us.
49:04What do they want?
49:05They've got the resignation.
49:06The government is practically out.
49:08The president is also out.
49:10What is it that they want now?
49:12Now, the agenda is changed.
49:15At first, the protesters have limited demand.
49:21And then later, they started the demand, the resignation of this Prime Minister.
49:28And now, they want to make independent another government.
49:34A new system.
49:35They want to abolish corruption from Nepal.
49:39Another government, but whose government?
49:42Do they have any idea about who they want to see in power?
49:46There were some protesters and the hashtags had some pro-monarchy voices also there.
49:51Is that what they are demanding?
49:54No, no.
49:55The whole few people are in favor of a monarchy.
50:00And there must be majority people.
50:03They don't like a monarchy.
50:06There is no monarchy.
50:10There is a new government made by an independently made government.
50:17All right, Narendra, if you could also just go inside and give us a live visual of what it's looking like.
50:25What does the house of the former Prime Minister now, Mr. Oli, look like?
50:30And who are these people?
50:32What exactly are they doing?
50:33What are the slogans like?
50:34Could you just move in a little bit to see?
50:36Okay, okay, just move in, move in.
50:43This is okay?
50:45This is okay?
50:58You can see?
50:59Yes, Narendra.
51:00What are they saying?
51:01What are the slogans?
51:02Can you translate that?
51:03Can you translate those chants for us Narendra?
51:25What exactly are they saying?
51:27What exactly are they saying?
51:37What exactly are they saying?
51:41What exactly are they saying?
51:45What exactly are they saying?
51:55What exactly are they saying?
51:59What exactly are they saying?
52:09You know, the Kepiolim Empire is in, we say Kepiolim Empire is in, people are saying Kepiolim Empire is in, so we can sit down at the house here it's running.
52:30We went, they are fighting, they are fighting, they are fighting, they want justice, right?
52:4319 people in the country, in that one day yesterday.
52:50And he's saying, and he's saying in the family.
52:56No predictions, no predictions, this is a very hard question, the situation, this situation is going worse in Pakistan and it cannot predict how long it's going.
53:14Nepal is burning, there is a massive unrest there and there seems to be no end to it.
53:19This is a faceless and perhaps a nameless protest and an unrest that has taken over.
53:25We don't know where this will go but stay tuned to India today, we'll try and get to the bottom of it.
53:30Thanks so much.
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