States versus citizens

From Dhaka to Colombo to Kathmandu, youth-led uprisings are not just outbursts of anger, but deliberate responses to unemployment, inequality and systemic exclusion

- BY RASHED AL MAHMUD TITUMIR/Dhaka

The wave of people's uprisings across South Asia, overthrowing the regimes in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal, transcends simple explanations of economic crises or governance failures. These are not isolated events, but symptoms of deep-seated structural fault lines: chronic youth unemployment, systemic discrimination and a near-total lack of social protection have converged with oligarchic state capture, exposing a fundamental crisis of state-building in South Asia.

What defines these movements is their sense of purpose. Contrary to the persistent labelling of Gen Z as a “post-ideological” or “post-political” generation, they stand at the forefront, like their predecessors, articulating voices for change. Their mobilisation is reinforced by the massive participation of the working class, mired in a deepening cost-of-living crisis.

The cycle of popular uprisings demonstrates the resilience of people against unmet promises. In Nepal, there is a long history of Jana Andolan. The party-less panchayat system was opposed through major mass movement in the 1990s, and the country witnessed an armed rebellion led by the Maoists from 1996 until 2006. Despite becoming a republic, more than 13 governments have changed between 2008 and 2024, inflicting instability on the lives of ordinary people.

The Aragalaya represents a collective struggle for democratic renewal, accountability and a rejection of callous governance in Sri Lanka. The island nation is also haunted by memories of decades-long civil war. In Bangladesh, history is also marked by popular uprisings, notably, the uprising of 1969, leading to the eventual liberation war in 1971. In 1991, a dictatorship was toppled through mass uprising, and in 2024, an oligarchic regime, which bore no resemblance to an elected government, was overthrown.