Against, yes, but for whom?

"Discord" is the social-media platform Nepal's newest political group, GenZ, is currently using to hold consultations.

- ADITI PHADNIS

Nothing could be more apt.

The paroxysm of rage that lasted 40-odd hours and spilled out countrywide earlier this week has led to the destruction of property to which no value can be put. Singha Durbar, the soaring edifice built in Baroque style in Kathmandu, for instance, was constructed in 1908 as a private residence, later repurposed as the secretariat and the Prime Minister's office. Today, it lies virtually gutted. So do the Supreme Court; most of the Nepal Parliament; offices of chief development officers in many of Nepal's 77 districts; private businesses like Bhat Bhateni, Nepal's only organised retail business; the Hilton hotel; and the residences of half a dozen ministers and other structures. More than 20 are dead, the youngest among them a 13-year-old.

Nepal is mourning. Yet exultant. The destruction and killing might have continued. The reason for the suddenness with which it stopped lies in Nepal's political economy. The median age of this country is 25. Agriculture employs 68 per cent of the population. Young people can rebel, sure. But then there are goats and cows to be tended, fields to be watered, bhatta (soybean) and makai (corn) to be graded and sorted...