Hoax Of Geopolitics In Nepal

Nepal now stands at a historical election cycle. Most likely, elections will lend legitimacy to the Gen Z revolt that sought a transformation of Nepali society through the effective intervention of youth in the organs of the state. As the tempo of the election is increasing, the contradictory narratives on the Gen Z revolt and the upcoming polls have also come to the fore with similar force. One is the conspiracy theory concocted with geopolitical elements. The term ‘geopolitics’ has been distorted to the extent that it has been depicted as a dangerous bogeyman to scare the populace and malign the spontaneous youth uprising.

A section of so-called intellectuals even argues that the youth movement and the upcoming polls are ‘scripted games’ under the guidance of foreign hands. Anyone who register his/her disagreement with their arguments is labelled as 'ignorant' of the situation. The self-proclaimed conspiracy theorists can't offer their evidence-based logic in a coherent manner. They insist on abstract, mysterious and rumour-driven gossip to justify their views. When the politicians feel threatened, they instantly point the finger at geopolitics to hide their own incompetence, irregularities, betrayals and the shoddy past.

Conspiracy theory 

The conspiracy theories often come from left-leaning political leaders and analysts. However, this time, even some Nepali Congress stalwarts, considered pro-West, have resorted to the conspiracy theory to defend their weakened position. Following the Special Convention that was organised at the initiative of its two former general secretaries – Gagan Thapa and Bishwo Prakash Sharma -, Dr. Shekhar Koirala saw foreign hands behind it. It was the same convention representatives who elected Sher Bahadur Deuba as president four years ago, with 60 per cent of the votes. Now, over 54 per cent of them picked Gagan as the new party head in new circumstances triggered by the Gen Z revolt. Did these delegates choose Gagan at the beck and call of foreign powers? Were they nationalists four years ago?  

Compared to the past revolutions of Nepal, the Gen Z movement was most organic. It is now obvious that foreign countries or their leaders had a direct or indirect role in those movements. Indo-West backing and influence were crucial in making them successful. In the run-up to the 1990 People’s Movement, Indian leaders came to encourage Nepal’s banned political parties against the party-less Panchayat. This movement was launched by putting the then regime in soup through the Indian blockade. 

Six years later, the country was rocked by the Maoist insurgency. The subsequent developments disclosed that the then Indian establishment/intelligence agencies threw support behind the insurgency. Former Indian president Pranab Mukherjee had admitted that his country facilitated the 12-point agreement to bring the then parliamentary parties and the CPN-Maoist together against the dictatorial monarchy. Based on this understanding, the second janaandolan was conceived and orchestrated.

Prior to the Gen Zen movement, we had not noticed foreign nations or leaders inspiring youths for the street protests. In the aftermath of the two-day devastating movement, the Nepali Army took the initiative to hold negotiations with various Gen Z youths. The final deal was struck at the Office of the President at Shital Niwas, with the appointment of Sushila Karki to head the interim government assigned to conduct the polls on March 5. Were there any foreign leaders or diplomats directly or indirectly involved in these tricky talks during the crunch hours? Perhaps not. 

Conspiracy theorists talk about the penetration of deep states and NGOs/INGOs in the Gen Z movement. If one minutely analyses the national and international political trends, there appear to be no substantial grounds to claim that the West was behind the youth uprising. With the second term of Donald Trump in White House, the USAID has been dismantled. The US aid agency has been accused of funding the rights-based NGOs that play a deep state role and get involved in regime changes. But this occurs when the governments challenge the ‘core interest’ of the donor nations. 

In Nepal, such a situation has not emerged. The government of Nepal is smoothly implementing the US-funded Millennium Challenge Corporation project. Moreover, former prime minister KP Sharma Oli, whose government was overthrown by the Gen Z movement, has been a strong supporter of MCC from the outset. Quite the contrary, no single development project under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has been implemented here due to the opposition of the Nepali Congress. Similarly, no communist-led government has dared to execute economic projects proposed by the Russian Federation for fear of Western backlash. There was no need for the West to remove the NC-UML coalition government. 

In the course of proving foreign hands in the Gen Z movement, the name of Barbara Foundation has also been emphatically raised. Its founder, Barbara Adams, would roll over in her grave if she knew how she was badly linked to the youth uprising. A jilted beloved of a powerful royal family member, Barbara had found solace in the Nepali left circle. The palace had refused to provide her citizenship to deprive her of inheritance. The then home minister Bam Dev Gautam, who was also a senior leader of UML, had granted her citizenship in 2065 B.S. 

Sudden outburst 

On his Facebook page dated January 5, 2026, Kishor Shrestha, chief editor of Janaastha, shared that it was a rare moment of joy when Barbara received Nepali citizenship. She was a columnist in the vey left-leaning Nepali weekly. In the height of hypocritical posture, conspiracy theorists as well as communist functionaries are dismissing the late American woman, who was promoted by none other than left parties, as a foreign intelligence spy. 

The Gen Z revolt was a sudden outburst against misrule, corruption, political syndicate and highhandedness of the rulers. The large-scale destruction of September 9 might not have taken place if scores of youths had not been brutally shot dead on September 8. It is sheer intellectual poverty to see the young people, who were like their own sons and daughters, as foreign mercenaries. The so-called analysts should stop appealing to the false spectre of geopolitics to paper over the malfeasance of old guards. In a country where the sitting and would-be prime minister are allegedly involved in ‘selling’ their own citizens for their pecuniary gains, there will be no feast but an uprising that would not only sweep them away but also instill a new hope and trust among the citizenry.

(The author is Deputy Executive Editor of this daily.)