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By Md Rubaiyath Sarwar

As I write this, the students in Nepal have stormed the parliament premises. According to the BBC, 13 protesters have been killed; Al Jazeera puts the death toll at 14.

It has only been 12 hours since the protest began early on Monday. Nepal’s government gave a timeline to social media sites like Facebook, Whatsapp, Instagram, Linkedin, and Youtube to register with the government. The deadline was September 3. By September 4, TikTok, Viber, WeTalk registered. The government announced banning Facebook and the non-compliant lot on September 4.

Nepal’s government claims that the fake profiles are causing challenges for good governance.  They are obstructing social cohesion. Earlier, there were protests in Nepal when a TikTok video showed the lavish lifestyles of the children of the Nepalese politicians. The video was inspired by a similar video from the Philippines. Protesters in Nepal said they are inspired by the 2024 revolution in Bangladesh and the 2022 revolution in Sri Lanka.

Earlier, protests started in Indonesia on August 25, 2025 in Jakarta. The outrage was caused by the decision to provide a monthly housing allowance of approximately $3075 to the lawmakers. For context, it is around 10 times the minimum wage in Indonesia and around 30 times the minimum wage in Bangladesh. I will explain later why I am referring to the minimum wage in Bangladesh as well.

The Indonesia protests have spread across 32 out of 38 provinces in Indonesia. Major cities like Medan, Surabaya, Bandung, Yogyakarta, Makassar, and Jakarta have observed severe protests, especially from students, workers, and other activists. So far there have been seven deaths. A photo showing a protester facing the police with his hands spread out has gained popular interest in Bangladesh because of its similarity to the iconic image of Abu Sayed, one of the early victims of the July revolution in Bangladesh in 2024.

I was in Jakarta right before the fall of the regime in Bangladesh on August 5, 2024. There was a deep interest among my colleagues to learn about the unfolding situation in Bangladesh. I wrote before in this column, how my colleagues in Tanzania and Uganda have been deeply interested in the revolution in Bangladesh as well.

So, what do we learn from all these protests happening and the Gen Z leading the protests? Why are we seeing so many of them now? Do we forecast to see more such in the coming years? What does this mean for the world order?

Among the South Asia and Southeast Asian countries, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Nepal, and Thailand have regularly observed student-led protests in the last 10-15 years. Before the 2024 revolution, Bangladesh observed another round of protests in 2018 as students came to the streets to call for safe roads. In 2016 in India, there was a sedition case on Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) that sparked nationwide student protests against authoritarianisms and curb on free speech. Again, in India, students led protests across the country against the Citizenship Amendment act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC).

In Indonesia, students protested against proposed changes to the Corruption Eradication Commission law and revisions to the criminal code in 2019. In 2015 in Nepal, students protested against the new constitution. They demanded greater inclusion of marginalized communities. In Thailand, students led protests under the Free-Youth Movement in 2020-2021. They called for the resignation of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha, a new constitution and reforms to the monarchy. In 2022, students in Thailand also protested against the government’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic and economic issues.

As you can observe, there are recurring themes in these protests — students and the youth are standing for free speech, inclusion, and constitutional reform. They are standing against corruption and inequality. They are protesting for economic reforms.

All these countries are affected by poor governance and high rates of corruption. Social media has given the youth a higher power and a vantage point to share their views, to share news, and to protest when justice and governance fail. The governments are afraid of this power of the masses. They thus want to curb the power by putting leashes on what can be shared and what cannot be shared.

In my view, we are currently in stage one of Gen Z revolutions. We will observe more such protests in these countries as the politicians and the masses represented by the students try to break the knot on the level of the tolerance that either party is willing to accept. It will not entirely go in favour of the students or the masses. However, the people in power and influence will become increasingly mindful and show measures of tolerance.

This stage will last at least for a term in the respective countries within which people in power and influence will try to establish a new order to be in the vantage point of control. And this will trigger stage two which might even be more violent. This period of tension might last for a couple of years as countries work towards building new orders. If the countries pass this test, we will enter stage three which I expect to be of peace and growth supported by economic reform.

In economics, we have a recurring pattern of fluctuations — expansion is followed by contraction; contraction lays the foundation for expansion. Similarly, peaceful times and economic growth breed the corrupt, especially in ill-regulated countries. The corrupt exploit the growth. This eventually reaches a point when public tolerance is tested. People erupt in protests. The corrupt fall. The new order begins with hope but only for the cycle to repeat.

In this cycle, the Gen X and Boomers are in the power positions while the Gen Zs and part of the millennials have found themselves on the receiving end of the corruption and power game. It is thus not by chance or accident that the Gen Zs are leading the protests. It is by design. My only hope here is that the Gen Zs remember the principles that they fought for so that when they are in the position of power, the Gen Alphas will not have to take to the streets. 

Md Rubaiyath Sarwar is Managing Director, Innovision Consulting.

Dhaka Tribune