Page 5 - The Indian EYE 091925

COVER STORY SEPTEMBER 19, 2025 | The Indian Eye 5

By September 12, the Ministry influence in South Asia, including its
of Health confirmed that 30 protes- investments in Bangladesh, adds an-
tors had died from gunshots and 21 other layer of challenge for India.
from burns and injuries. Among the Strategists also warn of potential
dead was an Indian national. “We security threats along the 4,000-km-
express our heartfelt condolences long porous border. “Unrest in Ban-
to all the youth who lost their lives gladesh always has spillover effects
during the protests and to the police in India’s northeastern states,” a for-
officers who lost their lives in the mer diplomat noted, pointing to past
line of duty,” said the parliamentary instances of refugee inflows and mili-
statement. tant movements.
Unlike previous movements, At a time when India is posi-
South Asia’s new uprisings are dig- tioning itself as a stabilizing power
itally born. In Nepal, the spark was in the Indo-Pacific, turmoil in its
the government’s decision to ban neighborhood, particularly under
major social media platforms, citing a government perceived as hostile,
cybersecurity and tax concerns. The could weaken its hand in regional
move backfired spectacularly. geopolitics.
“We had called for a peace- Nepal’s ousted Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli (left) and Sushila Karki who has been appointed
ful protest, but the political cadres as the interim Prime Minister of the country THE HUMAN COST
caused the arson,” said youth leader
Anil Baniya, who admitted that on- ed, “In this context, we are firm that government is surviving because of t Tribhuvan University Teach-
line surveys had been used to nomi- the rule of law and constitutionalism Gandhi’s ideology.” ing Hospital, bodies of 36 pro-
nate Karki as interim prime minister. should not be deviated from.” But in Every collapse in South Asia Atestors lay awaiting post-mor-
The very tools of protest organisa- the streets, many youths believe for- weakens India’s vision of regional tem on September 12. Families waited
tion — Instagram polls, TikTok vid- eign forces — and their own leaders stability. The unrest in Bangladesh outside, clutching photographs, some
eos, encrypted chat groups — were — have already corrupted the system. has emerged as a troubling concern wailing, others staring blankly at the
also spreading rumors and fueling For India, Nepal’s unrest is more for New Delhi, both in terms of re- morgue doors. For them, the politics
chaos faster than authorities could than a neighbour’s problem. Already, gional stability and its wider geopolit- of foreign conspiracies and social me-
respond. one Indian national has died in the ical stakes. India has long seen Ban- dia battles meant little — their chil-
Governments, caught between dren were gone.
censorship and chaos, often make protests. Cross-border trade and gladesh as a crucial neighbor in South This is the human cost of a larg-
security ties risk disruption. And in
Asia, sharing not just cultural ties but
matters worse. “The government’s New Delhi, opposition leaders are also strategic interests in trade, con- er pattern. In Colombo, protestors
ban on social media platforms… drawing dangerous parallels. nectivity, and security. However, the died in clashes even as they top-
triggered widespread protests since Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh rise of an anti-India regime in Dhaka pled a president. In Pakistan, Im-
September 8,” The Kathmandu Post Yadav warned the Election Commis- has complicated matters. ran Khan’s supporters clashed with
reported. For Gen Z, whose lives are sion that “attempts to commit vote Officials in New Delhi privately police, leaving casualties and a bro-
built online, such bans are seen not theft could lead to public unrest,” acknowledge that “the shift in power ken political order. In Bangladesh,
as security measures but as assaults adding that people could “take to in Bangladesh could embolden an- young men lost lives in street battles
on freedom itself. over voting rights.
the streets, just like what happened ti-India forces and upset the balance Across the region, democracy is
in our neighbouring countries.” Shiv we have carefully maintained in the
WHISPERS OF FOREIGN HANDS Sena leader Sanjay Raut was blunter: region.” With growing street protests, fraying not because people reject it,
“The fire in Nepal… could happen in violence, and instability, the possibil- but because they no longer believe
o South Asian protest is free India too. This spark comes to India ity of external players exploiting the it delivers. Youth leaders in Nepal
from conspiracy theories. emphasised that they do not want to
NIn Islamabad, Imran Khan then India is a big country… your situation is high. China’s increasing abolish the constitution but amend it
insisted his ouster was a “U.S.- “to reflect the will of the people.” As
backed conspiracy.” In Colombo, activist Ojashwi Raj Thapa warned,
citizens whispered about India and “Some party members think they can
China pulling the strings behind infiltrate and divide us. This blood-
closed doors. In Dhaka, Sheikh shed is your doing, the doing of old
Hasina accused Western NGOs of leaders. We don’t want violence. We
destabilisation. want the parliament dissolved, not
Nepal has now joined the cho- the constitution scrapped.”
rus. Political elites, rattled by the By nightfall in Kathmandu on
speed of the uprising, point to “out- Friday, as curfew orders echoed
side actors” who may be encouraging across radio stations, young pro-
youth mobilisation. Theories range testors still lingered in alleyways,
from Chinese infiltration to Western whispering plans, sharing memes,
democracy-promotion. livestreaming their defiance. Their
Such conspiracies serve both chosen leader — a 73-year-old for-
rulers and rebels. Governments use mer judge — stood as an unlikely
them to shift blame outward. Protes- symbol of their trust.
tors invoke them to dramatise their But their uprising is part of
struggle as resistance against imperi- something bigger: a regional rebel-
al puppetry. Either way, the result is Nepali Army soldiers guard outside presidential building “Shital Niwas”, following the deadly lion of the young against the old. It is
deepened mistrust. As the joint par- protests in Kathmandu (Reuters/ANI Photo) loud, chaotic, often violent, and dan-
liamentary statement in Nepal insist- gerously contagious.

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