The recent wave of youth-led protests across South Asia, particularly in Nepal, preceded by similar upheavals in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, characterized by increasing violence, looting, and vandalism is a wake-up call for other regional states. Gen Z’s spontaneous outburst against corrupt regimes, against authoritarianism, nepotism and brutal state repression has been fuelled by their frustrations about the non-performing regimes and their anxiety about a bleak future.
While some sections of civil society in South Asia and significant segments of international media have hailed these outbursts as fervent expressions of the revolutionary zeal of Gen Z, others have lamented the democracy deficit in South Asia, and unfortunate failure of post-colonial socio-political orders of the region to adequately respond to the ‘’revolution of rising expectations’, a concept popularised by Harlan Cleveland, an American social scientist who engaged in critiquing third world politics in the 1950s. Some optimists are of the view that this wave of Gen Z led protests would spread across South Asia as the Arab Spring rolled across the Arab world. The shift in the region would create new opportunities for collaboration, and emerging young leaders are likely to be more supportive of democracy, development, and cooperation.
Additionally, altering the status quo would lead to favourable outcomes, allowing South Asia to become more interconnected, prosperous, and peaceful. One finds the echo of Tagore’s thought in their proposition, ‘Ore nabin, ore amar kancha, adhmarader gha mere tui bancha’, (O young bloods, strike hard and bring to life the people in stupor). However, amidst this euphoric celebration of youth power, a point of contemplation would be how far such violent churnings are capable of ushering in a new era of equality, a new system of democratic and accountable governance? Unfortunately, history speaks otherwise. The watershed event in the history of human civilization, the French Revolution of 1789, led by the marginalised sections of society and the youth under the leadership of Maximilien Robespierre, soon turned into mayhem.
The Reign of Terror unleashed by them, mindless violence and summary execution of all suspected opponents of the Revolution and the resultant lawlessness and chaos paved the way for the emergence of Napoleon Bonaparte. Napoleon reversed the revolution and established the status quo ante, an authoritarian and repressive regime, a far cry from the dream of a new era based on lofty ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity. The Bolshevik Revolution or The Russian Revolution of 1917 was one of the most explosive political events of the 20th century. The violent revolution marked the end of the Romanov dynasty and centuries of Russian Imperial rule.
The revolution led to the establishment of the first socialist state on earth, the Soviet Union under the leadership of V. I. Lenin. However, the Dictatorship of Proletariat, which was established after mass massacre, soon turned into Dictatorship of the Communist Party, an authoritarian, repressive regime ultimately facing its demise in the 1990s with the collapse of the Soviet Union. The Socialist Revolution in China in 1949, under the leadership of Mao Ze Dong and the Cultural Revolution of 1966, again initiated by Mao, were witness to intense chaos and bloodshed but failed to usher in systemic changes.
Leaders leading violent uprisings, in most cases, turn up to be ruthless tyrants. Many illustrious political thinkers disagree with Mao’s exhortation that “Power flows from the Barrel of the Gun.” Gandhiji’s Non-violent Satyagraha turned out to be a much more potent force in putting moral pressure on the mighty British empire. Gandhiji and all his ardent followers like Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King understood the futility of violence as an effective force of socio-political transformation. As noted scholar Hannah Ardent has commented, violence can not create power, power can only emerge through negotiation among rulers and ruled and through concerted action among people.
A compact arrived at peacefully can alone be the foundation of a true democracy. In South Asia, political regimes have been non responsive to popular demands and expectations. The personality-centric power structure has naturally been subjected to the vicissitudes of changing perceptions of the ruler. Institutions like parliament, government and the judiciary have been weak and ineffective. Breakdown of effective political communication between the ruling elite and the mass has culminated in socio-political atrophy. Political violence, mindless destruction of public property, the rebuilding of which would further destabilize already weak economies, and gross human rights violations are indicative of the lack of political maturity of Gen Z.
The sparks of extremism and fundamentalism in the midst of violent uprising have tarnished the true revolutionary character of these upheavals. The trend of youth-led political movements started in January 2022, when disillusioned youth led a successful uprising against the Rajapaksa government in Sri Lanka and marked a significant change in the political system of the country. Following this, Gen Z led another successful movement, ousting the government of Sheikh Hasina and putting an interim government in place in Bangladesh. The protests started against the quota system in government jobs, then evolved into a broader movement demanding the resignation of the prime minister and the persecution of corrupt politicians, etc.
Gen Z led the massive demonstrations that swept across Nepal this year. The protests, which started in response to the government’s ban on social media, evolved into a massive political movement. After the severe crackdown on demonstrators, the resistance continued. Hence, the prime minister of Nepal fled. Though Gen Z have been successful in toppling regimes in Bangladesh and Nepal, they need to invest a lot of energy in rebuilding transparent, effective, accountable institutions of governance.
Free and fair elections, organisation like Ombudsman keeping a constant watch on government, effective interest aggregation and interest articulation of citizens by democratically formed political parties and pressure groups and institutions ensuring popular participation in governance right from the grassroots level are stupendous tasks in which Gen Z will be needed to use their agency. They need to remember that ‘eternal vigilance is the price of liberty’, and proactive citizens can alone ensure a stable democracy.
(The writer is Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, Kolkata)