The young revolutionaries who overthrew the government of Nepal are now choosing new leaders

A former DJ and his little-known Nepalese non-profit organized large-scale demonstrations and installed the nation’s new interim government through the usage of a social media app that is popular among video gamers.

In the deadliest political crisis to strike the Himalayan nation in decades, Sudan Gurung, the 36-year-old founder of Hami Nepal (We are Nepal), mobilized large-scale protests using Instagram and the messaging app Discord, forcing Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli to resign, according to a dozen protest participants.

They said that the group sent out calls to action that were seen by tens of thousands of youth and utilized virtual private networks (VPNs) to gain access to prohibited websites. Oli’s representatives were not available for comment.

“I received an invitation to join a Discord group with roughly 400 members. Karan Kulung Rai, an 18-year-old student who is not a member of the group, told Reuters, “It asked us to join the protest march a few kilometers from the parliament.”

Early Discord social media posts from Hami Nepal gained so much traction that national television mentioned them.

The organization also released hospital phone numbers and flagged messages it called “fake news” as protests turned violent.

Since then, Gurung and the group’s other leaders have become key players in high-stakes choices, such as choosing the new interim leadership until the March 5 elections, according to Hami Nepal members who asked not to be named because they had used proxy names online for security reasons.

According to three members of the organization, they have already persuaded the president and army chief of the nation to name former Chief Justice Sushila Karki, who is renowned for her strong anti-corruption stance, as Nepal’s first female prime minister in an acting capacity.

“I will ensure that the people hold the power and hold all dishonest politicians accountable,” Gurung declared during his first press appearance following Thursday’s demonstration.

According to Hami Nepal members, Gurung and his team met on Sunday to decide on important cabinet positions and were suggesting the removal of some government officials who had been selected by the previous administration.

“Karki and group members are still having meetings. One of the members stated, “We will soon finalize the cabinet.” Questions addressed to Karki’s and Gurung’s cell phones were not immediately answered.

The “process is being carefully carried out, so that it consists of skilled and capable youth,” said the Instagram post from Hami Nepal.

REVOLUTIONARY FROM DJ

Young adults’ protest on Monday, which was informally categorized as a “Gen Z” movement because the majority of the protesters were in their 20s, quickly overthrew the government and became deadly in a matter of hours.

Protests against alleged corruption in the government gained momentum after many social media platforms were banned, a decision that was later revoked. At least 72 people were killed and over 1,300 injured in street clashes between protesters and police.

Gurung and his staff, who are older than Gen Z, have pledged to participate in future decision-making rather than hold cabinet seats.

“Being politicians is not what we desire. Ronesh Pradhan, a 26-year-old volunteer for the group, stated, “Sudan Gurung was only helping the ‘Gen Z’ group and we are only the voice of the nation and not interested in taking leadership positions.”

Prior to founding Hami Nepal, Gurung worked as a DJ. He organized civic help during the COVID-19 pandemic and after the greatest earthquake in Nepal’s history killed over 9,000 people in 2015.

Alongside Gurung, the team members who manage the Instagram account—which now has over 160,000 followers—and Discord postings are law graduate Rehan Raj Dangal and café entrepreneur Ojaswi Raj Thapa, both of whom are 24 years old.

In an interview with Reuters, Thapa, who soon became a prominent leader of the protest movement, stated that the court lacked independence and that, after the interim government was established, protecting its independence was a top priority.

“We may need some changes to the constitution but we don’t want to dissolve the constitution,” he stated on Thursday.