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Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak resigned late Monday, citing moral responsibility, and the subsequent resignation of Oli on Tuesday confirmed that the protests had achieved a historic political breakthrough.

Witnesses reported that protesters defied curfews, set fire to tyres and municipal offices, and even targeted the homes of politicians. The intensity of civic mobilization not only forced political resignations but also signaled a shift in the balance of power between the governed and the governing in South Asia.

Nepal's political instability is not new. Since the abolition of the monarchy in 2008, the country has experienced thirteen governments, often revolving among the same three figures: Oli, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, and Sher Bahadur Deuba.

Despite coalition agreements and promises of reform, public disillusionment has steadily grown, fueled by bureaucratic inefficiency, stalled constitutional amendments, and persistent corruption.

Yet the Gen Z protests demonstrated that citizen engagement, particularly when digitally enabled can rapidly challenge entrenched systems, forcing even the most established leaders to yield.

The significance of these protests extends beyond Nepal. Regional observers note parallels with Bangladesh, where public dissatisfaction similarly influenced political outcomes earlier this year under Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

In both cases, large-scale civic mobilizations, whether in response to governance failures, corruption or digital censorship, illustrate a growing trend in South Asia: the capacity of citizens, particularly youth, to exert tangible influence on national leadership.

In Bangladesh, grassroots movements forced the government to recalibrate policies and approach dissent with more responsiveness, demonstrating that even established governments are not immune to the collective power of the populace. Nepal's resignation of PM Oli underscores this evolving dynamic, revealing that digital activism and public pressure can no longer be underestimated as instruments of political accountability.

Human rights organizations, including the UNHRC and Amnesty International, condemned the violent suppression of protesters, emphasizing that both Nepal's constitution and international law protect the right to peaceful assembly.

Yet critics have long argued that national institutions, including the National Human Rights Commission, lack the authority or political will to enforce accountability effectively. The September 8 protests, therefore, represent a convergence of civic agency, social media mobilization, and international scrutiny, creating conditions that made the Prime Minister's resignation inevitable.

Nepal's Gen Z protests are emblematic of a broader generational demand for transparency and accountability in governance. In contrast to older protest movements, which often relied on labor unions or traditional party structures, this wave harnessed digital platforms to organize, communicate, and document abuses.

The success of these protests in compelling leadership change highlights a critical shift: in an era of instant information and transnational awareness, governments can no longer operate with impunity, and citizen power has become a decisive factor in shaping political trajectories.