The past three years have seen South Asia rocked by political turmoil. From Afghanistan’s Taliban takeover in 2021 to Imran Khan’s ouster in Pakistan , from Sri Lanka ’s street-led removal of Gotabaya Rajapaksa in 2022 to the mass protests that forced Sheikh Hasina to flee Bangladesh in 2024, abrupt regime changes have become a familiar sight. On Tuesday, Nepal joined this list.
Thousands of mostly young protesters flooded Kathmandu’s streets, furious over a government social media ban and decades of corruption. Within hours, Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli had resigned, capping another chapter in the region’s cycle of public rage toppling entrenched elites.
Also read: Is Nepal unrest organic or ‘deep state’ regime change? Decoding Oli's ouster
The parallels with Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are hard to miss: students leading protests, governments faltering under pressure, and unelected or temporary administrations stepping into the void. Yet while the grievances are clear unemployment, corruption, inequality the solutions remain elusive.
Nepal erupts: Gen Z topples Oli
Nepal’s sudden upheaval was triggered by Oli’s decision to block major social media platforms, including Facebook, X and YouTube, under a new law requiring tech firms to register locally. What began as anger over censorship quickly expanded into wider frustration at corruption, inequality and unemployment.
With youth joblessness near 20% and thousands leaving daily to work abroad, protesters pointed to the lavish lifestyles of politicians’ children “nepo kids” as evidence of a system stacked against them. Their fury soon engulfed Kathmandu: the parliament, presidential palace and ministers’ homes were torched, while videos showed senior leaders beaten in the streets.
By Tuesday, at least 19 people were dead, jails were attacked, and even Nepal’s biggest media outlet, Kantipur, had been set ablaze. Oli reversed the social media ban, but the concession did little. Under pressure, he quit, though he remains in charge of a caretaker government.
Bangladesh: Students oust Sheikh Hasina
Nepal’s youth-driven protests recall last year’s uprising in Bangladesh. There too, students were the spark. Anger over a quota system that reserved most civil service jobs away from merit-based applicants snowballed into nationwide demonstrations against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
By August 2024, more than 300 people had died. Hasina fled to India as protesters defied curfews and stormed her residence. Army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman announced an interim administration, while opposition leader Khaleda Zia was released from prison.
Muhammad Yunus, the country's interim leader, on the one year anniversary of Hasina's ouster announced that elections will take in February 2026.
Sri Lanka: From Rajapaksa to Dissanayake
Two years before Bangladesh, Sri Lanka witnessed the first great wave of popular revolt.
In mid-July 2022, months of economic collapse triggered a frenzy of protests in the Island nation of Sri Lanka. Demonstrators stormed the president’s home, office and the prime minister’s residence. Soon, they occupied government buildings, lounge-style on sofas and beds, and took selfies amid the opulent surroundings.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country, and late by some accounts, only resigned via email a day after protesters demanded it. That delay, and his elevation of his prime minister to acting leader, infuriated the crowds. Protesters demanded the removal of both men and the formation of a unity government to tackle economic collapse. The slow, chaotic resignation only deepened the crisis. Indunil Yapa, an aide to the parliamentary speaker, confirmed Rajapaksa’s emailed resignationthough it needed verification, and official announcements were delayed .
Pakistan: Khan’s ouster and ongoing unrest
Unlike Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, Pakistan’s regime change came through parliamentary manoeuvring. In April 2022, Prime Minister Imran Khan lost a no-confidnce vote after falling out with the powerful military. His arrest in 2023 on corruption charges unleashed violent protests, but repression has since weakened his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party.
Meanwhile, Pakistan faces soaring inflation, debt tied to Chinese loans, and worsening relations with India after cross-border terror attacks. The IMF has offered bailouts, but reforms have only deepened public discontent. For now, instability remains entrenched.
Afghanistan: Taliban return reshapes region
Afghanistan’s upheaval was bloodier still. In August 2021, the Taliban swept into Kabul after the US withdrawal, ousting President Ashraf Ghani. Since then, they have tightened their grip on power excluding women and girls from public life, silencing dissent, and receiving formal recognition from Russia, a UN Security Council member.
They govern through strict decrees, but Afghan people face challenges: Climate change, population growth, and a sharp drop in foreign aidthat cannot be addressed by ideology alone.
Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, based in Kandahar, has enshrined Islamic law at the centre of Taliban rule. In June, he declared, “It was obligatory to follow the leadership’s commands and directives.” His supporters, including the higher education minister, claim religious authority, even equating criticism of him with blasphemy.
Internal divisions persist but have been largely subdued. Dissenters like Sher Abbas Stanikzai, who questioned the ban on girls’ education, have been sidelined. “He’s made himself indispensable, and the entire movement is beholden to him,” said analyst Ibraheem Bahiss.
Women remain marginalised. Protests have been crushed, though quiet resistance simmers. “The absence of visible protest should not be mistaken for acceptance,” said Zahra Nader of Zan Times. She called Russia’s recognition a “slap in the face to Afghan women.”
Shared roots: corruption, inequality, youth anger
From Nepal to Bangladesh, Sri Lanka to Pakistan, the pattern is striking: corruption, economic mismanagement and youth frustration. South Asia’s young populations, many locked out of opportunity, have emerged as the vanguard of protest movements.
Paul Staniland of the University of Chicago describes the dynamic as structural: “A perception of ruling elites as being both corrupt and ineffective at delivering a plausible path forward has created the basis for major crises.”
But the rage has yet to produce lasting reform. Instead, it has brought temporary leaders, military interventions, or fragile coalitions.
The dangers of leaderless revolts
One problem is the lack of coherent leadership. Nepal’s protesters, like their counterparts in Bangladesh, have rallied around broad demands anti-corruption, jobs, accountability but without a unifying figure or plan. This has created vacuums often filled by unelected elites, leaving citizens disillusioned.
In Nepal, many fear the cycle will repeat: Oli’s resignation may only open the door to bargaining among the same old political class. In Bangladesh, Yunus’s interim administration has been unable to chart a stable course, with reports of violence against minorities still rampant. In Sri Lanka, the Rajapaksas are gone, but the economic pain continues.
Why its a worry for India
With clashes in the east, terrorism in the west, and the fall of regimes, India’s neighborhood continues to be on edge.
For India, the pattern of regime collapse across its neighbourhood is more than news, it’s a strategic challenge.
With an open northern border into Nepal, it must prepare for migration, instability, or opportunistic infiltration. Bangladesh no longer feels assured as a partner against militants, particularly as Islamist factions rise.
Sri Lanka’s ports remain a site of competition: Contested between Indian and Chinese influence. Pakistan remains a dense knot of nuclear, economic, and security risks. And Afghanistan’s collapse, or isolation, exacerbates terror and refugee threats on its periphery.
Since 2008, Nepal has seen thirteen governments; Sri Lanka witnessed Rajapaksa’s fall; Hasina fled Bangladesh; Khan was ousted in Pakistan; and the Taliban rose in Afghanistan.
Thousands of mostly young protesters flooded Kathmandu’s streets, furious over a government social media ban and decades of corruption. Within hours, Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli had resigned, capping another chapter in the region’s cycle of public rage toppling entrenched elites.
Also read: Is Nepal unrest organic or ‘deep state’ regime change? Decoding Oli's ouster
The parallels with Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are hard to miss: students leading protests, governments faltering under pressure, and unelected or temporary administrations stepping into the void. Yet while the grievances are clear unemployment, corruption, inequality the solutions remain elusive.
Nepal erupts: Gen Z topples Oli
Nepal’s sudden upheaval was triggered by Oli’s decision to block major social media platforms, including Facebook, X and YouTube, under a new law requiring tech firms to register locally. What began as anger over censorship quickly expanded into wider frustration at corruption, inequality and unemployment.
With youth joblessness near 20% and thousands leaving daily to work abroad, protesters pointed to the lavish lifestyles of politicians’ children “nepo kids” as evidence of a system stacked against them. Their fury soon engulfed Kathmandu: the parliament, presidential palace and ministers’ homes were torched, while videos showed senior leaders beaten in the streets.
By Tuesday, at least 19 people were dead, jails were attacked, and even Nepal’s biggest media outlet, Kantipur, had been set ablaze. Oli reversed the social media ban, but the concession did little. Under pressure, he quit, though he remains in charge of a caretaker government.
Bangladesh: Students oust Sheikh Hasina
Nepal’s youth-driven protests recall last year’s uprising in Bangladesh. There too, students were the spark. Anger over a quota system that reserved most civil service jobs away from merit-based applicants snowballed into nationwide demonstrations against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
By August 2024, more than 300 people had died. Hasina fled to India as protesters defied curfews and stormed her residence. Army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman announced an interim administration, while opposition leader Khaleda Zia was released from prison.
Muhammad Yunus, the country's interim leader, on the one year anniversary of Hasina's ouster announced that elections will take in February 2026.
Sri Lanka: From Rajapaksa to Dissanayake
Two years before Bangladesh, Sri Lanka witnessed the first great wave of popular revolt.
In mid-July 2022, months of economic collapse triggered a frenzy of protests in the Island nation of Sri Lanka. Demonstrators stormed the president’s home, office and the prime minister’s residence. Soon, they occupied government buildings, lounge-style on sofas and beds, and took selfies amid the opulent surroundings.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country, and late by some accounts, only resigned via email a day after protesters demanded it. That delay, and his elevation of his prime minister to acting leader, infuriated the crowds. Protesters demanded the removal of both men and the formation of a unity government to tackle economic collapse. The slow, chaotic resignation only deepened the crisis. Indunil Yapa, an aide to the parliamentary speaker, confirmed Rajapaksa’s emailed resignationthough it needed verification, and official announcements were delayed .
Pakistan: Khan’s ouster and ongoing unrest
Unlike Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, Pakistan’s regime change came through parliamentary manoeuvring. In April 2022, Prime Minister Imran Khan lost a no-confidnce vote after falling out with the powerful military. His arrest in 2023 on corruption charges unleashed violent protests, but repression has since weakened his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party.
Meanwhile, Pakistan faces soaring inflation, debt tied to Chinese loans, and worsening relations with India after cross-border terror attacks. The IMF has offered bailouts, but reforms have only deepened public discontent. For now, instability remains entrenched.
Afghanistan: Taliban return reshapes region
Afghanistan’s upheaval was bloodier still. In August 2021, the Taliban swept into Kabul after the US withdrawal, ousting President Ashraf Ghani. Since then, they have tightened their grip on power excluding women and girls from public life, silencing dissent, and receiving formal recognition from Russia, a UN Security Council member.
They govern through strict decrees, but Afghan people face challenges: Climate change, population growth, and a sharp drop in foreign aidthat cannot be addressed by ideology alone.
Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, based in Kandahar, has enshrined Islamic law at the centre of Taliban rule. In June, he declared, “It was obligatory to follow the leadership’s commands and directives.” His supporters, including the higher education minister, claim religious authority, even equating criticism of him with blasphemy.
Internal divisions persist but have been largely subdued. Dissenters like Sher Abbas Stanikzai, who questioned the ban on girls’ education, have been sidelined. “He’s made himself indispensable, and the entire movement is beholden to him,” said analyst Ibraheem Bahiss.
Women remain marginalised. Protests have been crushed, though quiet resistance simmers. “The absence of visible protest should not be mistaken for acceptance,” said Zahra Nader of Zan Times. She called Russia’s recognition a “slap in the face to Afghan women.”
Shared roots: corruption, inequality, youth anger
From Nepal to Bangladesh, Sri Lanka to Pakistan, the pattern is striking: corruption, economic mismanagement and youth frustration. South Asia’s young populations, many locked out of opportunity, have emerged as the vanguard of protest movements.
Paul Staniland of the University of Chicago describes the dynamic as structural: “A perception of ruling elites as being both corrupt and ineffective at delivering a plausible path forward has created the basis for major crises.”
But the rage has yet to produce lasting reform. Instead, it has brought temporary leaders, military interventions, or fragile coalitions.
The dangers of leaderless revolts
One problem is the lack of coherent leadership. Nepal’s protesters, like their counterparts in Bangladesh, have rallied around broad demands anti-corruption, jobs, accountability but without a unifying figure or plan. This has created vacuums often filled by unelected elites, leaving citizens disillusioned.
In Nepal, many fear the cycle will repeat: Oli’s resignation may only open the door to bargaining among the same old political class. In Bangladesh, Yunus’s interim administration has been unable to chart a stable course, with reports of violence against minorities still rampant. In Sri Lanka, the Rajapaksas are gone, but the economic pain continues.
Why its a worry for India
With clashes in the east, terrorism in the west, and the fall of regimes, India’s neighborhood continues to be on edge.
For India, the pattern of regime collapse across its neighbourhood is more than news, it’s a strategic challenge.
With an open northern border into Nepal, it must prepare for migration, instability, or opportunistic infiltration. Bangladesh no longer feels assured as a partner against militants, particularly as Islamist factions rise.
Sri Lanka’s ports remain a site of competition: Contested between Indian and Chinese influence. Pakistan remains a dense knot of nuclear, economic, and security risks. And Afghanistan’s collapse, or isolation, exacerbates terror and refugee threats on its periphery.
Since 2008, Nepal has seen thirteen governments; Sri Lanka witnessed Rajapaksa’s fall; Hasina fled Bangladesh; Khan was ousted in Pakistan; and the Taliban rose in Afghanistan.
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