That’s not only true of Nepal. It’s a fundamental truth about many nations and societies where democracy is a mask for cronyism
Illustration/Uday Mohite
It’s not a great time to be a young person in this world.
On the one hand is a form of flattery and pacification young people are roped into by the capitalist underpinnings of social media – the invitation to be influencer of follower, the false belief that you only need to speak to be heard, the marketing for, to and of youth culture through continuous pop culture articulations of what it means to be Gen Z. That articulation defines Gen Z in ways that are primarily urban and elite, circling around capitalism’s purported glories — luxury goods, picturesque travels and cute coupledom.
That same articulation is also renders invisible many others of the same generation not confined to the elite whose politics is expressed through therapy-speak and a form of faux rights discourse.
But young people/Gen Z exist in many different and difficult contexts and expressions, as have all generations. Consider the generation dying in Palestine, or the generation protesting tyranny in US colleges, or the generation on flotilla to break the blockade in Gaza. And in India consider those who are described by the ILO statistic of “103.4 million, or one in every three youths, is not in education, employment, or training.”.
The Gen Z protests in Nepal rupture the façade of prosperity that is preserved by a servile mainstream media and at times aided by the algorithm — except when it isn’t. The tendency in Indian media to characterise these protests as a form of petulant rage against the banning of social media platforms reveals how wedded our media is to a sycophantic preservation of power, over understanding social currents. But the Nepal protests are a telling truth about how our times are characterised by ruling elites who care nothing for people and can easily shoot schoolboys in the head rather than listen to them leave alone care for them.
Nepal’s protests were simmering with rage about nepo babies, the children of the rich flaunting their wealth on social media, and corrupt rulers who do not listen, as well as a pain about the lack of opportunities, which have compelled generations to spend their lives as migrant workers, separated from their loved ones and the belonging of home. However unstable the situation that now presents itself in that neighbour might be, stability was only a mask anyway. That’s not only true of Nepal. It’s a fundamental truth about many nations and societies where democracy is a mask for cronyism.
A prevailing view in Indian discussions has been about why this can’t happen in India, how we are the only stable economy in a destabilised neighbourhood, because our institutions work. Nothing could be further from the truth. Media in India keeps all protests out of the picture, though the country has seen many, including farmers protests, anti-CAA protests, student protests, ASHA workers’ protests and gig workers strikes to name a few.
This deep-rooted lack of empathy for the anguish of citizens is a form of let-them-eat-cake working for those who are having their cake and eating it too. Until it explodes.
Paromita Vohra is an award-winning Mumbai-based filmmaker, writer and curator working with fiction and non-fiction. Reach her at paromita.vohra@mid-day.com
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