For years, Nepal’s political and social landscape has resembled a pressure cooker, with the heat steadily rising from economic and social grievances. The government, instead of easing the pressure, chose to seal the last release valve, causing a violent and predictable explosion that has thrown the nation into turmoil.
The intense pressure inside this cooker came from three primary sources. The first was the steam of economic despair, generated by a 20% youth unemployment rate that left a generation feeling boiled alive by a lack of opportunity. The second was the scalding water of public anger at corruption and nepotism, which corroded any trust citizens had in their leaders and institutions.
The third source of pressure was the blatant inequality that saw a political class living in luxury while the majority struggled. This disparity created a palpable tension, raising the temperature of public discourse to dangerous levels. The situation was unstable, requiring only a small shock to trigger a catastrophic failure.
The government’s move to ban social media was that shock. By attempting to clamp down the lid on public expression—the only remaining release valve for many—the government caused the pressure to spike beyond its limits. The resulting explosion of deadly violence is a lesson in political physics: when you ignore rising pressure, an explosion is not a possibility, but an inevitability.
