Bangladesh 2024, Nepal 2025: Youth Movements Force Leaders Out

KP Sharma Oli has been unseated a year after Sheikh Hasina was ousted as PM

August 5, 2024: Sheikh Hasina resigned as Bangladesh’s Prime Minister amid massive nationwide protests and fled to India.

September 9, 2025: KP Sharma Oli stepped down as Nepal’s Prime Minister following widespread demonstrations, with reports suggesting he may leave the country.

Both protests, occurring in consecutive years in neighbouring countries, led to regime changes and highlight striking parallels between anti-government movements.

The Awami League, once a leading force in East Pakistan’s language movement that birthed Bangladesh, faced its own ouster decades later. Accused of autocratic governance, Sheikh Hasina’s administration was toppled by a nationwide movement.

Similarly, Nepal’s Communist Party (Unified Marxist-Leninist), part of the coalition that ended the monarchy in 2008, saw Prime Minister Oli forced to resign as some sections of society called for a return of the monarchy.

In Bangladesh, the movement was driven by Students Against Discrimination, who defied government crackdowns and casualties to demand regime change.

In Nepal, Generation Z began protesting a social media ban, which quickly escalated into a nationwide agitation against the Oli government. Civilian deaths only intensified the demonstrations.

Bangladeshi protesters opposed the reservation system favouring descendants of freedom fighters, arguing it limited opportunities for younger generations.

Nepalese protesters accused politicians and their families of corruption and lavish lifestyles, popularising the hashtag ‘NepoKids’ to highlight inequality and elitism.

In Bangladesh, over 1,500 protesters were killed during the crackdown, but the movement continued to grow, eventually forcing Sheikh Hasina to flee Dhaka.

Nepal responded similarly, with army and police attempting to suppress the initial protests in Kathmandu. Nineteen people were killed, but the unrest spread, ultimately leaving Oli with no choice but to resign.