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Students key force in Nepal protests

By John Lancaster
The Washington Post

KATHMANDU, Nepal — Fired with anger against the king, Sudhir Maharjan marched near the front of the protesters Sunday, waving the red flag of Nepal's largest student group. He was determined, he said, to break through the cordon of helmeted riot police that blocked the way.

The Kathmandu native wears a gold ear stud, strums Nirvana tunes on his guitar and draws political inspiration from the lyrics of reggae legend Bob Marley. Maharjan, a 28-year-old graduate student, began Sunday by racing through the alleys of his neighborhood shouting a line from a Marley song: "Get up, stand up: Stand up for your rights!"

He is typical of the young, internationally oriented organizers who have emerged as an important force in nearly three weeks of tumultuous democracy protests here.

Waving flags and cheering wildly, jubilant masses thronged the streets of the capital Tuesday to celebrate their victory over King Gyanendra, a day after the embattled monarch agreed to reinstate parliament and relinquish the absolute powers that he seized 14 months ago, saying he needed to bring order to the country's chaotic politics and crush the Maoist insurgency preventing elections from being held.

The Internet and independent news media were late arriving in this deeply traditional kingdom in the Himalayas. But their influence — helped along by personal emissaries of outside-thinking, Western tourists — has been clear in the recent political tumult.

Often the young people have been at odds with their allies on the streets, the country's traditional political parties, which they view as timid. Sunday's protest march ended when party officials who orchestrated the protest at the edge of the capital had a hurried conversation with police and agreed to turn back, avoiding violence.

"We wanted to break the cordon," Maharjan complained. Slender and earnest, his calf bearing the imprint of a policeman's rubber bullet, Maharjan declares he is willing to risk his life in pursuit of democracy.

Swollen population

The protesters' clashes with police underscore the political influence of Nepal's swollen population of young. Like Maharjan, many have no party affiliation. Some are associated with Maoist rebels who have waged a decadelong insurgency to topple the Hindu monarchy, which has ruled Nepal since 1769.

It was unclear whether youthful demonstrators would abandon their newfound street power.

Analysts and diplomats say that if the protests continue, it could bring on an escalation in violence and perhaps provide an opening for Maoist rebels, who roam freely in the Nepalese countryside.

Nepal is one of the youngest countries in the world, with about 59 percent of its 28 million people younger than 25, according to government census data.

This generation grew up under a constitutional monarchy that was established in 1990, with an elected parliament and prime minister.

The democratic era is remembered here as far from perfect, but it was a time of modest economic growth, modernization and growing exposure to the outside world. Nepal had only about 35,000 Internet users in 2000. By 2005, the figure reached about 175,000.

The changes were especially marked in the capital, flanked by snowy peaks, where families living in traditional balconied homes have in recent years coexisted with cybercafes, pizzerias and hippie backpackers.

Coming of age

It was against that backdrop of opening that Maharjan, the student leader, came of age. The son of a retired driver for Nepal's central bank, he lives with his parents, wife and 3-year-old daughter in a tiny three-story house in the historic Patan district.

Educated at an English-language private school, Maharjan went on to study business at Tribhuvan University. He is now pursuing a master's degree in social work.

To pay for his studies, Maharjan proofreads documents at Nepal's central bank — or he did until the general strike that has paralyzed the country since early April.

Unlike many young protesters, who have insisted that the king must go, Maharjan said he could accept Gyanendra in a ceremonial role. But he has little patience for politicians because, he said, "they betrayed the people after 1990."

"They don't even know what democracy means," he said of the party leaders who aborted the march. "I know it. I am ready to take bullets."

Copyright © 2006 The Seattle Times Company