KATHMANDU: Sudhan Gurung, who has emerged as a prominent face of the Gen-Z movement, visited Maitighar Mandala on Thursday, where a Bhai Tika ceremony was held in memory of those killed during the protests on September 8-9.
At the event, participants paid tribute by garlanding photographs of the deceased. Gurung, coordinator of the controversial NGO “We Nepali,” addressed the gathering draped in the national flag and said the era when leaders could intimidate the people is over.
Gurung, who has been moving publicly and giving directives to government offices in a style likened to a shadow administration, said the movement will not spare anyone implicated in corruption. “Leaders used not to fear the Nepalese people. For the first time in our history, leaders and officials are now afraid of the people. That is the achievement of the Gen-Z movement and the Nepali public, and we must defend it to the end,” he said.
He urged protesters to remain united and avoid infighting. “This is the final struggle, a fight to the finish. Let us not break apart; keep internal disagreements inside your homes and project unity in public,” he added.
Rejecting the practice of appealing to foreign audiences, Gurung said Nepalis should solve their problems domestically and “protect the constitution” rather than seeking support abroad. He framed the current moment as a choice between building the country or destroying it, calling for community-level problem-identification after Tihar and a concerted six-month effort to transform the nation.
Gurung also complained that opponents have labelled him an agent of foreign intelligence agencies, first the CIA, then Indian or Bhutanese interests and warned that such labeling is a deliberate tactic to divide Gen-Z. “They want to split us. We must use our judgment,” he said.
Reiterating his anti-establishment message, Gurung argued that even if leaders are corrupt, they are still Nepalis and must be held to account under the constitution. He controversially suggested that physical symbols of power can be rebuilt if destroyed, “You can burn a Singhadurbar; you can build a thousand Singhadurbars,” he said, and insisted the essential issue is that shots were fired and people died, not the burning of buildings.
Gurung called for constitutional mechanisms to be used to punish corrupt officials and claimed that once citizens take active oversight, corruption will decline. “Leaders used not to fear the people; now they do. This is our strong opportunity to build the country,” he said.
Comment