Kathmandu, Sept 10: The Nepalese government is literally distraught over the nationwide protests being held by the youth of Nepal on the call of Sudan Gurung, a 36-year-old man who had spoken out against the ban on social media. Nepalese Prime Minister KP Oli has resigned from his post. The youth of Nepal have shaken the government. Despite the presence of large forces like the police and military, the country's rulers were forced to sit on their hands.
The reason for all this development is that the central government there has decided to ban social media, which is the root cause of the protests. However, the call given by that 36-year-old man has given impetus to this protest.
Yes… crores of Nepalese youth, responding to his single call for protest, left their schools, colleges, jobs, homes and monasteries and actively participated in the struggle. Now, it has grown to the point where the Prime Minister himself has resigned. Just think about the image of the person who mobilized millions of young people to fight with his single call. On September 9, those protesters set fire to the Prime Minister's residence. They also vandalized the President's house.
Who is he?
His name is Sudan Gurung. He is 36 years old. He runs a non-governmental organization. The name of that organization is Hami Nepal. Initially, it was a small organization, but later it attracted people's attention by engaging in social struggles. He is now a youth icon in Nepal.
He has been recognized as a major activist in Nepal for about 10 years. If he gives a call on the social media pages of his organization Hami Nepal, students and young people leave all their work and go out to protest on the streets.
Before the fight against the ban on social media in Nepal, All school and college students should participate in this protest. Everyone should wear uniforms and carry their school and college bags with them. He only called for a peaceful protest. Hearing his words, lakhs of students took to the streets and protested.
Who is this Sudan Gurung anyway?
He is a graduate from Nepal. He ran his own company as an event manager. He was living a comfortable life with his wife and daughter. However, the earthquake that occurred in Nepal in 2015 changed his life. He lost his daughter in that earthquake.
After recovering from that grief, he took up social work to provide government assistance to the families of the earthquake victims. For the same reason, he founded a non-governmental organization called Hami Nepal. He is still the president of that non-governmental organization.
The ‘Save Ghopa’ protest that brought him fame
Gradually, his non-governmental organization took up the work of condemning anti-people policies and fighting against them and providing justice to the exploited communities. The biggest struggle this organization carried out in that regard was the fight against the chaos in the medical college named B.P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences (BPKIHS) in 2022.
His organization, which entered the protest organized by the students there, protested for exactly 138 days. Thousands of students participated in this protest. The government agreed to fulfill many of the 32 demands submitted to the government under his leadership. It asked for some more time to fulfill some demands. There, Gurung’s struggle seemed to have won.
The students praised Gurung’s Hami Nepal organization for entering the strike. This inspired Gurung and his NGO to participate in many such student strikes.
Youth Icon
Thanks to the above-mentioned struggles, Gurung has become a big youth icon in Nepal today. He only needs to give a call on his social media account, and lakhs of students join. To that extent, he has grown into a youth force. He has also called for the massive youth protests that are currently taking place in Nepal, which has led to Nepal's Prime Minister K.P. Oli himself fleeing the country.