Nepal's Nepo Baby Hedonism, Showing Off Branded Bags To Luxury Cars Triggers The Anger Of Demonstrators

JAKARTA - Nepal has been rocked by a wave of major protests over the past week. Initially, it was only public anger against the poor performance of the government, but it quickly developed into a national movement.

The action led by the younger generation, especially Gen Z, succeeded in pressuring KP Prime Minister Sharma Oli to resign from his post. However, the price paid was very expensive, at least 31 people were killed and more than 1,000 others were injured as a result of clashes with the police.

Government buildings, official houses, and hotels in tourist areas were burned by the masses. Until finally the Nepali Parliament building was engulfed in flames. Currently, the country is practically without government and the military intervenes by imposing a curfew and negotiating with demonstrators.

Behind these riots, there is hatred from the younger generation for the social inequality gap. When ordinary people grapple with unemployment, inflation and poverty, the children of officials nicknamed 'nepo kids' or 'nepo baby' actually show off luxury cars, branded bags, and vacations abroad on social media.

Videos and photos of their luxurious lifestyle are widespread on TikTok, Instagram, Reddit, to X. The hashtags like #PolitiansNepoBabyNepal and #NepoBabies are watched millions of times.

In striking contrast, the people who live with power outages, floods, and food prices are soaring, compared to the son of an official who has a luxurious dinner abroad or poses in a sports car.

Reporting from the NDTV page, several names have been in the public spotlight, including:

- Shrinkhala Khatiwada, former Miss Nepal as well as daughter of former health minister Biorgh Khatiwada. Her vacation photos abroad went viral and made her family's house burned down by the masses. Followers on her Instagram account dropped dramatically.

- Shivana Shrestha, singer and son-in-law of former PM Sher Bahadur Deuba, often shows off luxurious homes and expensive clothes. She and her husband, Jaiveer Singh Deuba, are said to live worth billions of wealth.

- Smita Dahal, the grandson of former PM Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Pracanda', was attacked by netizens because of a collection of branded bags worth hundreds of thousands of rupees.

- Saugat Thapa, son of Minister of Law Bindu Kumar Thapa, is also said to live surrounded by luxury goods.

Protests are heating up with the crowd shouting, "The people are dying in poverty, while the official's children wear clothes for hundreds of millions."

According to Transparency International, Nepal is one of the most corrupt countries in Asia. Investigations by foreign media found misuse of funds of up to US$71 million or Rp1.1 trillion in the Pokhara International Airport construction project. There are also cases of selling refugee quotas that should have been given to ethnic Nepalans who were expelled from Bhutan.

Although cases like this are often exposed, it is rare for officials to actually be prosecuted. This further strengthens the public's belief that the political elite in Nepal is immune from legal snares.

In the midst of chaos, PM Oli, who has served four times, has finally resigned. Several senior ministers also withdrew, leaving Nepal now without a functioning cabinet and parliament.

President Ramchandra Paudel (80) called for calm. He admitted that he was trying to find a way out so that the country returned to a constitutional order. But until now the solution has not been seen.

Meanwhile, soldiers guarding the streets, curfews imposed, and orders for a ban on gathering still apply in most parts of the region. Nepal is now at an intersection, between the anger of the people and the country is losing its way.