Ex-Nepal Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and his wife, Foreign Minister Arzu Rana Deuba, were victims of the violent protests that have engulfed Nepal in the past few days. Their house in Budanilkantha, Kathmandu, was attacked by protesters, and both of them were physically injured during the attack. Horrific images saw Sher Bahadur Deuba bleeding from his face, sitting in a helpless state on a field after the Nepal Army came to their rescue. His wife, Arzu Rana Deuba, was also attacked mercilessly, with videos making the rounds of her being punched and kicked in the face by protesters. These shocking moments mirror the ferocity of the unrest shaking the country.
The protests broke out following a contentious ban by the government, led by Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, of social media sites on grounds of national security and disinformation. The move caused outrage, particularly among younger residents, commonly known as Gen Z protesters, who viewed the ban as an outright attack on democratic rights and freedom of expression. What started as anti-ban demonstrations soon turned into an anti-corruption, political misrule, and absence of accountability movement against Nepal’s leadership.
The crisis snowballed out of proportion, with arson, vandalism, and aerial attacks on the homes of top politicians. Protesters burned down residences, government offices, and police stations. During the mayhem, the Deubas’ house was vandalized, resulting in the gruesome scenes of the previous Prime Minister hemorrhaging and visibly devastated, being sustained by the army. The bloodshed has already resulted in the deaths of at least 19 individuals, with over 300 others injured throughout the nation.
The government tried to muffle the protests, but anger among the public was beyond control. Under increasing pressure, KP Sharma Oli withdrew the social media ban which had triggered the demonstrations. Nevertheless, the protests had already morphed into a wider anti-establishment protest, and Oli ultimately resigned as the crisis intensified.
The attack on Sher Bahadur Deuba and Arzu Rana Deuba has caused shockwaves not only in Nepal but around the world. It highlights the exposure of political leaders during mass unrest and the manner in which public outrage can quickly escalate into outright violence. The pictures of Deuba, a giant of Nepalese politics with several terms as Prime Minister, sitting helpless on the ground drenched in blood with soldiers standing guard over him, are emblematic of the grave instability engulfing Nepal.
