In the heart of Kathmandu, two young Nepali lives perished in the middle of the turmoil and smoke—not by coincidence or fate, but by the same Federal Democratic Republic system that was meant to keep them safe.

The streets of Tinkune are now a chilling reminder of the ignorance of a government, the brutality of a police force, and the growing anger of a population towards the current government.

The echoes of gunshots still linger in the air, mixing with the desperate cries for justice. How did we, the citizens of the birthplace of Gautam Buddha, reach this point? How did our so-called democratic government turn into an executioner of its own people? These questions demand answers—not tomorrow, not next year, but now.

The Cowardice of Inaction

Thousands of personnel from Nepal Police and the Armed Police Force stood by, ignoring as photojournalist Suresh Rajak lay burning, his camera falling from his hands, his lens no longer capturing the atrocities of the state. Their silence was louder than their bullets. Their refusal to act was as damning as the crime itself. The question that haunts us is: why?

Those in the armed forces who have sworn to maintain the law cease to be protectors when they become involved in murdering the citizens.

They become executioners. Why did they not save him? Why did they let him die? Was it cowardice, or was it complicity in the current politics of Nepal? Not a single independent social activist who admires freedom and democracy can defend what our current government of Nepal did in Tinkune.

State-Sanctioned Murder

Who gave the law enforcement officers the order to shoot at civilians’ thighs, chests, and necks? Who gave the cops orders to aim at people from building roofs? These acts of oppression committed by the government have only harmed its own citizens instead of keeping the peace and protection.

The silence of the National Human Rights Commission is deafening. Are they too entangled in political strings to condemn this barbarity?

Are they mere spectators in this grand theatre of oppression? Our so-called respected leaders: K.P. Sharma Oli, Ramesh Lekhak, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Baburam Bhattarai, Madhav Nepal, Sher Bahadur Deuba, Gagan Thapa, and others, how do you plan to sweep these deaths under your filthy political rugs? You stand atop a crumbling empire built on lies and bloodshed, and yet you expect silence from the people? No more.

A Government That Has Already Failed

Entrusted with upholding law and order, the Ministry of Home Affairs has fallen victim to its own ineptitude and corruption. Businesses, property, and, above all, the citizens were not protected. Instead of protecting the general public, the Nepal Police and Armed Police Force shot a young, unarmed girl, Rebika, and her brother, Dinesh, who weren’t even part of that movement, leaving her gravely injured.

She is now battling for her life at Civil Hospital. Is it the failure of the system to ensure safety? Neither the people who fired the shot have been taken into custody, nor has the Minister of Home Affairs resigned. Why should we put such inept individuals in high-level government positions? Does the current government’s avarice for power outweigh the lives of its own citizens?

So, the question has arisen among the citizens: why do we still call it a government? If it cannot do the most basic duty of governance, why does it still sit in positions of power?

A government that rules through fear is no government at all—it is an occupation. The citizens of Nepal are not enemies of the state. Yet, this government treats us as though we are. It reminds me of a popular saying, “If the state cannot guarantee the safety of its citizens, it has already failed.”

Weapons Instead of Welfare

What does it say about a government that chooses bullets over bandages? That deploys riot police instead of medical personnel? Even as the injured lay bleeding on the pavement, ambulances were rarely seen. Instead of doctors, we had riot police. Instead of first aid, we had expired tear gas cans.

And here lies the undeniable truth: this government never intended to protect its people. It had already decided that force was the only answer, that suppression was the only solution. If this was truly about maintaining peace, why weren’t medical teams deployed alongside police forces?

Why were emergency response measures absent? Because the state did not want to save lives—it wanted to silence them. While human rights activists, the Mayor of Kathmandu Metropolitan City, and other prominent public figures have chosen not to speak, there have been reports that a massive amount of ammunition was used in a single-day protest in Tinkune.

Security forces deployed the following measures during the incident to control merely four thousand people (as per the reports of the Ministry of Home Affairs):

• 60 rounds of live ammunition (including 2 rounds fired from a pistol)

• 746 rounds of tear gas

• 192 blank rounds

• 239 shotgun cartridges (pellets) fired

A Premeditated Act of Terror

The videos surfacing on the internet clearly show that the tear gas was stockpiled in residential buildings before the protests even began. This was not a reaction; this was a plan. The government anticipated resistance, not because the people were violent, but because they knew their own actions were indefensible.

They knew the people frustrated by their unstoppable corruption would rise, so they prepared to crush them.
They had months—years—to address public grievances. Instead, they chose suppression. Instead, they chose brutality. Instead, they chose murder.

Democracy in Name Only

In a true democracy, citizens have the right to protest, to voice their dissent. Here in Nepal, that right is met with bullets. If even doctors, teachers, and government officials must protest to be heard, what does that say about the state of our nation? Should we be afraid to speak out, knowing that our words might be met with violence?

This is not the democracy we fought for by losing thousands of lives and decades of struggles and wars. This is a dictatorship wrapped in the false promises of freedom. When we must risk our lives just to demand justice, then we are already living under oppression.

The mainstream media is silent; it took six days for the media to report that the Nepal Police and APF shot twenty people. The postmortem of Suresh Rajak was done in the absence of any legal authorities representing his family. This is not democracy in action.

Expired Agents of Oppression

The use of expired tear gas dating back to 2008 is not just negligence. It is a deliberate crime. The effects of expired tear gas are unpredictable and potentially lethal. Yet, the police used it indiscriminately, uncaring of the long-term harm it could cause. What does it say about our leaders when they resort to using expired weapons against their own people? Don’t our Minister of Health and Population, Honourable Pradip Paudel, sir, know about the adverse effects of the use of tear gas in mass?

The medical community of Nepal has been looking for the answer: why didn’t the ministry deploy doctors to save their own citizens? Isn’t this a violation of Article 16 (Right to Life and Dignity) of the same Constitution of Nepal, which the government has sworn to protect at any cost?

Legal Protections Mean Nothing

Nepal’s constitution guarantees the right to life. The Police Act, the Local Administration Act, and the Criminal Code Act—all of them restrict the use of excessive force. Yet, laws are ignored in Nepal when they are inconvenient for those in power.

International human rights agreements mandate the protection of civilians. But what do these laws mean when the state itself is lawless? When those who are supposed to uphold the law become the very criminals we fear?

A Nation in Fear, A Nation in Rage

The public has lost faith. The people feel insecure with their own government. When the government turns against its own citizens like this, who will protect us? Our youth flee abroad, not out of choice, but out of necessity. They know that no matter how hard they work, no matter how much they contribute, their efforts will be wasted under the corrupt leadership that governs Nepal.

We are trapped in a political system designed to suppress, manipulate, and exploit. And now, the people are beginning to realize that the only way forward is to tear this system down. It has become their necessity, not their choice. What contributed to this—the King? the Rashtriya Prajatantra Party? or any individual? No. Citizens in Nepal trust the corruption inside the government, and the affection for the chair and power of the current political leaders is the main reason.

The Price of Truth

Those who speak out are met with character assassination. The government and its supporters launch smear campaigns, branding dissenters as insane, corrupt, or politically motivated. If you call out the truth, you become the enemy.
But the brave Nepali carrying the history of Gorkhali seems not to be afraid of anything.

Nepal at a Crossroads

The dissatisfaction of the people has reached a boiling point. This country is on the verge of something massive—either a complete descent into chaos or a rebirth through revolution if the current politicians don’t act wisely and swiftly toward improvement.

People demand that the corrupt leaders who have ruled over us for decades must go, which is not wrong. The police force must be held accountable as per the constitution of Nepal. The families of those victims must get justice. The vandalized buildings must be reconstructed.

The looted stores must be compensated. This is not just about Tinkune. This is about the future of Nepal. How much more blood must be spilt before we say enough?

A Call to Action

We, the citizens, demand an independent investigation with the involvement of the UN, Amnesty International, the National Human Rights Council, the Red Cross, the EU Council, and the World Bank. There is ample evidence of the oppression of the current Nepal government surfacing on the internet.

This case must be taken to the International Court of Justice immediately. The blood of Tinkune cries out for justice. The Government of Nepal and the International Human Rights Council must act. Now.