Nepal - “Shot like enemies”
The Documentary Podcast
BBC
4.3 • 2.7K Ratings
🗓️ 22 March 2026
⏱️ 27 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Nepal has just held a historic election — one that has toppled the old political guard and swept a new generation of leaders into power, many backed by Gen Z voters.
The elections were called after young people took to the streets to protest against corruption and a political class which was slow to change.
But the protest of 8 September 2025 got out of hand and the police struggled to maintain order. It resulted in the death of 19 young protesters. The following day, more protests led to the fall of the government.
Drawing on more than 4000 videos filmed on the streets, testimony from police and protesters and an exclusive leaked record of police radio, Subina Shrestha reveals how Nepali authorities lost control of this protest. And ask - did Nepal’s police, army and politicians fail a generation desperate for change?
This was an investigation for BBC Eye and Assignment.
This episode of The Documentary comes to you from Assignment, investigations and journeys into the heart of global events.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, podcasts. |
| 0:05.6 | Welcome to the documentary from the BBC World Service. |
| 0:09.3 | I'm Subina Shrestha, an assignment in Nepal. |
| 0:16.8 | This is the sound of 17-year-old Sri Amchaolagai from Nepal, playing with his dog, Jojo. |
| 0:27.5 | The teenager, known as Bunku, to his family, was curious about the world. |
| 0:32.7 | Here's his mother, Ganga Karki. |
| 0:36.4 | My son was so clever, he was so curious.'d tell him that being overly inquisitive wouldn't end |
| 0:42.9 | well for him but he needed to investigate everything he was not afraid to speak up worried about |
| 0:49.4 | his determination his mother once consulted an astrologer, a common practice in Nepal for families seeking |
| 0:55.5 | guidance about the future. Here is Ganga Garki. |
| 0:59.6 | The astrologer told me that he would join the government and also that he'd work with guns, |
| 1:05.5 | perhaps the army, he said. I would tell my son to join the government after finishing school. |
| 1:11.0 | His father, Ganeshaalaga, thought the police might suit him better. |
| 1:15.3 | But Shriam had his own ideas about everything, especially about politics. |
| 1:21.7 | When I'd tell him my opinion on the news, he'd interject. |
| 1:25.9 | He'd say the country was in peril and corruption had hollered it out. |
| 1:30.5 | He followed countless news sources without my knowing. He was far more informed than I was. |
| 1:37.5 | On September 8, 2025, Sriam told his mum that he wanted to join other young people, or Gen Z, to protest against corruption. |
| 1:46.4 | Ganga Karki was worried. |
| 1:48.7 | I told him not to go. |
| 1:51.1 | Things can happen at these protests. |
| 1:53.3 | But he said, it's for the Gen Z youth, I'll be in my uniform. |
... |
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