When Sri Lankans stormed the country’s presidential palace in 2022, the images shocked the world. In the three years since, similar upheaval has rippled across South Asia: mass protests overthrew Bangladesh’s government last year, and Nepal has now been hit by a youth movement that has seen its parliamentary estate torched.
At first glance, each crisis looks distinct: Sri Lanka’s financial meltdown and dynastic rule, Bangladesh’s spiralling inflation and unemployment, Nepal’s endless coalition quarrels and corruption scandals. But analysts say a common thread runs through all of them: broken governance, public resources siphoned off by elites, and a young generation of South Asians no longer willing to tolerate misrule.
