Kathmandu, September 3: The cabinet meeting on thursday decided to mark Bhadra 23 (September 8) as “Gen Z Shahid Diwas” (Gen Z Martyrs’ Day) with a nationwide public holiday.
The day commemorates those killed during the Gen Z-led protests of September 2025, which erupted against a government ban on social media platforms, alleged corruption, and broader demands for accountability.
The unrest led to the resignation of then-Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli and the subsequent appointment of Sushila Karki as caretaker prime minister.
At least 59 protesters, along with 10 prisoners and 3 police personnel, were killed during the movement, according to earlier reporting.
The Karki-led cabinet’s first meeting subsequently declared those who died in the protests as martyrs, approved financial assistance of NPR 1.5 million per bereaved family, committed to free treatment for the injured, and directed that funerals be conducted with state honours. A list of 45 individuals killed during the movement was formally declared martyrs by the government in mid-November (17 Kartik).
Nepali outlets have carried personal accounts of families of the martyrs — including that of 39-year-old Lachhuman Rai, one of eight sons and seven daughters of his family, who was killed during the Kathmandu demonstrations — reflecting the human cost behind the movement that reshaped Nepal’s political landscape over the past year.
