October 16, 2025
DHAKA – South and southeast Asia, in recent years, has become a focal point for large-scale uprisings that have overthrown regimes, exposed deep-seated frustrations, and triggered major political shifts.
Although the protests—Sri Lanka’s Aragalaya protests, Bangladesh’s 2024 July uprising, Nepal’s Gen-Z revolution and Indonesia’s anti-corruption protests— differ in their immediate causes, they share common roots in economic despair, governance failures, and a generational demand for accountability.
In Sri Lanka, decades of poor economic management, such as unsustainable tax cuts and reckless money printing, created a devastating debt trap with foreign reserves falling to mere billions while debt repayments soared.
The country’s 2022 debt default, its first since independence, triggered unprecedented inflation, shortages of essentials, and a sharp economic contraction. Likewise, Bangladesh, despite its impressive growth trajectory, experienced widening inequality, with a youth unemployment rate of 13.54 percent and inflation, which eroded purchasing power.
In Nepal, youth unemployment exceeding 20 percent, coupled with widespread anger at the extravagant lifestyles of political elites amid public hardship, drove discontent. Indonesia’s protests, though initially sparked by police brutality, were underpinned by economic anxieties from rising food inflation and austerity.
These crises were both structural and cyclical and rooted in corruption, nepotism, and failures to meet basic needs.
The protests represent a wholesale rejection of entrenched elites and dynastic politics.
In Sri Lanka, the Rajapaksa dynasty, once hailed for ending the civil war, came to symbolise corrupt authoritarianism.
The Aragalaya movement, after successfully ousting President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, also revealed the fragility of leaderless protests when establishment figure Ranil Wickremesinghe reasserted institutional power.
Bangladesh’s July uprising led to the ouster of Sheikh Hasina, whose regime was infamous for nepotism and cronyism.
Nepal’s protests, initially sparked by a social media ban, grew into a sweeping indictment of the entire political class symbolised by the torching of parliament and leaders’ residences.
Indonesia’s protests targeted not only police brutality but also a wider culture of impunity and elite privilege.
Furthermore, young people, especially students, have emerged as powerful voices for meritocracy, accountability, and fairness in these protests.
Also, social media both mobilised movements and became a target of government repression, as seen in Nepal’s platform bans.
Yet, such repression often backfired, intensifying public outrage and broadening the base of support for these movements.
These upheavals also carry significant geopolitical ramifications.
South Asia has long been a battleground for India-China rivalry, and political unrest is reshaping those dynamics. India’s billions in credit lines have deepened Sri Lanka’s dependence, and China’s reluctance to cooperate on debt restructuring initially did not help.
Bangladesh’s predicament could compel it to recalibrate relations with Western nations and regional powers, particularly if prolonged unrest affects its garments sector, which accounts for over 80 percent of its exports.
Nepal’s unrest could invite greater involvement from both India and China, each seeking to influence its political trajectory.
Looking ahead, the future paths of these countries remain uncertain.
Sri Lanka’s new leadership will have to navigate debt restructuring, governance reform, and the lingering pressures of Aragalaya.
Bangladesh must rebuild public trust in its institutions while tackling the economic pressures that have already cost billions.
Nepal faces the challenge of reforming governance to address widespread disillusionment, particularly among the youth, and to combat corruption.
Indonesia’s government, though initially responsive to parts of the protesters’ demands, will need to pursue long-term reforms to avert further unrest.
Regionally, whether these movements succeed or fail will determine if South Asia advances towards greater accountability and prosperity or regresses into repression and instability.
K.M. Arshad is an undergraduate student at the Department of Economics, University of Dhaka.
Views expressed in this article are the author’s own.