Democracy wanes in South Asia

Nepal Police detains a demonstrator after a clash during a protest in front of the Nepal Electricity Authority office in Kathmandu. (Image: Getty)

The Wall Street Journal

Sat, 11 Oct 2025

By Sadanand DhumePolitical unrest is destabilising South Asia. Democracy is in retreat in the region, home to a quarter of the world’s population and the site of intense geopolitical rivalry between India and China.The most recent democratic reversal is in Nepal, a landlocked Himalayan nation of some 30 million wedged between India and China.Until recently, Nepal’s democracy looked promising. No more. Last month, following a ham-handed government attempt to ban most social media apps, thousands of young protesters took to the street...

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