Protests against political corruption and the entrenched elites in Nepal, triggered by a recent social media ban, led to the ouster of Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli on Tuesday (September 9). Several senior ministers were targeted, with official residences burned and ransacked by angry protestors, in scenes reminiscent of recent crises in other parts of South Asia.Last year, student-led protests against certain quotas in Bangladesh’s public jobs snowballed into widespread demonstrations over Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s regime. Hasina then fled to India.In 2022, as a major economic crisis hit Sri Lanka, public anger led to protests in Colombo. The Rajapaksa brothers, then President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, left the nation, much like Oli did on Tuesday.Notably, the year 2021 also saw upheaval in Afghanistan, with the Taliban taking over after around two decades away from power. It spawned stark visuals of people attempting to catch the last few flights out of the country. However, that situation was different in that it was not a result of people’s protest.How do the three cases compare and contrast, and what is the larger socio-economic situation in these countries? Here is a look.Young populations, economic concernsDubbed the “Gen Z” protest, Nepal’s agitation began on September 8 with young protestors, specifically those under the age of 28. It was against a ban issued the previous week on 26 social media sites, including Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, X, and YouTube, for not complying with an earlier order. The directive sought to regulate big social media companies, the government said.As a whole, the 16 to 25 age group accounts for approximately 20.8% of the total population of the country, while 40.68% of the people lie in the 16 to 40 age group. While the agitation spread to other demographics too, youth discontent was seen as a major driving factor, with the issue of lack of access to opportunities captured in the sloganeering against “nepo kids” — children of politicians.Story continues below this adAlso Read | Before Bangladesh and Sheikh Hasina, how leaders of Sri Lanka and Afghanistan fled amid turmoilAccording to the World Bank’s latest data from 2024, Nepal has a per capita GDP of around $1,447 (Rs 1,27,512). The global average is $13,673. Nepal has also seen record net migration (the difference between inflow and outflow of people in a year), with the figure reaching more than 4 lakhs in 2023, compared to 1.47 lakh in 2000.In Bangladesh, too, the youth initially led the protests. The 15 to 29 age group comprises nearly 25% of the total population. While Bangladesh has made strides in economic growth over the decades, it still faces challenges in terms of wealth distribution. Its per capita GDP stood at $2,593 in 2024. Inflation also reached 10.5% in 2024, compared to the global average of 3%.Sri Lanka’s youth population (between the ages of 15 and 29) constituted around 23.6% of the total population in 2023. However, the Aragalaya protests (the Sinhalese word for “struggle”) were different in that they saw broad-based participation across all ages amid a period of economic downturn. After hitting peak inflation in 2022, the island nation’s economy is relatively stable now. The per capita GDP stood at $4,515 in 2024, which is relatively higher compared to the rest of the region.History of political instability, same old politiciansA parliamentary democracy was established in Nepal in 1951, after the Rana dynasty was overthrown, but it led to further contests for power among political leaders over the next few decades.Story continues below this adNepal became a federal democratic republic in 2008 and has since witnessed 14 governments. None has completed their five-year terms. The main political actors in the country are the communists, the Congress Party, and the Maoists, as well as pro-royalists who favour a return to monarchy or a constitutional monarchy.Also Read | US says it had no role in ousting of Bangladesh’s HasinaSeven Constitutions have been enacted over the decades, most recently in 2015, representing the continued political crises. The rule of older politicians, often in alliances with one another, was seen as a major source of frustration. It also added to the belief that all politicians were part of the same corrupt system, which worked to only enrich the elites.Something similar was noted in the case of Bangladesh, which was established in 1971 and has since faced periods of political crises and caretaker governments. Leaders from a few main parties (Sheikh Hasina of the Awami League and Khaleda Zia of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party) have dominated politics in recent decades. Ruling continuously from 2009 to 2024, Hasina was known to silence dissent, including political opposition. After Hasina, an interim government is now in power, but there are concerns of a streak of increasing religious Islamist fundamentalism amid attacks against minorities.In Sri Lanka, the civil war between the Sinhala-speaking majority community and the Tamil-speaking minority lasted between 1983 and 2009. It saw large-scale violence, exodus and impacted public faith in politics and the state. Even then, the list of key political figures has long included people like the Rajapaksa family and former Prime Minister and President Ranil Wickremesinghe. Here, too, the leaders were perceived as corrupt. Story continues below this adWhen the first presidential elections after the protests were held in 2024, the non-dynastic Marxist leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake, 56, emerged victorious with 42% of the vote. Analysts interpreted it as a call for breaking from the past.