Nepal, April 10 -- The Gen Z rebellion is nearly seven months behind us. Most independent analysts and a large majority of the rank-and-file in major political parties, except the CPN-UML, have now accepted that the September 8 protests were a spontaneous eruption of public anger, particularly among the younger generation, against established political parties and their leaders. The use of force by the government against young protestors on the night of September 8 was excessive. The controversy regarding the arson of public and private buildings on September 9-who planned it, who funded it-persists.

The UML, at the behest of its Chairman and then Prime Minister, deposed by the rebellion, KP Sharma Oli, claims 'foreign forces' orchestrat...