The most influential platform used by the Gen-G movement on 23 Bhadra was ‘Discord’. Originally a platform for video game players, ‘Discord’ was where young people organized themselves, and from there, the atmosphere for the anti-corruption movement was created.

But on Bhadra 24, instead of protests and voices, plans for sabotage and arson also started spreading from this platform. Which has become a parallel record for the Bhadra 23 movement and the destruction of Bhadra 24 in the history of Nepal.

Originally, two servers (virtual communities) called ‘Youth Against Corruption’ and ‘Youth Hub’ of Nepal were more active on Discord for the movement . After discussing on those servers, the youth also decided where, when and how to gather . After the then government collapsed due to the Gen-G movement, former Chief Justice Sushila Karki was recommended as the Prime Minister after the voting held on Discord . What is Discord, where discussions were held to overthrow and form a government by conducting such a big rebellion

? How did the peaceful movement that started on it turn into violent demonstrations ? Kantipur has tried to find the answer to this . What is Discord

? Discord is a free communication platform ,

where users can create a server (virtual community) or connect to other servers and have text , audio and video chats . This platform, which was launched in 2015 by American duo Jason Citron and Stan Wisniewski for collaboration among gamers, is now connected to more than 600 million users worldwide

. This platform, which can connect up to 500,000 members to a single server and create separate channels for different topics, was initially focused only on gamers . But in recent times, this community building ,

has started to be widely used for social discussions and political movements . Iran , Hong Kong , People have organized themselves through this platform in various movements in Serbia and America . Participants in the discussions usually speak under anonymous (pseudonymous) identities . But , the company not only stores the user's email , but also the (Internet Protocol) IP address . What happened on Discord ? 

Nepali Gen-Gs, angry against corruption, were already active on various social platforms . They launched campaigns like 'Nepokids'

, 'Nepobabies' on platforms like TikTok , Reddit and made 'Discord' the main platform for the preparation of the 23 Bhadau movement . Kantipur has analyzed 54,061 conversations on the 'Youth Against Corruption (We Nepal)' Discord server and about 60,000 conversations on the 'Youth Hub' . A total of 114,000 conversations were written on these servers in about 50 hours from 9:35 pm on September 7 (22 Bhadau) to midnight on September 9 (24 Bhadau). According to the conversation on September 7, the day before the movement, the youth are preparing for a peaceful demonstration

. They planned to gather at Maitighar at 9 am wearing school and college uniforms to protest. Their dialogue confirms that they are preparing to hold parallel demonstrations in major cities besides Kathmandu. It seems that Gen-G is aware and concerned about the risk of infiltration by various vested interest groups. Server members feared that Durga Prasai, royalists, and various student unions could infiltrate their protest. A user who claims to have worked in Congress General Secretary Gagan Thapa's 'PR group' wrote, ' Mahesh Basnet's Youth Force and Durga Prasai's royalist group are trying to control tomorrow's protest for their own benefit.' Everyone should be aware .’

Gen-G had also made a strategy to record all the events of the protest on September 7th. They planned to send the recorded material to international news organizations and take the message of the movement to the world stage. A user named ‘Harryhair’ wrote on September 7th, ‘Make sure to record stuff up’ . In the youth discussion, corruption , Nepo Baby , misuse of taxpayer money ,

freedom of expression and political reform were among the topics discussed. Some members also demanded a directly elected president. It seems that 660 conversations took place from 9:35 pm to midnight on September 7th. As per the discussion on Discord, on 23 Bhadra, young people gathered wearing school and college uniforms . Even though the peaceful protest was going on on the streets, the conversation on Discord did not stop . It seems that they discussed a lot about how to make the protest peaceful . But the demonstration did not turn out as they had imagined . After reaching the restricted area of ​​Baneshwor, the crowd became uncontrollable and a clash with the police began . Finally, the barricade of the restricted area was broken

. There was also a discussion on the server about who broke the barricade and why it was broken . But the activity on the streets was already more intense than on Discord . As soon as the barricade was broken, the protesters moved towards the Parliament building . The police used water cannons, tear gas, rubber bullets and live ammunition. The District Administration Office imposed a curfew. A total of 22 people died in the protests that day. All these issues were discussed repeatedly on the ‘Discord Server’. There was also a call to return from the streets to avoid loss of life and property due to the government’s crackdown. At 12:24 PM, a user named Sukit wrote, ‘The curfew announcement has been made. Please guys get the f... out of the parliament building. They can shoot you.’ But the repression and demonstrations on the streets did not stop. Instead, messages began to circulate that would make the movement violent. At 12:43 PM, a user named Stardustkiss wrote, ‘Now we should use Molotov (petrol cocktail bomb)’. At 2:37 PM, a user named Rukesh wrote, ‘No one should throw Molotov supplies’. At 3:55 PM, a user named ‘Sagat Ji’ went a little further and wrote, ‘I am bringing Molotov’. At 5:66 PM, a user named Rukesh wrote, ‘Make this Molotov as much as you can and bring it’. Thus, ‘Molotov’ had become the main topic since the afternoon of the first day of the movement. In the winter of 1939-40, the ‘Molotov cocktail’ (petrol bomb) was used in the war between the Soviet Union and Finland. This weapon, which is used to ignite and spread fire, is considered illegal and deadly.

The government, which initially made weak security preparations by underestimating the voices and anger of the youth, resorted to brutal repression and became helpless as violence spread. After that, the government security apparatus became oblivious to the preparations to spread excitement. On the other hand, , Some youth have talked about carrying Molotov cocktails on 22 Bhadra . A user named Kushal wrote , ‘ If it comes to making Molotov cocktails, then go straight to the parliament building , not to the middle of nowhere , .’ On 23 Bhadra, at 1:58 am, while the protest was going on, a user named Kazi Jiqiu wrote ‘Yes, now throw Molotov cocktails from your side’

. In response to the repression on the first day of the protest, a demonstration was scheduled for the next day on 24 Bhadra. . Civil society was also in favor of the demonstration . But on the other hand, messages were being circulated on Discord to make the demonstration as violent as possible . Even though Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak resigned in the cabinet meeting on the evening of 23 Bhadra, the youth’s anger did not stop . Their argument was that the resignation of the Home Minister alone was not enough . A user named ‘Russian Uncle You’ has demanded that a case be filed in the International Court of Justice saying ‘resignation is a soft punishment’. But going ahead of that, a user named ‘Anonymous’ wrote at 7:50 pm , ‘ Resignation is not going to be a big deal

. What we will do now is pour petrol in beer bottles and set them on fire and throw them at the police . So that the policemen burn to death . And another , please not the parliament buildings , 3/ 4 thousand people will surround the houses of small or big leaders and chase them out of their homes , take out a car and hit them . Go to the police headquarters

. Whoever gave the order to shoot today will be shot in the neck ... (violent message) . Please kill people from the government .’ This user has sent the same message 15 times . Molotov has been talked about repeatedly throughout the night . At 8 am, a user named ‘Abo’ wrote ‘We need grenades and Molotovs’ . Tips on how to make Molotovs had also started to spread . At 8:59 am on 24 Bhadra, a user named ‘Joseph Visharinovich Stalin’ wrote teaching the formula for making Molotovs

, ‘ ... violent dialogue... ’ . The Execu or Mock user wrote the formula , ‘ ... and put a cloth so that the mixture touches the mouth of the bottle . Then Molotov is ready .’

All the youth were unanimous in making the movement peaceful , but that is not the case . Some youth had already started talking about Molotov the day before the movement . At 10:40 am on 22 Bhadra, a user named IDKHUIM had written, ‘Guys, let’s make Molotov… in a bottle…’ . Similarly, there was a discussion about making napalm

. A user named ‘Joseph’ has written , ‘ To make napalm:… . Take a box of… dissolve it

. …put it in a box… throw it .’ Dialogue up to arms smuggling

According to the dialogue going on in Discord, what was happening in the field ? ‘’ Open Source and videos collected by media personnel show some people throwing petrol bombs . The video clearly shows some people throwing petrol bombs while the Parliament building in Baneshwor is burning . Police officers involved in the investigation also say that ‘petrol bombs’ were used during the arson . According to security officials, during World War II, after soldiers ran out of ammunition, they used to pour petrol in bottles and throw them as ‘bombs’ . This practice gradually spread elsewhere

. But , in recent days, other chemicals have also been used in petrol . ‘It is not a situation where it is difficult to get chemicals , Potassium is also used in cleaning ,’

Former Chief of the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of the police Hemant Malla Thakuri says , ‘ Its misuse will cause destruction , Therefore, it can be solved through investigation .’

There was also a conversation on Discord about ordering weapons . They understood that the demonstration could last for a few days . At 11:49 pm on the night of 23 Bhadra, a user named Greenishu said , ‘ F... Do you want a gun solution .’ The same user also wrote that guns can be ordered from India . At 11:51 am, the user wrote, "I can import from India," and then wrote, "About 50 grenades may arrive." The same user wrote, at 11:56 am, "I know a dealer from Kerala, India." If asked, he will bring it. Some users like "Kartikeya" had raised their voices in favor of discipline, saying, "All that can be done is peaceful protest." But the lack of leadership, the spread of anger, seems to have turned the group's dialogue into violence. In the meantime, misinformation was also spread on Discord. A user named ‘Tony’ has claimed , ‘ Rape is happening in the Global College hostel .’ This claim spread immediately , and moderators Flames and Tyku, among others, denied it as ‘fake news’ and urged users to report it on the Mislead Post channel . But the anger and panic did not stop . According to an officer of the District Police Complex, Kathmandu, a team reached the Global College hostel after receiving information that a rape had taken place. ‘The Nepali Army was also deployed , but when they reached there, they found out that nothing like that happened ,’ the officer says

. But the next day, Global College was burned . On 24 Bhadra, the District Administration Offices Kathmandu and Lalitpur had imposed a curfew within the ring road area . On this subject, a user named ‘Maddog’ has written , ‘ The murderers have imposed a curfew .’  A user named ‘JustDipFriday’ has written , ‘ There is a curfew from 8:30 . Let’s get there now

.’ Another user has written , ‘ When 20/30 thousand people gather . Curfew goes to hell .’ Some are arguing that curfew should not be imposed, while others have argued that they will die or be killed but will not obey the curfew order . The Qazi has written , ‘ Curfew will not be stopped , will go . Either I die or I will be killed .’

Leader’s house in Nisana

Youths took to the streets violating curfew on 24 Bhadra. Security arrangements were tight in Baneshwor area . A user named ‘Corex’ wrote about it on Discord , ‘ There is very tight security in Baneshwor today . So let’s hit Balkot KP’s house . If there are many police, there will be 100 people

.’ Then another user wrote , ‘ Guys, 30/40 policemen are gathered around KP Oli’s house . It is difficult to enter KP’s house .’ Meanwhile, a user named ‘Jang Bahadur Rana’ wrote , ‘ Don’t go to KP’s house, boy . Our protest is against corruption . Now KP is the PM . His house will have maximum security , and KP is a big fan of Mao Zedong CCP (Chinese Communist Party).... He kills everyone for fun

. We are the corrupt Sher Bahadur and the mass murderer Prachanda's house jam . And KP himself is afraid .' As the discussion went on, the first of the top leaders to set fire to the house of Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal . There was a conversation about setting fire to Dahal's house around 10:30 am . A user named 'Toxic' wrote at 10:32 am , ' Molotov cocktails are being thrown at Prachanda's house but there are very few people . Need backup

.’ Shortly after that, at 10:47 am, a user named ‘Reaction’ updated , ‘ Prachanda’s residence in Dholahiti burned .’ At that time, Dahal’s house was burning . 

At 12:04 pm, a user named ‘Richkarke’ wrote ‘Sher...’s house is burning’ . Similarly,  ‘AppleP’ wrote at 12:54 pm, ‘Hey boy, Sher Bahadur...’s house was vandalized . Just like yesterday’ .  A user named ‘Nocturnal’ wrote , ‘ Why... ? When such a chance came... Sher Bahadur... .’

The Nepali Army had contacted Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba and his wife Arju Rana at around 10 o’clock . But Deuba was staying at his own residence in Budhanilkantha, saying that he was not in danger and that it was not right to flee. When he later contacted the army to rescue him, , it was too late. Despite repeated attempts, the army helicopter could not land. The Deuba couple were rescued only at around 9 o’clock at night and taken to the army hospital , camp. After Deuba’s house was burnt, Oli’s private residence in Balkot was set on fire .

The timing of the discussion of burning the Parliament building and Around 10 am on Bhadra 24, a large crowd of protesters had gathered at the Parliament building . Former Chief Justice Sushila Karki was also seen at the Baneshwor demonstration . She raised her voice that everyone should protest because the government had killed young people . The crowd gradually grew . From around 11 am, the Baneshwor area started becoming tense . All these updates were being made on the ‘Discord server’ . After the houses of top-level leaders were set on fire and the situation became tense, the then Prime Minister Oli had called an all-party meeting .

As the crowd in Baneshwor became more agitated, the server was continuously updating . At 12:20 PM, a user named ‘TearStuck’ wrote with a ‘love emoji’ , ‘ The Parliament building is burning guys .’ Immediately after that, ‘Nitin’ said , ‘ Guys Baluwatar Red PM’ . A crowd had gathered in Baluwatar as well . While these conversations were going on, there were also users who wrote saying ‘Don’t destroy public property’ . But , The Parliament building is damaged by arson and vandalism . The security forces surrender

. The protesters enter the Parliament building

. According to the metadata of the video received by Kantipur, the meeting room of the House of Representatives had caught fire by 1:58 PM . This means that the dialogue on the ‘Discord server’ and the activities in the field are similar . Appeal to save Singha Durbar As soon as the Parliament building was burnt, a group of protesters from different areas had reached Singha Durbar around 1 pm . There is not much talk about burning Singha Durbar in the Discord dialogue .

A user named ‘Samu’ wrote ‘Singha Durbar is not burning’ at 2:01 pm . According to the metadata of the original video obtained by Kantipur, the main gate of Singha Durbar, i.e. the western gate, was on fire at 2:05 pm . There was a discussion on Discord about saving Singha Durbar after the fire broke out . At 2:07 PM, a user named ‘Diwakar Dulal’ wrote

, ‘ Hearty appeal , Dear General-ji friends , Singha Durbar , There are national data centers in Kathmandu and Hetauda . Please do not arson or vandalize there . Similarly, , District Police Offices , Area Police Offices ,

District Administration , Area and Border Administration , Land Survey and Land Revenue Offices , Courts and Municipalities

, Please do not engage in arson or destruction of their databases . These institutions contain sensitive national data . Some vested interests may try to provoke them by causing damage, but please be careful and do not let such damage happen. This message has been sent 87 times in the group. At 2:27 PM, a user named ‘Lucifer’ wrote, ‘Guys save Singha Durbar. That is our data center.’ At 2:30 PM, he wrote, ‘Guys back from Singha Durbar.’ But the fire was burning there. The then Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli resigned at 2:00 PM. But his resignation was too late. The arson also started at the Supreme Court, which is located near Singha Durbar. At 2:49 PM, a user named ‘Abiz’ wrote , ‘ Why are we burning the courts ?’ A user named Snacks wrote

, ‘ Why are we vandalizing the Supreme Court and the Attorney General’s office ?’ At 2:58 PM, a user named IMnoob wrote , ‘ They released Ravi , They will burn the Supreme Court and Singha Durbar to destroy evidence .’ Around 3 PM, many messages were written saying that Singha Durbar and the Supreme Court should be saved . But Singha Durbar and the Supreme Court were still burning . Criticism began at that time that the army could not do anything when Singha Durbar was burned . But according to the claim of Manoj Thapa, the director of the Army's War Operations Department, the fire brigade inside Singha Durbar extinguished the fire at the main entrance at 1:30 pm.

‘At that time, coordination was also being done with Kathmandu Metropolitan City , Their fire brigade had also arrived . But , there were obstacles in places

.’ The army says that the safety of the people was given priority as the crowd entering Singha Durbar was very angry. While a message was being written on Discord saying that Singha Durbar should be saved, the fire spread in a short time . Preparations to go to Sheetal Niwas since morning Looking at the Discord server dialogue, it seems that preparations to go to Sheetal Niwas since the morning of 24 Bhadra . At 10:53 AM, a user named ‘Shri 3 Jang Bahadur Kunwar Ranaji’ wrote ‘Everyone Ministerial Quarters Pulchowk , Prime Minister’s Office Baluwatar

, President’s Office Sheetal Niwas’

. After that, other users wrote ‘That’s right , Jam’ . Meanwhile, a flood of misinformation also seems to have entered the server

. Around 11 AM, a user named ‘Kray’ wrote , ‘ Important Breaking news! A relative of one of my friends is the current IGP . While disposing the bodies, the total number of deaths is 60+ including 20+ in Civil Hospital , 40+ in Bir Hospital

. I will not reveal the name of my friend . But my friend is 100 percent relative . That's why the inside news came .' At 11 am, not that many people died , the bodies were not collected . But such false information seems to have spread a lot of panic in the group . After that, the anger has increased even more . That day, Sheetal Niwas was set on fire around 4 pm . 'Messages' inciting people to go to the Prime Minister's residence There was also frequent discussion on the server about attacking the Prime Minister's residence in Baluwatar . At 10:24 am, a user named 'Daddy' wrote , ' KP Oli... Violent message...

, KP Oli is running away , Go to Baluwatar quickly

. Everyone is running away in the afternoon or evening now

, insider information .’ After this message, most of them have written ‘Now we have to go to Baluwatar’

. The same users have repeatedly written ‘Come to Baluwatar quickly’ . After that, some have written ‘5 PM Baluwatar raid’ and some have written ‘6 PM Baluwatar raid’ . Since the news that Oli has called an all-party meeting at the last minute came, it seems that they have attacked Baluwatar at 5 or 6 pm to target all the leaders of all the parties at once

. A helicopter landed in Baluwatar at 12:51 pm to pick up the security personnel including the Chief of Army Staff who had gone to pressure Prime Minister Oli to resign. A user named ‘Muffin’ has given an update on this . He has written this message 4 times . Then there has been a flood of messages like ‘Just in Baluwatar’ . Around 2 pm, a crowd entered Baluwatar , Then vandalism and arson occurred . On the other hand, , It has been found that there was a conversation on Discord about not only burning the ministerial quarters in Bhainsipati but also looting , . At 8:34 am on 24 Bhadra, a user named ‘Shank’ wrote, ‘If you are going to burn the Parliament building and the Prime Minister’s residence, you should also loot the ministerial quarters in Bhainsipati’ . At 12:15 PM, TearTalk has updated , ‘ Bhainsepati Ministerial Quarter has also been burnt down guys .’ It has been found that there was a repeated conversation to get everyone to attend saying that some helicopter was seen above the Ministerial Quarter in Bhainsepati . According to the metadata of the original video and photo, at 1:58 PM, the Ministerial Quarter in Bhainsepati was burning to the ground . The airport was saved After it was confirmed that all the ministers had flown in helicopters from the Ministerial Quarter in Bhainsepati, a conversation about going to the airport was also held on Discord . In this process, discussions ranged from blowing up the petrol pump near the airport to burning it . At 1:45 am on the night of 23 Bhadra, a user named ‘AppleP’ wrote , ‘

Go...swear... I will also blow up the petrol pump at the Koteshwor airport .’ Immediately, the same user wrote ‘Airport closed , Imports closed , Civil war , Ordering guns from India... Violent message... to everyone’ . At 9:21 am on the morning of 24 Bhadra, a user named ‘Vishvasthapa’ wrote

, ‘ I will keep an eye on the airport . Let no one escape’ . Immediately after, ‘Jeus’ wrote , ‘ KP is fleeing .’ Then everyone wrote ‘Airport Jam’ . At 10:40 AM, a user named PL2 mentioned everyone and wrote ‘Tell them to go to the airport as soon as possible’ . It seems that there was a discussion about attacking the airport based on false information that Oli was fleeing abroad . The word airport alone was used 769 times in the conversation

. Conversations ranging from surrounding the airport to firing guns were going on in Discord . According to Assistant Lieutenant Colonel Manoj Thapa of the Nepal Army’s War Operations Directorate, the army stopped a group that had arrived with ‘gelatin’ with the intention of attacking the Tribhuvan International Airport . At a press conference organized on Friday to inform about the physical and human losses caused by the Gen-G movement, Thapa had said , ‘ We stopped those who came with the intention of attacking the airport . If the airport had been closed, Nepal’s image would have been tarnished internationally

.’ When Kantipur collected the discussions on Discord and the events and analyzed them with the help of ‘chat analytics’, 87.33 percent of the messages appeared negative . During the conversation, words like ‘Oli’ , ‘Sher Bahadur’

, ‘Prachanda’ , ‘Police’ , ‘Protest’ . Compared to 22 Bhadra,  the graph of the conversation on the next day and the day after that has increased dramatically  seems to have increased . The American media organization New York Times has indicated that chemicals such as ‘sodium or magnesium’ may have been used in the arson attack in Nepal on September 9 . The word ‘sodium’ has been found to be used 6 times in the Discord chat

. For the first time, at 11:27 pm on 23 Bhadra, a user named ‘Chris’ asked, ‘Does anyone know where to buy sodium metal

?’ . The user wrote at 11:34 pm, ‘We are Zen-G , If we get sodium metal, we can make our own weapons’ . He wrote at 11:46 pm, ‘ We are Molotov , Khukuri

. If anyone has access to it, they should bring acid sodium or some chemical that will rust the barricades from the laboratory .’ The word magnesium is not used anywhere in these conversations . The word ‘ chemical’ has been used 7 times . This word was first used at 10:35 pm on 22 Bhadra. . A user named Titol wrote , ‘ It is very important to cover the entire body , The tear gas chemical makes it difficult .’

At 11:37 pm on 23 Bhadra, ‘Chris’ wrote again , ‘ Can guys bring chemical weapons from school ?’ asked . At 12:36 pm, a user named ‘Aaru’ wrote, ‘Even if you put chemicals in a water bottle and take it away, you won’t know’ . Kantipur also ‘crowdsourced’ the videos available on social media

. More than 200 crowdsourced videos were viewed ‘manually’ . In those videos, scenes of throwing ‘Molotov cocktails’ (petrol bombs) were also seen, as discussed in Discord . Those petrol bombs were thrown at the Parliament building . In the Discord discussion, the term ‘Molotov cocktails’ alone was used 356 times . The words ‘sodium’ and ‘chemical’ have been used for making weapons . But , The police are also waiting for the report of the Central Forensic Science Laboratory to confirm whether those chemicals were used or not . ‘Some samples have been sent to the laboratory

, some more will be collected and sent ,’ a senior police officer said . Although questions were raised about the rapid spread of fire in large structures during the violence on Bhadra 24, the police and no state agency had investigated the matter for a long time

. But after questions were raised everywhere, a 9-member investigation committee has been formed under the leadership of SP Kazi Kumar Acharya of the Valley Crime Investigation Office . ‘There are ample grounds for infiltration in the destruction that took place after the Gen-G movement , There are also doubts about the rapid spread of fire ,’ A senior police officer says , ‘ A committee has been formed to investigate that .’ The investigation committee includes SP Shalikram Sharma of the Valley Police Office, Ranipokhari, and DSP Chandra Thapa of the District Police Complex, Kathmandu

. Technical police officers from units including the Central Police Laboratory are also members . ‘We have asked the committee to complete the test as soon as possible and submit the report , An investigation is also necessary to dispel the doubts of the common people ,’

The officer says , ‘ Arson itself is a crime , Moreover, if chemicals were used, it is a matter that needs to be investigated further , which is also risky for the future

.’ The technical team in the committee led by Acharya will collect representative samples from Singha Durbar , Supreme Court

,

Congress office , UML office and other places and test them at the Police Central Forensic Science Laboratory . ‘The technical team will do everything from collecting the samples to testing, while other teams will assist in their analysis

,’ Another police officer says .