‘Fire That Will Burn Away The Darkness’: Nepal Student’s Old Speech Goes Viral Amid Violent Protests

A fiery speech delivered by a school student earlier this year is going viral amid the violent protests in Nepal.

Protests over corruption, unemployment and social media ban, led by Gen Z, escalated into violence, leading to massive damage to government buildings and attacks on politicians in the last two days. As the protests continued for the third day on Wednesday, the death toll reached 20. Meanwhile, the Nepal Army announced that it was taking charge of security operations from Tuesday night.

An old speech by a school student has caught the attention of social media users amid the protests. In the viral speech, the student expresses disappointment about the country’s present and the future, and rouses people to rise against injustice. 

In the viral video, the student is seen introducing himself as Abiskar Raut, head boy of Holy Bell English Secondary School. He was delivering a speech at the school’s annual programme. He called Nepal a nurturing mother and asked people if they are doing justice to it. 

"Today, I stand here with a dream of building a new Nepal, with the fire of hope and passion burning within me. But my heart is heavy because this dream seems to be slipping away," he says in the viral video.

He continues, "I put myself before you this moment to shed light within your consciousness by piercing through the dark nimbus that circles above you. I am present here today to immortalise a monumental change in the course of history.”

He then questions the politicians in the country, highlighting Nepal’s problems such as unemployment.

“Nepal, our mother, this country gave us birth, nurtured us. But what did it ask in return? Just our honesty, our hard work, our contribution. But what are we doing? We are bound by the chains of unemployment,” the student says.  

He then outlines that Nepal is trapped by the “selfish games of political parties” and that corruption is extinguishing the “light of our futures.”

Raut then issues a clarion call to the youths of the country.

“Youths, rise! We are the torch-bearers of change. If we do not raise our voices, who will? If we do not build this nation, who will? We are the fire that will burn away the darkness. We are the storm that will sweep away injustice and bring prosperity,” he asserted.

He ends the speech by saying, “Nepal is ours, its future is in our hands.”

The speech was reportedly delivered in March 2025.

The video has gone viral across social media platforms amid the country's political unrest. Protests erupted in Nepal after the government decided to ban several social media platforms. This led to the resignation of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.