In the noisy, crowded landscape of Nepali politics, the meteoric rise of Prime Minister-designate Balendra Shah and his party, the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), represents a rare political anomaly. While veterans of the 2008 republic traded barbs, the rapper-engineer-turned-mayor bypassed traditional campaigning for a “monastic” silence. His victory in Nepal’s post-Gen Z parliamentary election on March 5 secured a historic mandate for an alternative force he joined a mere six weeks before the polls. Throughout the campaign, Shah spoke for barely thirty minutes, avoided media interviews and notably never once asked for a vote.

His unapologetic critiques of the political establishment during his tenure as Kathmandu’s mayor, mirrored a generation exhausted by stale ideological party politics. In a nation with a median age of twenty-five, Shah’s reputation as a disciplined, clean reformist promising better governance became a viral mandate. His calculated silence mirrored these frustrations, positioning him as the ultimate outsider for an electorate eager for results.

Beyond domestic politics

While capitalising on domestic old-guard fatigue served Shah as a winning electoral strategy, Nepal’s hard geopolitical reality remains stubbornly unchanged. In Nepal, political shifts rarely remain purely domestic, often prompting debates about foreign influence given its geography wedged between the rivalries of India and China.

Yet, Shah, however has sought to counter this by projecting an image of a staunch nationalist. As mayor, his symbolism was deliberate: hanging a “Greater Nepal” map in his office as a direct retort to the “Akhand Bharat” mural in India’s new Parliament House, and briefly banning Indian films. Simultaneously, he signaled caution toward Beijing by dropping a China-backed industrial park from his election manifesto. By distancing himself from large-scale geopolitical projects, Shah reframed the narrative, asserting a sovereignty that felt local, visible, and unapologetically independent.

Balancing ties with India and China

Historically, Nepal’s politics followed rigid ideological scripts. The Nepali Congress, the country’s oldest liberal force, leaned toward Delhi, while communist factions like CPN- UML maintained proactive affinities with Beijing. And at times, the ideological rhetoric from Kathmandu stretched far beyond the Himalayas, from debates over Venezuela’s regime change to contentious political statements on the Ukraine war, issues largely peripheral to Nepal’s own priorities. Under Shah, this era of predictable ideological signaling may finally be fading. His minimalist approach and by speaking less about the world’s ideological battles, Shah’s personality itself can be potent strategic asset to Nepal, but it is immediately replaced by a different kind of geopolitical pressure that needs sustained diplomatic communique.

India remains Nepal’s most consequential partner, linked by an open border, “Roti-Beti” social bonds, and accounting for a significant share of its trade, supplying virtually all of its petroleum, and emerging as the primary market for Nepal’s burgeoning hydropower exports. Meanwhile, China has deepened its footprint through major infrastructure financing, such as $216 million Pokhara International Airport. Intended as a regional gateway, its underutilisation is viewed in Kathmandu as a casualty of the broader India-China friction, particularly New Delhi’s hesitancy to facilitate air routes for Chinese-financed infrastructure.

This is perhaps inaugural diplomatic crucible for Balendra Shah. Having invested heavily, Nepal cannot afford for such massive infrastructure to remain a “white elephant.” The “monastic” outsider must now navigate a landscape where India is indispensable and China is influential. Meanwhile, Washington, a development cornerstone for seven decades, has pivoted from an aid partner to a high-stakes strategic interest partner, with recent post-election congratulations explicitly hinting at “shared security goals.”

But the first “baptism by fire” for the Shah administration may well lie in the volatile West Asia. With millions of Nepalese migrants’ lives and critical energy lifelines tied to the Persian Gulf caught in an escalating US-Israel-Iran War, India’s logistical depth as a regional first responder offers an indispensable synergy for contingency planning to Kathmandu. This is where Balen’s nationalist doctrine must meet the hard reality of strategic pragmatism. The new leadership remains untested in conventional diplomacy.

An opportunity for India

This moment offers a rare opening for New Delhi to recalibrate. India must move past the coercive shadow of the 2015 blockade and what is widely perceived in Kathmandu as outdated impulse for political micromanagement. New Delhi must recognise this transition not as a tilt away from divergence from India preferences but as a new opening for modern partnership that respects the domestic rise of ‘Nepal First’ politics. Shah’s mandate mirrors India’s own tectonic shift in 2014; in Shah, Nepal has found its “strongman” archetype, a leader whose personal charisma and promise of technocratic reform have dismantled a decades-old establishment. Whether this energy can be institutionalised remains to be seen, but for now, the “choreography” of diplomacy must account for a significantly more complex script.

In the end, Nepal’s geopolitical reality remains unchanged even as its politics transform at home. India’s proximity will always matter most, China’s influence will remain structural reality, and world powers like the U.S. will continue to pursue its strategic interests with renewed rigor. Ultimately, Nepal’s voters were not adjudicating between global strategies, but seeking domestic renewal. For Balendra Shah and the RSP, bashing the “old guard” is a potent domestic strategy, but it carries zero currency in the cold-eyed theater of international relations.

While the streets celebrate a new era, the ‘multipolar crosshairs’ of the Himalayas remain unforgiving. Balendra Shah represents a rare, raw moment of new possibility. To ensure that this is not just a brief pause before the old guard returns, Nepal’s new leaders must trade populist fumes for ‘strategically sober’ diplomacy. Because in a crowded neighbourhood, the unstrategic nationalist can quickly become someone else’s strategy.

(Bibek Raj Kandel is an analyst and AsiaGlobal Fellow at the University of Hong Kong and a graduate of Harvard Kennedy School.)

Published – March 23, 2026 10:50 pm IST

New Delhi:

Family travel in India is increasingly guided by the preferences of Gen Alpha and Gen Z, revealed a new survey that found an overwhelming 93 per cent of young travellers are now actively contributing to their family’s vacation planning.

The findings, part of “Small Voices, Big Choices: Hilton 2025 Trends Report”, suggest a significant shift in family travel planning with India’s youngest generation taking charge and shaping the future of the travel industry.

“A striking 93 per cent of Generation Alpha and Generation Z in India actively shape family travel plans, now positioning them as key decision-makers in the travel process,” reads the report, adding that 76 per cent of Indian parents (compared to 70 per cent globally) choose vacation destinations based on their children’s interests.

Generation Alpha, aged 14 and younger, accounts for a quarter of India’s population, while Generation Z, born between 1997 and 2012, represents 30 per cent.

While these young travellers’ input is strong in picking activities and destinations, as per the survey, the logistical decisions — including transportation (44 per cent), dining (40 per cent), accommodation (32 per cent), budgeting (28 per cent), and trip duration (26 per cent) — are still primarily managed by parents.

The report also sheds light on the youth of India being avid travellers, with young travellers averaging two to three trips annually, and as many as 94 per cent of them travelling at least once.

“This passion for travel is evident in their future plans, with nine in 10 (90 per cent) Gen Alpha and Gen Z in India likely to travel in the next year. Additionally, 87 per cent take pride in their ability to explore new destinations. These findings highlight the strong and growing demand for travel among younger generations,” it added.

Zeroing in on Indian youth’s travel preferences, the report said the Gen Alpha and Gen Z travellers in India are excited about exploring both local and international destinations, which means while they eagerly seek out India’s rich landscapes and cultural heritage, they also show a growing enthusiasm for global adventures.

So, according to the report, the emerging generation is increasingly interested in travelling beyond Asia to immerse themselves in diverse cultures. Their preferred countries to travel are India (34 per cent), Singapore (28 per cent), America (22 per cent), Australia, and the United Kingdom (17 per cent).

Here, the report also talked about Gen Y (millennials), which unlike Gen Alpha and Gen Z, still gravitates towards familiar Asian destinations for convenience and comfort — Japan (29 per cent), India (28 per cent), Singapore (25 per cent), Maldives (21 per cent), and Malaysia (17 per cent).

“The Generation Alpha and Z are redefining the landscape of travel. Their evolving preferences are driving the industry to innovate, creating opportunities for more meaningful, immersive, and culturally enriching experiences that align with their values. This shift is not just about the destinations they choose, but how they interact with and experience the world,” said Alexandra Jaritz, senior vice president, brand management, Asia Pacific, Hilton.

These findings are based on two surveys: a global Ipsos poll conducted from June 5 – 26, 2024, and an APAC-focused survey by OnePoll conducted from August 12 – 26, 2024.

While the Ipsos survey sampled 13,001 adults (18+) across 13 countries, the OnePoll survey included 8,000 Gen Z and Millennial parents (born in or before 1981) with children aged 6 to 19, from Australia, mainland China, India, Japan, and Singapore. 

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Perth, Australia:

In June 2024, 13 young people in Hawaii took on their state government in court and won the right to have greater input in climate policy.

They sued the state for infringing on their right to “a clean and healthful environment”, as promised under the State constitution.

In victory, the young people forced a number of concessions including a pledge to pursue net zero by 2040 and over USD 40 million investment in electric vehicles over the next six years.

Young people are turning to activism as a way to process the emotional weight of a world in crisis.

From Greta Thunberg to Australia’s Anjali Sharma, there are plenty of people in Gen Z who are taking action on climate.

Despite the United Nations also adding the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 2022 which further opens the possibility to take governments to the courts, it’s not easy.

Gen Z is growing up in an era where the impacts of climate change are both immediate and undeniable and it’s leaving them feeling powerless.

Generation Z – those born between 1995 and 2010 – make up 30 per cent of the global population. In Australia’s latest census, Gen Z accounted for 18.2 per cent (or 4.6 million) of the country’s 25 million population.

Unlike previous generations, who had time to gradually adjust to the realities of environmental transformations, Generation Z is acutely aware of the ecological crises unfolding around them, leading to a deep sense of environmental anxiety.

Distress and fear

As a result, many digitally connected, globally aware Gen Zers experience intense climate anxiety, characterised by chronic fear, distress and deep concern for the planet’s future.

A survey of Australian Gen Z university students was conducted between September 2021 and April 2022 with 446 participants which revealed that climate change is their top environmental concern.

They often feel let down by older generations, governments and institutions, whose actions seem inadequate in the face of the growing evidence about the environmental threats the world and Australia in particular face.

More than 80 per cent of the young people participating in the survey expressed significant worry and many experienced severe climate anxiety.

This anxiety manifests in various forms, including eco-anxiety, solastalgia (distress triggered by environmental changes) and climate grief, reflecting the complex emotional landscape of a generation coming of age amid a global environmental emergency.

The situation Gen Z faces and their future prospects are further exacerbated by the complexity of other developments resulting in what is known as a polycrisis, a “great disagreement, confusion, or suffering that is caused by many different problems happening at the same time so that they together have a very big effect.”

Existential threat

Eco-anxiety, a chronic fear of an environmental catastrophe, arises from the perception that climate change poses an existential threat.

For many in Gen Z, the overwhelming nature of this threat leads to persistent worry and stress. This is also fuelled by the sense of urgency and responsibility they think they have to comply with.

Gen Z is witnessing their local natural environments and the broader global ecosystem undergo rapid, often destructive and irreversible changes, including biodiversity loss, species extinction and the degradation of ecosystems.

Many experience profound grief which is tied not just to physical harm, but also to the loss of hope for a stable and prosperous future.

With 96 per cent of Australian Gen Zs believing that climate change is human-made, young people are experiencing heightened levels of stress, anxiety and depression as they grapple with the realities of a warming planet.

For some members of Gen Z, the constant stream of climate-related news, coupled with personal experiences of climate-related calamities, such as wildfires, floods, droughts or cyclones, leads to a form of trauma that can have long-lasting effects on mental health.

A generational crisis

For Gen Z, climate change anxiety is not just about fear of environmental destruction; it is also about grappling with a crisis of identity and purpose.

As they come of age in a world that seems increasingly unstable and unpredictable, many young people are questioning what kind of future they can expect to have, and whether it is even ethical to plan for the future in traditional ways, such as pursuing professional careers, starting families or buying homes, when the planet is in such peril.

This crisis of identity is further complicated by the pressure to act. Many young people feel a deep sense of responsibility to address climate change, but this can also ignite feelings of guilt and shame when they perceive their actions as insufficient.

The weight of this responsibility can be overwhelming, leading to burnout and a sense of futility.

The role of activism

In response to these challenges, some members of Gen Z are channelling their anxiety into activism.

Climate activism is seen as a way to regain a sense of control and agency in the face of overwhelming challenges.

This activism takes many forms, from participating in global climate strikes to advocating for sustainable policies at the local level. However, activism is not a panacea for climate anxiety.

This is seen from the answers of 65 per cent of Australia’s university Gen Z who do not engage in traditional climate activism, but instead are using technology and social media to voice their concerns.

While it can provide a sense of purpose and community, activism can also be exhausting. The constant need to fight for change, coupled with the slow pace of progress, can lead to burnout and exacerbate mental health issues.

Additionally, the pressure to always be “on” and engaged in activism can be mentally and emotionally draining, leading to further feelings of hopelessness and despair.

Mental health support

Given the significant mental health challenges posed by climate change anxiety, there is a growing recognition of the need for robust mental health support for Gen Z.

This support must be tailored to address the unique challenges of climate anxiety, experiencing unprecedented levels of fear and despair, and feelings of hopelessness that are so prevalent among young people.

There is a need for more mental health professionals trained to understand and address eco-anxiety and related issues. Therapeutic interventions that focus on building resilience, fostering a sense of agency and helping young people navigate their complex emotions are crucial.

Building supportive communities where young people can share their experiences, particularly positive outcomes, and feelings about climate change is also important.

These communities can provide a sense of solidarity and help combat the isolation that often accompanies climate anxiety. Schools and educational institutions can play a key role in addressing climate anxiety by incorporating discussions about mental health and climate change into their curricula.

By providing young people with the tools to understand and cope with their emotions, educational initiatives can help mitigate the psychological impacts of climate anxiety.

The way forward

The challenges posed by climate change anxiety for Gen Z are indeed profound and multifaceted.

However, the importance and urgency of their role cannot be overstated. With the climate crisis in a time of polycrisis worsening, Gen Z’s involvement in shaping a resilient and sustainable future is critical.

Their unique perspective and relentless drive for change position them as key players in responding to global warming as well as in bridging generational divides, fostering global cooperation and ensuring that climate action is grounded in science and equity.

(Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info)

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Gen Z is facing “the equivalent of a midlife crisis” and they are becoming less happy than older generations, a global study has revealed. The World Happiness Report, which was released on Wednesday, revealed that United States is out of the top 20 happiest countries, falling to 23rd place. It also said that young people under the age of 30 now rank 62nd out of 143 countries for happiness, while US adults age 60 and above are ranked 10th. This particular statistic has caused concern among healthcare experts, with America’s top surgeon general Dr Vivek Murthy blaming social media for it.

“Allowing children to use social media is like giving them medicine that is not proven to be safe,” Dr Murthy told The Guardia. He added that the failure of governments to regulate social media was “insane”.

The doctor said that adolescents in the US were spending nearly five hours a day on social media and a third were staying up until midnight on week nights on their devices. He called for legislation “now” to reduce harms to young people from social media including limiting or eliminating features such as like buttons and infinite scrolling.

The World Happiness report is an annual barometre of well-being in 140 countries that is coordinated by Oxford University’s Wellbeing Research Centre, Gallup and the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network.

For over a decade, it had shown that younger people were happier than their elders. But this switched in 2017 and by 2024, the US is out of the top 20 list of happiest nations.

Professor Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, director of the Wellbeing Research Centre and editor of the study, said the report showed “disconcerting drops in youth happiness, especially in North America and Western Europe”.

“To think that in some parts of the world children are already experiencing the equivalent of a midlife crisis, demands immediate policy action,” he added.

British people under 30 ranked 32nd in the rankings, behind nations such as Moldova, Kosovo and even El Salvador.

Young Chinese people have recently developed an appetite for gold products and are increasingly purchasing ‘gold beans’ as a safe investment amid economic uncertainty. These pill-like beans only weigh approximately one gram and are priced between 400 and 600 RMB (Rs 5,209 and 7,814) per unit. The Straits Times reported that these beans have particularly become very popular among China’s Generation Z and buying a gold bean every month has become a newfound trend. 

Notably, gold is one of the most solid and popular investments in human history. Traditionally, China’s middle-aged and elderly were the primary consumers of gold, but now, Gen Z is also moving towards these products and seeing them as viable long-term investments. The primary reason is the relatively affordable price and accessibility, and the fact that gold has historically performed well under macroeconomic uncertainties, Jing Daily reported. 

”Little one-gram beans of gold are particularly attractive to Gen Z customers, while young couples and middle-class women prefer gold bars – the 10-gram and 50-gram bars are especially popular,” Fred Qiu, a business-development manager for a jewellery brand in eastern China told South China Morning Post. 

A lack of faith in traditional investment is another cause behind the gold rush. In 2023, China’s leading e-commerce platforms Tmall and Taobao revealed that the primary consumers of gold jewelry are those born after the 1990s. Another survey revealed that 70% of consumers aged between 18 and 40 intend to purchase pure gold jewellery. 

Gold has also yielded an annualized return of 5.8 per cent over the past three decades, and the global spot prices for gold hit all-time highs late last year, signaling its status as a reliable investment. 

”Among the uncertainties, both economically and politically, gold is becoming more credible than other domestic assets, whether it’s property or stock. I can understand why there are still so many people buying it,” Guangzhou resident Annie Fang said. 

Sales of gold, silver and jewellery reached a six-year high in December 2023, a 29.4 per cent year-on-year jump, according to government data. According to Reuters, analysts expect Chinese demand for gold to remain high as economic growth grinds lower in coming years and foreign investment outflows weigh on the yuan. 

“Incomes are not appreciating, real estate is not appreciating, the stock market is not appreciating. Gold is a little bit of a unicorn in this environment,” said Jacques Roizen, managing director of consulting at Digital Luxury Group in Shanghai.

China and India, the world’s two biggest gold buyers, together account for more than half of total global demand.