The right to public assembly and protest is a fundamental right of any free society. But imagine if a few students who had some arbitrary complaint shut the entire city down. Then imagine if they shut the entire country down. Finally, imagine if this happened on a weekly basis. Business people would suffer, tourists would be scared away, the economy would be ruined, the protests would become meaningless, and anarchy would ensue. Welcome to Nepal, a tiny country with some remarkably big political problems.

In 1990, the student activists of Nepal organized shutdowns, or bandhs, as a means to bring about a constitutional democratic government. They succeeded, but the bandhs didn’t stop. There have been 77 since then, ranging from one to five days. The communists call many of the strikes, but they can be for any flimsy political reason.

Today and tomorrow there is a bandh that seems to be protesting petroleum rate increases. Nobody really knows for sure. Even with the warning email from the US embassy, I didn’t think about what this would mean until I went out in search of breakfast. Nine out of ten shops were closed. The few that weren’t were only “half open,” with their “garage doors” that cover their storefronts pulled half down. People loitered about, and children played football in the vehicle free streets. It seems the schools were closed too.

I drank juice at one of the brave sort-of-opened shops, until a warning shout came up the street, and they kicked me out and hastily closed up shop, pulling their door all the way down. The street was a cacophony of shouting and doors being frantically closed.

A few minutes later the agitators walked down the street, carrying red communist flags. There were only about 20 of them, and they didn’t seem too threatening, but this is the third world, so there is nothing stopping them form rioting if they come across an open business. This frequently happens, and bandhs often end in vandalism. I imagine insurance is unknown here, which is why most shops simply close.

A few minutes after the would-be-rioters passed, a couple trucks full of riot police, wearing body armor, and armed with lathis (sticks for beatin’) sped slowly after the crowd.

In a sense, I’ve gone from one extreme to the other. From a country that will jail without trial anyone who dares to protest against its government, to a country that allows frequent protests to regularly shut down entire cities, and does little to stop the ensuing anarchy and destruction. It seems like there is a lesson in moderation here.