New Delhi, Sept. 21 -- A revolution is almost always an emergent phenomenon. The ingredients for one might exist for a long time, but they do not always come together in a politically explosive form.

This explains why mass protests, let alone revolutions, are relatively rare in history and current affairs. If the existence of poverty, corruption, injustice, misgovernance, young people and smartphones were enough to cause revolutions, many countries around the world would be in constant upheaval. It is important, therefore, to be humble when commenting on what caused a revolution. Any revolution.

Manu Joseph had an insightful commentary on this month's "Gen Z protests" in Nepal in Mint last week that argued a lot more went into the unres...