Prachanda

Pushpa Kamal Dahal (Nepali: पुष्पकमल दाहाल; born Chhabilal Dahal on 11 December 1954, mononymously known as Prachanda (Nepali: प्रचण्ड )) is a former guerrilla leader and chairman of the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) (CPN). Prachanda led the CPN (M) as it launched an insurgency on 13 February 1996. In 2008 the ensuing civil war culminated in the overthrow of the Shah dynasty in favor of a communist leadership. More than 15,000 Nepalese died in this conflict.