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Prachanda's extension of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism to take specific account of Nepal's situation is known as the Prachanda Path . It takes the strategy of Shining Path insurrection in Peru as an important point of reference, along with the Cambodian Revolution and the Chinese Revolution . "Prachanda" is a nom de guerre along the lines of " Pancho Villa ," " Ho Chi Minh ," or " Subcomandante Marcos ." It can be literally translated as "the fierce one." PERSONAL LIFE AND EARLY CAREER Prachanda spent much of his childhood in Chitwan , western Nepal. His family were Brahmin s of modest means. He studied agricultural science and was reportedly once employed at a rural development project sponsored by USAID . {Link without Title} {Link without Title} Inspired by the Cultural Revolution in China, he became active in insurrectionist Communist politics as early as the 1970s . Pushpa lived underground even after the restoration of Democracy in 1990 . Until then a little-known figure, he controlled the clandestine wing of the party while the portion with parliamentary representation in the United People's Front was headed by Dr. Baburam Bhattarai . THE MAOIST INSURRECTION On February 4 1996 Prachanda and Bhattarai gave the government, led by Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba , a list of 40 demands, threatening civil war if they were not met. The demands related to "nationalism, democracy and livelihood" and included such line items as the "domination of foreign capital in Nepali industries, business and finance should be stopped," and "discriminatory treaties, including the 1950 Nepal-India Treaty, should be abrogated," and "land under the control of the feudal system should be confiscated and distributed to the landless and the homeless." {Link without Title} Since then, Prachanda has directed the military efforts of the CPN (M) towards establishing a so-called "base area" particularly in the mountainous regions and western Nepal. In late 2004 or early 2005, relations between Prachanda and Bhattarai soured. This was reportedly due to disagreement on a stance towards India . It was claimed by some media that Bhattarai may also have charged that Prachanda was consolidating too much power into central leadership. It has since been reported that they again appear close.[http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=71252 [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4707058.stm][http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0602/S00154.htm] On November 22 2005 Prachanda released a "twelve-point agreement" that enumerates CPN (M) political positions and claims to identify areas of agreement between the Maoists and seven more conventional Nepali political parties. Among other points, this document states that a dictatorial monarchy is the chief impediment to progress in Nepal, that the Nepali parliament must be reinstated, and that the Maoists are committed to human rights and press freedoms and a multi-party system of government. It pledges self-criticism and the intention of the Maoists not to repeat past mistakes. {Link without Title} Periodically, Prachanda has announced unilateral ceasefires that are not reciprocated by the 2006 , he announced such a ceasefire with a stated duration of 90 days. The move followed weeks of massive protests in Kathmandu and elsewhere that had forced King Gyanendra to restore the parliament that he had dissolved in seizing absolute power a year earlier. The Maoists want a new constituent assembly, reportedly to write a new constitution to establish a Republic and end the king's grip on power. {Link without Title} {Link without Title} Many are skeptical of Prachanda's call for a multi-party democracy as it does not seem to compatible with orthodox Maoist ideology. REFERENCES
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