Gaddar

Gummadi Vittal Rao (31 January 1949 – 6 August 2023), better known as Gaddar, was an Indian poet, singer, and communist revolutionary. Gaddar was active in the Naxalite–Maoist insurgency, as well as the movement for Telangana's statehood.

Gaddar began his political and cultural journey as a Naxalite in the 1970s. Arrested during the Emergency in 1975, he later went underground. Despite numerous controversies, he remained a prominent voice against caste oppression and the injustices faced by Dalits and Adivasis. He was one of the founding members of the cultural wing of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) People’s War. and also founded the Jana Natya Mandali. He played a major role in drawing national attention to the Karamchedu massacre in 1987.

Early life Gaddar was born as Gummadi Vithal Rao in Toopran in the Medak district of Telangana in 1949. While studying engineering in Hyderabad, he became influenced by the revolutionary ideas of the Dalit Panthers and the Naxalbari movement.

Gaddar went underground in the 1980s and became a member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) People's War. He was part of its cultural wing and performed for large crowds. A bullet remained in his spine after an assassination attempt in 1997.

Until 2010, Gaddar was active in the Naxal movement, later identifying himself as an Ambedkarite. He adopted the name Gaddar as a tribute to the pre-independence Gadar party, which opposed British colonial rule in Punjab.

Telangana movement

With the resurgence of the Telangana movement, Gadar expressed his support for the cause of a separate Telangana state, which intended to uplift the lower castes, particularly dalits and backward castes. He said that he was strongly aligned with those who are for a state in favor of social justice where scheduled tribes and scheduled castes have political representation on par with the OCs and BCs of the state. He expressed his solidarity with Devender Goud's NTPP (Nava Telangana Praja Party) despite being shot at by the police during Goud's term as AP home minister.

Illness and death Suffering from severe heart disease, Gaddar was admitted to a Hyderabad hospital on 20 July 2023 where he underwent bypass surgery on 3 August 2023. While recovering from surgery, he died from lung and urinary complications on 6 August 2023 at the age of 74.

Discography

Awards Nandi Awards: 1995: Nandi Award for Best Lyricist for "Malletheega Ku Pandiri Vole" from Orey Rikshaw (turned down) 2011: Nandi Award for Best Male Playback Singer for Jai Bolo Telangana