S. A. Rawoof

Sheik Abdul Rawoof (1924 – 9 February 2014) was an Indian communist leader from Andhra Pradesh. He was known by the nom de guerre "Viswam" or by his initials "SAR".

Youth Born in 1924, Rawoof hailed from a middle-class Muslim family in Kutagulla village, Kadiri taluk, Anantapur district, in present-day Andhra Pradesh. He attended Kadiri High School and later obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from Anantapur College. During his college years, he became a sympathiser of the Communist Party of India, influenced by the Telangana armed struggle, He studied law in Madanapalle, Chittoor district, and obtained his law degree in 1964.

Party leader in Kadiri taluk Rawoof contested local elections and became the first communist municipal chairman of Kadiri.

Naxalbari uprising As the CPI(M) was undergoing internal divisions, the Kadiri party unit was dissolved, and its cadres joined T. Nagi Reddy's Andhra Pradesh Coordination Committee of Communist Revolutionaries (APCCCR) en masse.

Following the arrest and death of Mazumdar, the CPI(ML) disintegrated. Rawoof aligned himself with the Central Organising Committee, Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) (COC, CPI(ML)), and served as a member of its Andhra Pradesh Provincial Committee (state committee).

Jail In March 1973, Rawoof travelled to West Bengal with another person to establish contact with cadres who supported the Mazumdar line. After the Emergency ended, he was moved to a barrack where he stayed with other imprisoned revolutionaries. In 1977, after a period of reflection, Rawoof parted ways with the organisation in opposition to the new tactical orientation outlined in its "August Resolution", which called for a temporary suspension of armed struggle. Rawoof's group was targeted by state forces and suffered heavy losses.

Rawoof never married. A colony located along the Kadiri-Kutagulla Anantapur National Highway has been named after him.