Gaddar


Gummadi Vittal Rao, 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 controversies, he remained a prominent voice against caste oppression and injustices faced by Dalits and Adivasis. He was one of the founding member of the cultural wing of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) People’s War. He also founded the Jana Natya Mandali. He played a major role in drawing national attention to the Karamchedu massacre in 1987.
He was awarded with a cash award of ₹1 crore posthumously for his contributions to the Telangana movement.

Early life

Gaddar was born as Gummadi Vithal Rao at 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 Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) People's War. He was part of its cultural wing and performed for 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 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 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 problems on 6 August 2023 at age 74.

Discography

YearMovieSongLyricistNotesRef.
1979Maa BhoomiBandenaka Bandi KattiBandi Yadagiri
1983Rangula KalaJam JammalmarriDevi PriyaAlso actor
1983Rangula KalaBhadram KodukoGuda AnjaiahAlso actor
1983Rangula KalaMadhana SundariGuda AnjaiahAlso actor
1995Orey RikshawMalle TheegakuGaddarAlso actor
1995Orey RikshawAapura RikshowdaGaddarAlso actor
1995Orey RikshawJatharelli PodameGaddarAlso actor
1995Orey RikshawNaa Raktham Tho Naduputhanu RikshawnuGaddarAlso actor
1995Orey RikshawRajyangam ChattamanduGaddarAlso actor
1995Orey RikshawGana Gana GanaGaddarAlso actor
1995Orey RikshawAmma KannaGaddarAlso actor
2011Jai Bolo TelanganaPodustunna PoddumeedaGaddarAlso actor
2011Poru TelanganaPodustunna PoddumeedaGaddar
2016DandakaranyamBharata DesamGaddarAlso actor
2016DandakaranyamPodduthirugudu PuvvaGaddarAlso actor
2016DandakaranyamAdavi Thalliki VandanamGaddarAlso actor

Awards

Nandi Awards: