Gaddar Explained

Gaddar
Birth Name:Gummadi Vittal Rao
Birth Date:31 January 1949
Birth Place:Toopran, Hyderabad State, Dominion of India
Death Place:Hyderabad, Telangana, India
Residence:Hyderabad, Telangana, India
Alma Mater:Osmania University
Party:Telangana Praja Front
Spouse:Vimala Gaddar

Gummadi Vittal Rao (31 January 1949[1] – 6 August 2023), 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.[2] He was one of the founding member of the cultural wing of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) People’s War.[3] He also founded the Jana Natya Mandali.[4] 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.[5]

Early life

Gaddar was born as Gummadi Vithal Rao at Toopran in the Medak district of Telangana in 1949.[6] While studying engineering in Hyderabad, he became influenced by the revolutionary ideas of the Dalit Panthers and the Naxalbari movement.[7]

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.[8]

Until 2010, Gaddar was active in the Naxal movement, later identifying himself as an Ambedkarite.[9] He adopted the name Gaddar as a tribute to the pre-independence Gadar party, which opposed British colonial rule in Punjab.[10] [11]

Telangana movement

With the resurgence of Telangana movement, Gadar expressed his support for the cause of a separate Telangana state,[12] 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.[13] [14] [15]

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,[16] he died from lung and urinary problems on 6 August 2023 at age 74.[17] [18] [19]

Discography

YearMovieSongLyricistNotesRef.
1979Maa BhoomiBandenaka Bandi KattiBandi Yadagiri[20]
1983Rangula KalaJam JammalmarriDevi PriyaAlso actor
Bhadram KodukoGuda Anjaiah
Madhana Sundari
1995Orey RikshawMalle TheegakuGaddar
Aapura Rikshowda
Jatharelli Podame
Naa Raktham Tho Naduputhanu Rikshawnu[21]
Rajyangam Chattamandu
Gana Gana Gana
Amma Kanna
2011Jai Bolo TelanganaPodustunna Poddumeeda[22]
Poru Telangana Podustunna Poddumeeda
2016DandakaranyamBharata DesamAlso actor
Podduthirugudu Puvva
Adavi Thalliki Vandanam

Awards

Nandi Awards

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 31 January 2024 . Gaddar's birth anniversary on January 31 to be celebrated as state function . 17 June 2024 . www.newstap.in . en.
  2. Web site: Jangam . Chinnaiah . 10 August 2023 . Gaddar (1949-2023): His voice inspired resistance to oppression . 24 February 2025 . . en.
  3. Web site: Kartheek . B. . 7 August 2023 . Gaddar: Revolutionary poet who fought for statehood . 24 February 2025 . The New Indian Express . en.
  4. News: Apparasu . Srinivasa Rao . 6 August 2023 . Popular balladeer and former Maoist ideologue Gaddar passes away . https://web.archive.org/web/20240920214115/https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/renowned-balladeer-and-former-maoist-ideologue-gaddar-passes-away-at-77-leaves-behind-a-legacy-of-revolutionary-music-101691320693677.html . 20 September 2024 . 24 February 2025 . Hindustan Times . en-us . live .
  5. News: 2 June 2025 . Telangana Formation Day 2025 . https://web.archive.org/web/20250603071821/https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/telangana/telangana-formation-day-2025-cm-revanth-reddy-envisions-state-as-a-3-trillion-economy-by-2047/article69648133.ece . 3 June 2025 . 3 June 2025 . The Hindu . en-IN.
  6. News: Reddy . R. Ravikanth . Telangana folk singer Gaddar passes away . 6 August 2023 . . 6 August 2023 . en-IN.
  7. Web site: 7 August 2023 . Renowned Telangana folk singer Gaddar passes away at 77 . 24 February 2025 . Frontline . en.
  8. Web site: Rebel balladeer Gaddar backs Congress. 3 January 2021. ap7am.com/.
  9. Web site: Swamy . Rohini . 4 December 2018 . In Telangana, Naxal poet Gaddar embraces the ballot & old foes to fight 'fundamentalists' . 3 January 2021 . . en . Gaddar remained active in the Naxal movement until 2010. He officially disassociated with the Maoist party in 2017 and declared himself an Ambedkarite..
  10. Web site: Biluka . Nirmala . 12 August 2023 . Gaddar: A lion falls silent . 17 May 2025 . . en . ...he adopted the stage name of ‘Gaddar’ as a tribute to the Ghadar Party, which fought against British colonial rule in Punjab..
  11. News: Kappal . Bhanuj . 13 August 2023 . Gaddar and the end of an era in Indian music . 17 May 2025 . . Gaddar—pronounced “Ghadar”, the moniker was inspired by the revolutionary Ghadar party....
  12. Web site: Satyanarayana . K. . 30 August 2023 . Gaddar: The radical performer and cultural icon of Telangana . 24 February 2025 . The News Minute . en . From the late 1990s, he played an active role in the struggle for a separate Telangana state..
  13. News: Fight forces opposing separate Telangana, says Gadar . The Hindu . 18 January 2008 . usurped . https://web.archive.org/web/20080327140143/http://www.hinduonnet.com/2008/01/18/stories/2008011851710300.htm . 27 March 2008.
  14. News: Telangana minus Hyderabad unimaginable: Gadar . 20 January 2008 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080123101121/http://www.hindu.com/2008/01/20/stories/2008012058190600.htm . . 23 January 2008.
  15. News: Smaller States viable, say leaders . 5 February 2008 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080209113137/http://www.hindu.com/2008/02/05/stories/2008020558860400.htm . . 9 February 2008.
  16. News: Reddy . U Sudhakar . Renowned Telangana folk singer Gummadi Vittal Rao, popularly known as 'Gaddar', passes away . 6 August 2023 . . 6 August 2023.
  17. News: Telangana: Poet activist Gaddar passes away at 77 . 6 August 2023 . The Siasat Daily . 6 August 2023.
  18. News: Telangana Poet Gaddar, Known For His Revolutionary Songs, Dies At 77 . NDTV.
  19. Web site: Famed Folk Singer Gaddar Passes Away at Apollo Hospital. www.telegraphindia.com. 6 August 2023 .
  20. Web site: Krishnamoorthy . Suresh . Maa Bhoomi will forever be alive in people's minds . The Hindu . en-IN . 23 March 2015.
  21. News: 9 November 2020 . Orey Rikshaw completes 25 years; Lesser-known facts about the R Narayana Murthy starrer . 24 February 2025 . The Times of India . 0971-8257.
  22. Web site: Telangana Formation Day 2021: Folk Songs that Ignited Passion During Statehood Movement . News18 . en . 2 June 2021.
  23. Web site: 9 November 2020 . Orey Rikshaw completes 25 years; Lesser-known facts about the R Narayana Murthy starrer . The Times of India.
  24. News: 2011 Nandi Awards winners list. https://web.archive.org/web/20130627090518/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-10-13/news-interviews/34430644_1_sri-rama-rajyam-dookudu-jai-bolo-telangana . live . 27 June 2013 . . 12 August 2023.

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