Hyderabad: Renowned balladeer and former Maoist ideologue, Gaddar, breathed his last at a private hospital, where he had been admitted ten days ago after suffering a cardiac arrest. Born as Gummadi Vittal Rao in a Dalit family in Toopran, Medak district, in 1949, he became widely known by his stage name, Gaddar.
Gaddar was a revolutionary singer and a sympathizer of Naxalism from his days at Osmania University Engineering College. He actively participated in the Telangana agitation during the 1969-70s and used his powerful voice to compose songs in support of the movement, which made him popular as a ‘people’s singer.’
He founded the Jana Natya Mandali, a traveling theatre group, and went underground in the 1980s. Gaddar’s soulful folk songs with simple yet impactful lyrics attracted many, particularly the youth, towards Maoist ideology. The group later became the cultural wing of the CPI(ML) People’s War, which merged with the Maoist Communist Centre (MCC) in 2004 to form CPI(Maoist).
In 1997, Gaddar survived an assassination attempt at his residence when unidentified men shot at him. He sustained a spinal cord injury from that attack and blamed the police and the then Telugu Desam Party (TDP) government for the incident.
Over time, Gaddar distanced himself from electoral politics and campaigned against it during his association with the Maoist party. In 2017, he disavowed Maoism and declared himself an ‘Ambedkarite.’ He enrolled as a voter for the first time in his life in 2017 and cast his vote in 2018.
Gaddar’s political journey saw him briefly associating with the Congress and later joining the Praja Shanti Party (PSP) of evangelist K.A. Paul. However, in June of the same year, he announced the formation of his own party, the Gaddar Praja Party, which aimed to safeguard people’s rights as guaranteed by the Indian Constitution.
His last public appearance was in July, when he hugged Rahul Gandhi at a Congress public meeting in Khammam. The balladeer’s affectionate gesture towards the Congress leader was met with resounding cheers from the audience. Gaddar’s departure marks the end of an era in the world of revolutionary music and activism in India.
