Gummadi Vittal Rao (born 1949), popularly known as Gaddar, is an Indian poet, revolutionary

balladeer Balladeer or The Balladeer may refer to: * Balladeer, a singer or reciter of ballads * A Balladeer, a Dutch musical group * ''Balladeer'' (Frankie Laine album) *The Balladeer, a character in TV series ''The Dukes of Hazzard'' voiced by Waylon Jen ...

, activist and a former naxalite. Gaddar was active in the Naxalite movement till 2010, and later joined the movement for

Telangana Telangana (; , ) is a state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the eleventh-largest state and the twelfth-most populated state in India with a geographical area of and ...

's statehood.

Early life

Gaddar went underground in the 1980s and became a member of

Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) People's War Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) People's War, usually called People's War Group (PWG), was an underground communist party in India. It merged with the Maoist Communist Centre of India to form the Communist Party of India (Maoi ...

. He was part of its cultural wing and performed in from of the crowds. He has a bullet in spine as a result of a failed assassination in 1997. After being active in the Naxal movement till 2010, Gaddar later identified himself as an

Ambedkarite Ambedkarism is called as the teaching, ideology or philosophy of B.R. Ambedkar, an Indian econonist, polymath, barrister, social reformer, human-rights advocate, and the architect of Indian Constitution. Ambedkarism includes the principles of N ...

. He adopted the name ''Gaddar'' as a tribute to the pre-independence Gadar party which opposed

British colonial rule The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

during the 1911 .

Telangana movement

With the resurgence of

Telangana movement The Telangana movement refers to a movement for the creation of a separate state, Telangana, from the pre-existing state of Andhra Pradesh in India. The new state corresponds to the Telugu-speaking portions of the erstwhile princely state of Hy ...

, Gadar expressed his support for the cause of a separate

state and those people who were advocating it with the intention of uplifting the lower castes, particularly dalits and also backward castes. He said he was strongly with those who are for a Telangana 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 Tulla Devender Goud is an Indian politician from the Telugu Desam Party. He founded the Nava Telangana Praja Party (NTP) to fight for separate statehood for the Telangana region in Andhra Pradesh, but later returned to his parent outfit. A ba ...

's NTPP (Nava Telangana Praja Party) in spite of being shot at by the police during Goud's term as AP Home Minister. Gaddar performs in Kolkata

Music

Awards

Nandi Awards The Nandi Awards are the awards that recognise the excellence in Telugu cinema, Telugu theatre and Telugu television, and Lifetime achievements in Indian cinema. Presented annually by the Government of Andhra Pradesh, the award is named af ...

: *1995:

Nandi Award for Best Lyricist The following is a list of recipients of the Nandi Award for Best Lyricist commissioned since 1977: Winners References {{DEFAULTSORT:Nandi Award For Best Lyricist Lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of ...

for "Malletheega Ku Pandiri Vole" from ''

Orey Rikshaw ''Orey Rikshaw'' () is a 1995 Indian Telugu-language drama film written and directed by Dasari Narayana Rao, and produced by Dasari Film University. It stars R. Narayana Murthy, Ravali and Raghunatha Reddy. It features music composed by Vandem ...

'' (turned down) * 2011 -

Nandi Award for Best Male Playback Singer Nandi may refer to: People * Nandy (surname), Indian surname * Nandi (mother of Shaka) (1760–1827), daughter of Bhebe of the Langeni tribe * Onandi Lowe (born 1974), Jamaican footballer nicknamed Nandi * Nandi Bushell (born 2010), South Afri ...

for ''

Jai Bolo Telangana ''Jai Bolo Telangana'' ( ''Hail Telangana!'') is a 2011 Telugu-language historical drama film based on the Telangana Movement, produced & directed by N.Shankar on Mahalakshmi Arts banner. Starring Jagapathi Babu, Smriti Irani, Meera Nandan, Sa ...

References

External links