Gaddar

Gaddar was born as Gummadi Vithal Rao at Toopran in the Medak district of Telangana in 1949.^[2]

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.^[3]

Until 2010, Gaddar was active in the Naxal movement, later identifying himself as an Ambedkarite.^[4] He adopted the name Gaddar as a tribute to the pre-independence Gadar party, which opposed British colonial rule in Punjab.^{[5][failed verification]}

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 Telangana^{[a what? clarification needed]} of social justice where scheduled tribes and scheduled castes have political representation on par with the OCs and BCs of the state.^{[citation needed]} 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.^[6][7][8]

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,^[9] he died from lung and urinary problems on 6 August 2023 at age 74.^[10][11][12]

Nandi Awards:

• 1995: Nandi Award for Best Lyricist for "Malletheega Ku Pandiri Vole" from Orey Rikshaw (turned down)^[15]
• 2011: Nandi Award for Best Male Playback Singer for Jai Bolo Telangana^[16]

• Telangana Praja Front