Gaddar

Gummadi Vittal Rao (31 January 1949 – 6 August 2023), better 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 numerous controversies, he remained a prominent voice against caste oppression and the injustices faced by Dalits and Adivasis. He was one of the founding members of the cultural wing of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) People’s War. and 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.