He had escaped an attempt on his life when gunmen shot at him in the 1990s. He was frequently referred to in Telugu as "praja yuddha nouka" (war ship of people's agitations). But a bullet managed to lodge itself in his spinal cord, where it kept him alive till the very end.
Gaddar, a well-known Telangana folk singer, poet, and balladeer, died on Sunday at the age of 77 in a local private hospital. During his lifetime, he was a voice for the underprivileged and oppressed. Gummadi Vittal Rao was raised under challenging conditions after being born into a low-income Dalit family in Telangana's Medak region.
Gaddar had said in an interview that his father, who had met Babasaheb Ambedkar and been influenced by him, had urged him to pursue his education. While enrolled in an engineering program in Hyderabad, the fiery singer and poet found himself captivated to the revolutionary philosophies of the Dalit Panthers and the Naxalbari struggle.
He lived a clandestine life in the 1980s, working as a cultural worker and traveling to areas like Abujhmarh in Chhattisgarh and Odisha. He also spent time in the forests. Later on, Gaddar made a comeback to popular culture. The man, who was frequently spotted wearing his distinctive dhoti, red shawl, and wooden staff, recently shifted to wearing trousers and shirts and went clean-shaven. He wrote songs for movies, and they were well-known. One of these hits was his song "Bandenaka bandi katti" from the 1979 movie "Maa Bhoomi."
The poet-singer continued to be an important part of the Telangana movement before its 2014 victory. His song, "Podustunna Poddu Meeda Nadustunna Kaalama Poru Telanganama," became incredibly popular and inspired the public to support the statehood movement.
He had escaped an attempt on his life when gunmen shot at him in the 1990s. He was frequently referred to in Telugu as "praja yuddha nouka" (war ship of people's agitations). But a bullet managed to lodge itself in his spinal cord, where it kept him alive till the very end.
Gaddar just cast his first-ever ballot in the Telangana Legislative Assembly elections in 2018.
He last appeared on July 2 during a Rahul Gandhi public address in Khammam, Telangana, where he hugged and kissed the Gandhi scion. He just launched his own party, the "Gaddar Praja Party," but he quickly fell ill and was unable to advance it.
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