Gummadi Vittal Rao (1949–2023), popularly known as Gaddar, was a renowned Indian poet, singer, and communist revolutionary from Telangana. He was a central figure in the Telangana movement and the Naxalite movement, using folk songs and street performances to resist oppression.
Legacy: His moniker is an homage to the pre-independence Gadar movement. He was often called Praja Yoddha (Warrior of the People).
Assassination Attempt: In the 1990s, he survived an assassination attempt but lived the rest of his life with a bullet lodged in his spine.
Gaddar Film Awards: To honor his legacy, the Telangana government instituted the Telangana Gaddar Film Awards in 2025. In March 2026, stars like Naga Chaitanya and Kamal Haasan were recognized at these awards.
Recent Controversy: As of April 2026, his name has resurfaced in political debates, notably with Prime Minister Amit Shah mentioning him while criticizing Rahul Gandhi's past associations. 2. "Gaddar" (The Traitor) in Politics
In Hindi, Urdu, and Punjabi, Gaddar translates to "traitor" or "betrayer".
was a legendary Indian poet, singer, and activist whose music became the heartbeat of the Telangana statehood movement and communist revolutionary struggles. The Persona: Born Gummadi Vittal Rao, he adopted the name " " as a tribute to the Gadar Party , a 20th-century movement against British rule. The Power of Song:
He utilized Telugu folk music to fight social injustice, often performing in his signature attire—a red blanket on his shoulder and a wooden staff in hand. Cultural Legacy:
His influence was so vast that he is often referred to as the "People's Singer." In 2025, a new Gaddar Award
was established in Telangana to honor cultural sensitivity and resistance in art. 2. The Turkish TV Series: In contemporary entertainment, gaddar
(meaning "Cruel" or "No Mercy" in Turkish) is a popular action drama series. Çağatay Ulusoy
as Dağhan, the series follows a young man who returns from military service to find his life in ruins, leading him to transform into a ruthless hitman. The show features a distinctive soundtrack, including a Gaddar song by Erkin Koray that underscores the lead character's dark evolution. 3. Musical "Pieces" and Modern Hits
The name is also synonymous with several distinct musical works: Gadar Party | SAADA - South Asian American Digital Archive
"Gaddar" most commonly refers to the legendary Indian revolutionary poet and folk singer Gummadi Vittal Rao
(1949–2023), known as the "People’s Balladeer". The word itself is Hindi/Urdu for "traitor," a name he adopted from the pre-independence Ghadar Party to signify his rebellion against an unjust system. The Legend of Gaddar (Gummadi Vittal Rao)
Cultural Icon: He was a pivotal figure in the Telangana statehood movement, using music and dance to mobilize the masses.
Revolutionary Artist: Known for his signature look—a red blanket on his shoulder and a wooden staff—he founded the Jana Natya Mandali, a cultural wing that performed folk art like burrakatha to narrate stories of laborers and social struggle.
Political Activism: Originally a Naxalite, he later transitioned toward Ambedkarism and Buddhism, focusing his lyrics on caste oppression and the rights of Dalits and Adivasis.
Famous Works: His song "Podustuna poddu mida" became the unofficial anthem of the Telangana movement. Other Cultural References Gaddar (1973) - MemsaabStory Gummadi Vittal Rao (1949–2023), popularly known as Gaddar
No revolutionary is without controversy. Gaddar faced severe criticism from liberal quarters for his alleged justification of Maoist violence in the 1980s. Victims of Naxal violence claimed that his songs glorified the barrel of the gun. Furthermore, when Telangana was finally carved out of Andhra Pradesh in 2014, Gaddar initially criticized the new state government for failing the poor, leading to a brief period of house arrest.
However, even his critics admit that unlike many Naxal-turned-politicians, Gaddar never bought a luxury car or a villa in Hyderabad. He lived modestly, refusing state honors until his dying breath, asserting that “the state cannot honor a rebel; a rebel honors himself through his people.”
3.1 Entry into Naxalism In the early 1970s, Gaddar joined the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) [CPI(ML)]. He went underground, becoming a full-time revolutionary activist.
3.2 Cultural Weaponization Unlike many contemporaries who focused solely on armed struggle, Gaddar focused on Jana Natya Mandali (People’s Song and Drama Troupe). He recognized the power of folk traditions—specifically the Oggu Katha and Burra Katha—to disseminate revolutionary ideas to the illiterate rural masses.
3.3 The Origin of the Name It is widely reported that his nom de guerre, "Gaddar," was adopted as a reference to the Gadar Party, an early 20th-century revolutionary movement that fought against British colonial rule. The name symbolized his anti-establishment stance.
3.4 Imprisonment Following the suppression of the naxalite movement in the late 1970s, Gaddar was arrested and imprisoned. He was subjected to torture and solitary confinement. After his release in the 1980s, he resumed his cultural activism, becoming the voice of the People's War Group (PWG).
Gaddar's defiance came at a brutal cost. On a rainy night in April 1997, in the city of Hyderabad, Gaddar was shot four times at point-blank range by unknown assailants. One bullet lodged near his spine, paralyzing him for years. The assassination attempt, widely believed to be a state-sponsored encounter disguised as a gang war, was meant to silence the voice of Telangana forever.
But it failed. The attack turned Gaddar from a regional folk singer into a living martyr.
During his long years of recovery (he remained wheelchair-bound for nearly six years), Gaddar did not stop. He composed songs from his hospital bed, his voice raspy but unbroken. His subsequent albums—Malle Malle (When the Jasmine Bloom) and Amar Jhansi—became requiems for fallen comrades and anthems for the movement. The Attack, The Silence, and The Resurrection Gaddar's
To write about Gaddar is to walk a tightrope.
For the State, he was a terrorist. The Indian government banned many of his songs and kept him under surveillance until his death. They accused him of inciting violence, of justifying the killing of police officers and landlords.
For the People, especially the Dalits, Adivasis, and the rural poor, he was a liberator. I recall an old farmer in Warangal telling me, “When we heard Gaddar’s voice, we realized we were not alone. We realized our pain had a name.”
Gaddar never pretended to be neutral. He famously said, “A singer who sits on the fence will have his tongue cut off by both sides.”
Before exploring the man, one must understand the name. Born Gummadi Vittal Rao in 1949 in Toopran, Medak district (now Telangana), he adopted the nom de guerre "Gaddar" during the height of the Naxalite movement in the 1970s.
The word "Gaddar" is derived from the Urdu/Persian word for "traitor." By choosing this name, Vittal Rao engaged in a brilliant act of linguistic guerilla warfare. He was declaring himself a traitor—not to his nation, but to the oppressive caste system, to feudal landlords, to state-sponsored violence, and to the capitalist exploitation of the poor. In a society where the powerful label revolutionaries as "anti-national," Gaddar wore the slur as a badge of honor, subverting the language of power to liberate the powerless.
Born in 1949 in Toopran, near Hyderabad, Gaddar did not start his life as a revolutionary. He was an engineer—a graduate from the prestigious BITS Pilani. For a brief period, he worked as a clerk in the Indian Railways. Yet, the comforts of a salaried job could not quell the anger brewing inside him when he witnessed the stark poverty bonded labor, and the cruel Vetti (forced labor) system prevalent in the Telangana region under the feudal landlords (Doralu).
The 1970s were a fertile ground for the Naxalite movement. Inspired by the ideologies of Karl Marx, Mao Zedong