Balladeer, ‘people’s singer’, ex-Maoist ideologue: Telangana poet Gaddar dies at 77

He had been unwell for several days, undergoing treatment for lung problems and other ailments. Shot at by unidentified assailants in 1997, he also suffered health issues owing to a bullet lodged in his spine. He died at a private hospital in Hyderabad in the afternoon.

With his trademark dhoti, red shawl and wooden staff, Gaddar was the most famous social-cultural face of the Telangana statehood movement, infusing it with his soulful songs and music.

After the new state was created in 2014, Gaddar tried to find a place in its politics — unsuccessfully. Feeling sidelined, he fell out with Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) and accused him of neglecting Dalits.

Gaddar had joined the CPI (Marxist-Leninist) in the 1980s and became a prominent Maoist ideologue over the years. He also founded its cultural wing, Jana Natya Mandali. His troupe still tours through the villages of Telangana. The poet disassociated himself from the Maoists as early as 2010.

Singer Gaddar is welcomed by writer Varavara Rao (at right) at Basheer Bagh cross road as he stepped out from an auto rickshaw to attend a Jana Natya Mandali meeting. Express archive photo by PV Siva Kumar

For several years, he attended programmes organised by non-political organisations on issues such as the oppression of marginalised communities, Dalit rights and farmers. He briefly hobnobbed with Prof B Kodandaram, convenor of the Telangana Joint Action Committee and founder of the Telangana Jana Samiti party.

Gaddar expressed support for actor-turned-politician K Pawan Kalyan and promised to enter electoral politics if Kalyan launched his party in Telangana. He rubbed shoulders with evangelist Dr K A Paul to launch a political movement involving Dalits in Telangana. He was even spotted at Dalit meetings organised by the Telangana BJP unit.

He also backed the CPM-supported T MAS Forum — an organisation of 272 social and cultural associations called Telangana Mass and Social Organisations Forum.

Gaddar and KCR had locked horns in 2010 itself, at the height of the Telangana movement. Sensing that it was being taken over by Telangana Rashtra Samithi (now Bharat Rashtra Samiti), Gaddar launched the Telangana Praja Front (TPF) in October 2010, aiming to unite Dalits and backward classes and wrest control of the movement. He had stated that in a place like Telangana, with a large population of marginalised communities, only people’s movements would succeed and not political parties.

Till 2018, he remained critical of KCR, accusing him of betraying Dalits and marginalised communities. But then, he stopped speaking about the chief minister and his government.

In 2017, he switched to trousers, full-sleeved shirts and ties. He sported a clean-shaven look and started wearing a watch on his right wrist, something he had avoided for most of his life. In 2022, however, he was back in his usual traditional attire.

Gaddar was last seen in public on July 2, alongside Rahul Gandhi at a public meeting in Khammam.

Singer Gaddar. Express archive photo

Not finding firm footing in any party or forum, Gaddar recently launched the Gaddar Praja Party but soon fell ill. His close aides had said that he could contest in Assembly elections later this year.

In March 2017, Gaddar received threats from Maoists after he visited the Yadadri temple, where he was seen receiving blessings from a priest. As a teenager, he had been denied entry into the same temple due to his caste, which prompted him to join the Maoist movement. The Andhra Pradesh police had promptly used the photo of the priest blessing Gaddar for their anti-Maoist campaign, eliciting the threat.

In 2016, Gaddar also started the Dr Chandrakiran Palamuru Yuvajana Sangam in the memory of his son who died in 2003. In June 2016, he constructed a community hall for the poor at Malkajgiri after the state government allotted land.

Tributes started pouring in as the news of his death spread. Telangana Congress chief A Revanth Reddy said Gaddar leaves a void that cannot be filled. “His significant contributions as an activist and balladeer towards the cause of Telangana will forever remain in our memories,” he said.

Finance Minister T Harish Rao expressed grief and called Gaddar the voice of the people.