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. gaddar
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 passed away in August 2023 at the age of 74 due to cardiac and respiratory issues. The state government, which had once put a bounty on his head, gave him a state funeral. Gaddar passed away in August 2023 at the
The irony was not lost on anyone. The man who sang against the state was laid to rest with state honors. Thousands poured into the streets, not mourning a politician, but celebrating a voice. They sang his songs, not weepy dirges.
In 1997, Gaddar’s life nearly ended. He was shot at point-blank range at a public meeting in Hyderabad. The bullets missed his heart by inches. The conspiracy remains murky—suspicion fell on rival Naxal factions, police death squads, or political enemies. not mourning a politician
While recovering, Gaddar experienced a political shift. He gradually distanced himself from armed struggle, declaring that “the gun has its limits.” In the early 2000s, he surrendered to the police and entered mainstream politics. He floated his own party, but his true power never lay in elections; it lay in the microphone.
It is easy to romanticize Gaddar, but his message was brutally specific. He was not a populist; he was a revolutionary. His songs contain specific demands: