Telangana CM Revanth Reddy issues order to allot land to install statue of balladeer Gaddar

Also Read: Poet and revolutionary, Gaddar’s very name was an ideology

Gaddar’s daughter expresses gratitude

Speaking to South First, Gaddar’s daughter, GV Vennela, expressed gratitude and dedicated the statue to the struggle of the citizens of Telangana.

“It is a great honour for the people of Telangana, especially the revolutionaries who sacrificed their lives during the Telangana movement. It includes all the leaders and Osmania University students. I thank the Congress party, Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister sir for this honour,” she said.

Gaddar was a prominent poet, activist, and former Naxalite who fought for the rights of the oppressed and the cause of Telangana.

He breathed his last on 6 August, 2023 at a corporate hospital in Hyderabad and was laid to rest with full state honours the next day at the family-run Maha Bodhi Vidyalaya in Alwal’s Bhoodevi Nagar.

His daughter, Vennela, a PhD holder, contested in the 2023 Telangana Assembly elections on a Congress ticket from the Secunderabad constituency. She stood third behind BRS’ G Lasya Nanditha and BJP’s Sri Ganesh.

Interview: Gaddar felt insulted after KCR made him wait for hours at Pragathi Bhavan, says Vennela

Life of Gaddar

Music emanated from the soul and persona of Gaddar, and his espousal of Telangana folk music created a unique style of performance, like none other.

In his time as a revolutionary poet and singer, he joined Jana Natya Mandali and, after a point of time, it was not possible to imagine the troupe without him. Often called the cultural vanguard of the Indian revolution, the Jana Natya Mandali, played a significant role in reviving the Naxalite/Maoist movement in the Andhra Pradesh region in the 1970s.

With his ability to touch the hearts of the people with poetry, he took “elite” ideas like liberation and revolution to the masses. His songs spoke to the people in a dialect that they could understand, and he sang of their lives, telling their unheard stories.

Coming from Toopran in the erstwhile Medak district, he inspired Dalits with his soul-stirring songs in the local dialect. His street plays and rallies inspired the Dalits and other weaker sections against the injustice meted out to them.

Related: ‘Value of a bard like Gaddar, who sings truth to power, is inexpressible’

Involvement in the Telangana movement

For 30 years, music followed Gaddar, to his step and tune, to his unique presentation and unprecedented style. So much so he became the guiding light, in terms of his writing and delivery, for many poets involved in many movements across the country.

His songs were a clarion call to those who wanted to take the path of revolution, and hundreds of youth took to that path thanks to his music.
After over 25 years of working for the revolution — and living for 10 whole years underground — he joined the people again in the 1990s and decided to become their voice.

In 1996, during the Telangana movement, his voice was the one that spread across the state, inspiring lakhs of people.

“Amma Telanganama, akali kekala gaanama” is an unforgettable song that drove the movement every step of its way, during that stage of the Telangana agitation. Hundreds of poets, singers and performers took forward the movement through the song, inspired by him.

In 1997, in a meeting at Ashoka Hall in Koti in Hyderabad, Gaddar sang this song as part of a 13-hour seminar and, at that point, it turned into a wake-up call for the Telangana movement.

Also Read: The importance of Dalit voters in Telangana

Attempt on his life 

On 6 April of the same year, there was an attempt on his life when he was shot at. The orchestrator(s) of the attack is still unknown.

Despite the attempt on his life, he did not back down from being the voice of the people. His contribution to the people’s movements was unparalleled and he cemented his place in the hearts of the people, the unheard and the unsung members of the struggle.

He had seen many ups and downs in his political life, but those never stopped him from being the representative of the poor and the weak.

Though he has now left his physical body, his soul is immortalised in his songs that continue to guide people’s and cultural movements.

His unforgettable contributions to the field of folk music will also continue to inspire many.