On 15 December 2008 in Hyderabad, the renowned revolutionary Telugu poet, cultural personality and human rights activist Jwalamukhi passed away at the age of 71. He had been an integral part of the revolutionary peasant movement of Andhra Pradesh, a major figure in Telugu literature and a leading voice of cultural resistance against state repression in the 70s and 80s.
Inspired by the martyrdom of Subbarao Panigrahi, he along with Cherabanda Raju, Nikhileshwar and others formed a group of young litterateurs, popularly known as Digambar Poets, who had active support from poets like Sri Sri. This new literary-cultural current in Telugu that was inspired by Naxalbari movement, Dalit and tribal’ struggles for life and dignity left its mark on poetry, cinema, theatre and society. In the Hindi heartland he maintained a close relation with Jan Sanskriti Manch (JSM) and he addressed quite a few of its National Conferences. His death is an irreparable loss to the revolutionary left cultural current. CPI(ML) salutes the invincible cultural warrior.
