Counterview / by Harsh Thakor

Varavara Rao, born in 1940, is an Indian poet, teacher, and activist associated with radical politics. He turns 85 on November 3. Known as VV, Rao gained prominence during the rural land rights movements of the 1960s and served as a mediator between the Andhra Pradesh government and Naxalite groups in the early 2000s. The Indian state has classified him as a dissident and a national security threat.
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▪ SC refuses to hear plea of P Varavara Rao on bail modification (Hindustan Times / Sep 2025)
▪ Verse, ablaze: Excerpts from ‘Varavara Rao: A Life in Poetry’ (The Week / Jul 2023)
▪ Supreme Court grants permanent medical bail to P. Varavara Rao in Bhima Koregaon case (The Leaflet / Aug 2022)