Between resistance and commodification: The art and cultural labor of Telangana ‘ Dhoom Dham ’

In the year 2012, when the Telangana movement was at its peak, there was a debate and discussion on the ‘Role of song in achieving Telangana State’. The series of debates organized and recorded by the Telangana Resource Center provided a forum for folk artists, intellectuals and poets who were playing an integral part in the Telangana Dhoom Dham events. It was a self-reflexive moment to figure out the past, present and future of the song in the movement. The artists lamented the commodification of the song in the hands of the political leaders of the movement. This article explores the nature of this commodification and the resulting resistance through an analysis of the speeches made by the leading members of the cultural front of the Telangana movement.