Phantasmagoric Publics and Public Sphere(s): Analysing the Discursive Dynamics of Emerging Digital Publics on Social Media in India

This thesis examines three interconnected case studies unfolding on Twitter/X: the Farmers’ Protests, the Boycott Bollywood campaign, and the India China border skirmish. Together, they illustrate varied yet overlapping forms of emergent digital publics shaped by contentious sociopolitical conditions. To analyse these dynamics, the thesis introduces the concept of phantasmagoric publics, drawing on Walter Benjamin and discourse theory to describe digitally mediated collectives driven by emotionally resonant, ideologically charged narratives. By applying this framework, the research contributes to scholarship on digital publics in postcolonial contexts, highlighting both the political power and epistemic fragility of contemporary digital participation in India.