https://dspace.iiti.ac.in:8080/jspui/handle/123456789/9545 2026-05-12T17:00:57Z 2026-05-12T17:00:57Z Bala, Apsara https://dspace.iiti.ac.in:8080/jspui/handle/123456789/18106 2026-04-16T07:07:26Z 2026-04-10T00:00:00Z

Title: Reimagining public spaces through city literature of Delhi: mapping the history, present concerns and future transformations Authors: Bala, Apsara Abstract: The ongoing debate surrounding public spaces revolves around several key issues: their historical existence, the meaning attributed to them, the varying expectations from different communities regarding how they perceive these spaces, the influence of material structures on the creation of the public sphere, and the contentious nature of the term ‘public,’ especially given the evidence of various forms of exclusion. Questions arising in this area highlight the compromises, conflicts, and contestations that characterise public space’s inherently ambiguous and fluid nature. Although there are various theories and histories (Arendt 1958; Lefevre 1991; Sennett 1992; Mitchell 1995, 2003) regarding public space and accessibility, our exploration revealed a significant gap in the thorough analysis and reimagining of public spaces within the Indian context. Consequently, this thesis analyses the transformation of public spaces through an architectural lens in urban literature and applies the literary urban studies (Daniel and Queiroz 2013; Gurr 2021; Jason 2022) framework in the analysis. Here, we are more focused on critiquing the aspects of growing privatisation efforts (Boycko 1996) and the top-down approach in urban planning, which displays the postcolonial urbanism (Kalyan 2017; Grubbauer 2019; Myers 2020) aspect of our thesis.

2026-04-10T00:00:00Z Muhsina K K https://dspace.iiti.ac.in:8080/jspui/handle/123456789/17953 2026-03-06T10:56:54Z 2026-02-02T00:00:00Z

Title: The visual culture of mass grief in kerala: juxtapolitical formations of melodrama in cinema, celebrity funerals and political violence Authors: Muhsina K K Abstract: This thesis examines the tension between melodrama and rationality in Kerala through the affective intensities of distinct mourning publics vis-à-vis their conflicts with the public sphere of the state. It is analysed through the visual cultures of three distinct cultural practices of mass grieving. In contrast to mourning within familial or private circles, it specifically addresses public forms of grieving, mediated through mass public attendance, collective rituals, and media spectacles. In particular, I analyse the melodramatic mobilisations of affective publics across three vital sites of mass grieving in Kerala: (1) the performative spectacles of public affect at celebrity funerals, (2) the cinematic mediations of affective solidarities in mourning in contemporary Malayalam cinema, and (3) the discursive construction of ‘martyrdom’ in public mourning/ commemorations of slain Communist Party workers. Grappling with the transformations of emotional outpouring in response to death into political theatres of mass grief, sites of subversive solidarities and mechanisms of ideological reproduction as elaborated respectively in the thesis chapters, I analyse how spectacles of their melodramatic excess, that rupture the performative topography of mourning, contest Kerala’s self-fashioning as an exceptional paradigm of rational modernity.

2026-02-02T00:00:00Z Sahu, Harish https://dspace.iiti.ac.in:8080/jspui/handle/123456789/17952 2026-03-06T10:46:20Z 2026-01-23T00:00:00Z

Title: Evaluating the role of price floor guarantees on irrigation sustainability, farm efficiency, and farmers’ wellbeing: a case study of Rajnandgaon district, central India [RESTRICTED THESIS-01 Year] Authors: Sahu, Harish Abstract: [Abstract is restricted for 01 Year, due to IPR related issue]

2026-01-23T00:00:00Z Singh, Mahima https://dspace.iiti.ac.in:8080/jspui/handle/123456789/17746 2026-01-20T11:53:32Z 2026-01-16T00:00:00Z

Title: Broadcasting in transition: over-the-top (OTT) platforms, telecom integration, and media convergence in India Authors: Singh, Mahima Abstract: In 2016, free SIM card of Reliance Jio which provided unlimited 4G data changed the debate around the technological aspects of the communication and consumption of media in India. I vividly remember all these queues before the mobile shops where people stand in a line and collect a free Jio SIM so that they can stream YouTube videos or even IPL matches without any concerns about the data cap. The memory is an important occurrence in the Indian broadcasting history. However, even greater than the personal memory, this memory is a reflection of a greater change that is happening on a structural scale, which is as a result of the convergence of telecommunications, media and digital platforms. Jio has enabled the limitless access of information/ entertainment that its subscribers are already enjoying as well as a systematic transition of legacy television network towards digital distribution and new monetization models. More to the point, the shift is a significant challenge to media studies: that the traditional broadcast paradigm of TV cannot be used to interpret the current changes in the modern media. Telecommunication and (Over-The-Top) OTT service providers are no longer producers as they now hold a centralist and strong position regarding the distribution and monetization of content. Although these platforms and conceptual frameworks of platforms are important and extensive, little focus has been placed on them in the media studies research. The relationship between telecommunications, OTT services and television ecosystem has not been explored fully yet. Therefore, we must have something new in conceptual and empirical terms, a new theoretical and empirical premise of analysis.

2026-01-16T00:00:00Z