BodhiCommons: Editorial Policy

These principles govern what we publish, how we verify it, and how we account for errors. Last updated: April 2026.

നയ സംഗ്രഹം (Policy Summary): ബോധി കോമൺസ് ഒരു സ്വതന്ത്ര, ദ്വിഭാഷ രാഷ്ട്രീയ ജ്ഞാന പോർട്ടൽ ആണ്. ഞങ്ങളുടെ ഉള്ളടക്കം തഥ്യ-പരിശോധന, ആത്മസ്ഥൈര്യം, ക്രിയേറ്റീവ് കോമൺസ് ലൈസൻസ് എന്നിവയുടെ അടിസ്ഥാനത്തിൽ പ്രസിദ്ധീകരിക്കുന്നു.

1. Mission

Bodhi Commons exists to make serious political analysis accessible to everyone - in both Malayalam and English, without a paywall, and under an open licence that allows free sharing. We believe that democratic participation is deepened when citizens have access to well-sourced, rigorously argued analysis of politics, economics, history, and social movements.

We are not a news organisation. We publish long-form essays, analytical pieces, translations, and explainers. We are interested in the slow work of understanding - the kind that supplements, contextualises, and sometimes challenges the daily news cycle.

2. Editorial Independence

Bodhi Commons is editorially independent. We accept no direction on editorial decisions from political parties, governments, advertisers, or donors. Financial support - in any form - carries no editorial influence or access.

Editorial decisions rest exclusively with the editorial team. We disclose significant funding relationships on our About page so readers can make their own assessments.

3. What We Publish

We commission and accept submissions in the following categories:

Political analysis: Evidence-based examination of political actors, institutions, and processes - primarily though not exclusively focused on India and Kerala.
Economic commentary: Analytical writing on economic policy, labour, land, and development - including perspectives that are underrepresented in mainstream coverage.
Historical essays: Long-form explorations of political history, social movements, and archives.
Translations: Significant texts in political thought, translated between Malayalam and English, with appropriate attribution.
Explainers and primers: Clear introductions to legislative, judicial, or policy matters for a general audience.

We do not publish opinion pieces that consist solely of a writer's personal views unsupported by evidence. We do not publish content whose primary purpose is electoral campaigning, fund-raising, or commercial promotion.

4. Standards of Accuracy

4.1 Fact verification

Every factual claim in a published piece should be supportable. Before publication, editors will ask contributors to identify the source for any assertion that is not general knowledge. Claims derived from primary sources should cite those sources directly.

4.2 Attribution and sourcing

Quotations must be attributed to a named source wherever possible. Anonymous sourcing is permitted only when the information cannot reasonably be obtained on the record and is material to the public interest.

We do not fabricate quotations, composite sources, or reconstruct dialogue as if it were verbatim.

4.3 Opinion and analysis

Analysis pieces necessarily involve interpretation and argument. We do not require contributors to be "neutral" in the sense of having no point of view. We do require that arguments be grounded in evidence and that counter-arguments be engaged with honestly.

4.4 Data and statistics

Statistical claims should be accompanied by the source dataset and, where relevant, the methodology used to produce the figure. Contributors should not cherry-pick data to support a predetermined conclusion while ignoring contradictory evidence.

5. Language Policy

Bodhi Commons is committed to genuine bilingualism. Malayalam and English are equal languages on this platform - neither is a translation of the other. A piece written in Malayalam is not subordinate to its English counterpart.

Where a piece is published in both languages, each version will be edited separately for natural idiom in that language. Machine translation without editorial revision will not be published.

We welcome submissions in either language. Contributors who wish to write in Malayalam but are uncertain about digital formatting or Unicode encoding should contact us - we can assist.

6. Authorship and Attribution

All published pieces carry a byline. We publish under contributors' real names as a default. Pseudonyms are accepted only in exceptional circumstances where the contributor faces credible risk of professional or personal harm.

Ghost-writing - where one person writes content published under another's name - is not permitted.

Contributors are responsible for ensuring that any material they submit is original and does not infringe copyright.

7. Conflicts of Interest

Contributors must disclose to the editors, at the time of submission, any personal, financial, or organisational interest that might reasonably be seen as creating a conflict with the subject matter of their piece. This includes:

Employment by, membership of, or financial relationship with an organisation discussed in the piece.
Personal relationships with individuals named or discussed.
Financial interests in companies, policies, or outcomes discussed.
Prior public positions or campaigns directly related to the subject.

Disclosed conflicts do not automatically disqualify a submission. Undisclosed conflicts discovered after publication are grounds for a correction note or, in serious cases, withdrawal of the piece.

8. Corrections Policy

Accuracy matters more to us than the appearance of infallibility. When we are wrong, we correct promptly and transparently.

Minor errors (spelling, punctuation, factual slips that do not alter the substance of the argument) will be corrected in-text with a dated correction note appended to the piece.
Substantive errors (incorrect data, misquotation, factual claims that materially misrepresent the subject) will be corrected in-text and noted prominently at the top of the piece.
Serious errors that undermine the central argument of a piece may result in the piece being retracted, with a public explanation.

To submit a correction request, email the editorial team or use the contact form. We aim to respond within five working days.

9. Reader Engagement and Comments

We are committed to a space where readers and contributors can engage with ideas rigorously and respectfully. We reserve the right to remove responses that are abusive, discriminatory, or constitute harassment of contributors or other readers.

Substantive disagreements with published pieces are welcome. If a response is strong enough to merit publication as a standalone piece, we will consider it for commissioning.

10. Content Licensing

All original editorial content published on Bodhi Commons is made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) licence. This means you are free to share and adapt the content for any purpose, including commercially, provided you give appropriate credit to Bodhi Commons and the original author, and distribute any derivative work under the same licence.

Contributors retain the moral right to be identified as the author of their work. By submitting to Bodhi Commons, contributors grant us a perpetual, non-exclusive licence to publish the work under the terms above.

Questions about this policy can be directed to the editorial team via the contact details on our About page. This policy will be reviewed annually.