Bodhi Commons publishes long-form political analysis, historical essays, and translations in both Malayalam and English - free to read, free to share. If you have something rigorous to say, we want to hear from you.
Create a contributor account to get started, or sign in if you already have one. Once logged in, use the submission tool in your dashboard.
Who Can Contribute
Bodhi Commons is open to journalists, academics, researchers, activists, lawyers, economists, and informed generalists. You do not need an institutional affiliation or prior publication record. What matters is that your argument is grounded in evidence, your sources are traceable, and your writing is clear.
We particularly welcome contributors whose perspectives are underrepresented in the existing landscape of English-language political media - writers working from Kerala, the broader Malayalam diaspora, and analysts focused on Indian political economy, social movements, and constitutional questions.
Student writers are welcome. We will work with you through the editorial process.
What We Publish
Long-form analysis (1,500–5,000 words)
The core of Bodhi Commons. A well-argued examination of a political development, policy question, historical episode, or ideological debate - grounded in evidence, clear in its argument, honest about what it does not know.
Explainers (800–2,000 words)
Accessible introductions to a law, a constitutional provision, an economic concept, or a political institution - written for a reader who is intelligent but not a specialist. We do not use jargon without explanation, and we do not condescend.
Historical essays (1,500–6,000 words)
Long-form historical writing that connects the past to present political questions. Archive-based research is especially welcome.
Translations
Translations of significant texts in political thought, primary sources, or important journalism - from Malayalam to English or vice versa, or from other languages into either. Translators retain a byline alongside the original author. Please confirm that the original text is in the public domain or that you have obtained translation rights before submitting.
What we do not publish
Pure opinion pieces with no evidential basis. Press releases. Electoral campaign material. Content whose primary function is commercial promotion. Pieces that have been published elsewhere without prior disclosure to us.
Submission Guidelines
Length
Most analytical pieces fall between 1,500 and 4,000 words. We will not reject a piece solely because it is longer, but the argument must justify the length.
Structure
Submissions should have a clear argument - something you are trying to establish or demonstrate, not just describe. A good heuristic: if your piece could be summarised as "this is a complicated topic with many perspectives," it is not ready to submit.
Sources and references
Use inline hyperlinks for web sources and parenthetical citations or footnotes for academic, archival, or print sources. Every factual claim that is not general knowledge should have a traceable source.
Originality
Submissions must be your own original work. If you have published a substantially similar argument elsewhere, disclose this at the time of submission. Simultaneous submission to other publications is acceptable provided you tell us - and you withdraw from us immediately if the piece is accepted elsewhere.
Language and Formatting
Writing in Malayalam
We strongly encourage submissions in Malayalam. Unicode-encoded Malayalam text is preferred. If you experience difficulty with digital Malayalam input, submit as a PDF or Word document and we will assist with formatting.
Writing in English
We accept both British and American English conventions provided usage is internally consistent. Our editors will query grammar that impairs clarity but will not rewrite your prose without discussion.
Bilingual submissions
If you can provide both a Malayalam and an English version, please do. Each will be edited separately for natural idiom in that language. If you can only provide one language version, we may arrange translation in-house; this will be discussed with you before publication.
The Editorial Process
- Initial review (1–2 weeks): We assess whether the piece fits our scope and standards. We will acknowledge receipt and aim to give you an initial decision within two weeks.
- Editorial revision (1–3 weeks): If we want to proceed, an editor will send you comments and queries. This may involve one or several rounds of revision.
- Fact-checking (up to 1 week): For pieces with significant factual claims, we will ask you to confirm sources before final sign-off.
- Publication: We aim to publish within one week of final sign-off. We will give you advance notice of the publication date.
We aim for a total turnaround of four to six weeks from submission to publication for pieces that proceed.
Rights and Attribution
By submitting a piece to Bodhi Commons, you grant us a non-exclusive, perpetual licence to publish the work on our platform under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA 4.0) licence. You retain full ownership of the copyright and the moral right to be identified as the author.
This means you remain free to publish the same work elsewhere, republish it yourself, or include it in a collection - as long as you note that it was first published on Bodhi Commons.
A Note on Payment
Bodhi Commons is a non-commercial commons project. We do not currently pay contributors, and we are transparent about this. We hope that what we offer in return - careful editing, a committed readership, bilingual reach, and an open-access archive - is meaningful to writers whose primary interest is having their work read and engaged with seriously.
We are working towards a model that can compensate contributors. When that becomes possible, existing contributors will be among the first to benefit.
Ready to submit? Create a contributor account or go to the submission tool.
See also: Editorial Policy · Read published articles