22.1 Purpose
Rupkatha Books is committed to fostering a scholarly publishing environment that values diversity, advances equity, promotes inclusion, and respects the dignity of every participant in the publication process. We recognise that equitable access to publishing is essential to the advancement of knowledge, innovation, and global scholarly collaboration. We therefore seek to remove unnecessary barriers to participation and cultivate a publishing culture founded upon fairness, academic freedom, intellectual openness, and mutual respect.
As an international Open Access publisher with a strong commitment to the Global South, multilingual scholarship, and interdisciplinary research, Rupkatha Books views diversity and inclusion as essential components of research excellence and sustainable scholarly communication.
This policy should be read together with the Publication Ethics Policy, Accessibility Statement, Conflict of Interest Policy, Editorial and Peer Review Policy, and other relevant publisher policies.
22.2 Scope
This policy applies to every aspect of the publisher’s activities, including:
- book proposals and manuscript submissions;
- editorial assessment;
- peer review;
- editorial appointments;
- Editorial Board membership;
- reviewer selection;
- author and contributor engagement;
- publication production;
- digital dissemination;
- institutional partnerships;
- conferences, webinars, workshops, and scholarly events;
- marketing and public communication; and
- all other publishing activities undertaken by Rupkatha Books.
22.3 Guiding Principles
Rupkatha Books is guided by the principles of:
- scholarly excellence;
- equality of opportunity;
- editorial fairness;
- accessibility;
- intellectual diversity;
- knowledge equity;
- respect for cultural and linguistic plurality;
- academic freedom;
- openness; and
- mutual respect.
Editorial decisions are based solely upon scholarly merit, originality, methodological rigour, ethical integrity, and relevance to the publisher’s editorial mission.
22.4 Equal Opportunity and Non-Discrimination
Rupkatha Books is committed to providing equal opportunities throughout the publishing process and does not discriminate on the basis of:
- nationality;
- ethnicity;
- race;
- colour;
- language;
- religion or belief;
- gender;
- gender identity or expression;
- sexual orientation;
- age;
- disability;
- socioeconomic background;
- political opinion;
- institutional affiliation;
- geographic location;
- marital or family status; or
- any other characteristic unrelated to scholarly merit.
Every participant in the publishing process is entitled to be treated with dignity, fairness, professionalism, and respect.
22.5 Diversity in Editorial Leadership
Rupkatha Books seeks to cultivate diversity throughout its editorial and governance structures, including:
- the Editorial Board;
- advisory bodies;
- book series editors;
- reviewer networks;
- editorial collaborators;
- institutional partnerships; and
- international scholarly advisers.
Appointments are based primarily on scholarly expertise while recognising the value of broad representation across disciplines, languages, cultures, career stages, geographic regions, and diverse intellectual traditions.
22.6 Inclusive Scholarly Publishing
Rupkatha Books actively encourages scholarship that:
- broadens intellectual perspectives;
- promotes interdisciplinary dialogue;
- advances multilingual scholarship;
- engages Indigenous, local, and community-based knowledge systems;
- explores historically underrepresented histories, cultures, and experiences;
- contributes to equitable knowledge production;
- addresses emerging global challenges; and
- encourages collaboration across disciplinary, institutional, and national boundaries.
The publisher welcomes submissions from established and early-career researchers, independent scholars, translators, practitioners, and collaborative research teams worldwide.
22.7 Global South and Knowledge Equity
Rupkatha Books recognises that global scholarly communication has historically been shaped by structural inequalities in the production, dissemination, and recognition of knowledge.
The publisher therefore actively supports scholarship that:
- foregrounds perspectives from the Global South;
- promotes intercultural and intercivilisational dialogue;
- challenges epistemic inequalities;
- advances decolonial, postcolonial, and Indigenous scholarship;
- encourages multilingual academic communication;
- strengthens South–South and South–North collaboration; and
- broadens equitable participation in global scholarly publishing.
This commitment reflects our vision of a more inclusive, pluralistic, and globally representative scholarly ecosystem.
22.8 Fair Editorial Practice
Editors and reviewers are expected to evaluate submissions objectively, respectfully, and impartially.
Editorial decisions shall never be influenced by an author’s:
- identity;
- nationality;
- ethnicity;
- institutional prestige;
- funding status;
- career stage;
- political or philosophical viewpoint; or
- personal characteristics unrelated to scholarly quality.
Where appropriate, anonymous peer review is used to strengthen fairness and minimise unconscious bias.
22.9 Inclusive Language and Representation
Authors are encouraged to use language that is:
- respectful;
- accurate;
- inclusive;
- culturally sensitive;
- free from discriminatory or prejudicial expression; and
- appropriate to the scholarly context.
Editors may recommend revisions that improve clarity and inclusiveness while fully respecting scholarly argument, historical accuracy, and academic freedom.
Historical or critical discussion of discriminatory language should be presented within its appropriate scholarly and cultural context.
22.10 Accessibility and Digital Inclusion
Rupkatha Books recognises that meaningful inclusion extends beyond representation to encompass accessibility, affordability, and equitable access to knowledge.
Accordingly, the publisher seeks to:
- provide Universal Open Access to scholarly publications;
- improve digital accessibility;
- support accessible publication formats;
- reduce technological barriers to knowledge;
- encourage multilingual dissemination;
- strengthen digital literacy; and
- promote inclusive digital scholarship.
Accessibility is regarded as an essential component of scholarly equity and is further addressed in the Accessibility Statement.
22.11 Professional Conduct
Authors, editors, reviewers, translators, Editorial Board members, publishing staff, and collaborators are expected to communicate professionally, respectfully, and ethically throughout the publication process.
Harassment, discrimination, intimidation, bullying, retaliation, or abusive behaviour is inconsistent with the values of Rupkatha Books and may result in appropriate editorial or administrative action under the publisher’s policies.
