Information For Authors

 

Interested in submitting to this journal? We recommend that you review the About the Journal page for the journal's section policies, as well as the Author Guidelines. Authors need to register with the journal prior to submitting or, if already registered, can simply log in and begin the five-step process.

 

Guidelines for Publication in the Journal

‘Vagdhara’ journal is ethically responsible for ensuring the confidentiality, coherence, and respectful handling of manuscripts submitted for publication.

Research papers/articles must follow the prescribed format.

 

  • Title of the paper
  • Author’s name, along with full official designation and email address
  • Any one academic ID: ORCID iD / ResearcherID / Scholar ID / Google Scholar ID / ResearchGate ID / Academic ID
  • Abstract
  • Keywords (4–5)
  • Introduction
  • Overview/Analysis
  • Results
  • References/Bibliography

Reference Framework for ‘Vagdhara’

While the practice of citing sources has become widespread within the Hindi research community, a certain degree of disarray—or perhaps indifference—persists. Our approach will be to adapt established, globally recognised citation systems—such as the Chicago or Harvard manuals—to better align with the linguistic conventions and practices of the Hindi language. We urge authors to keep these guidelines in mind while drafting their submissions; this will streamline the editorial process and ensure a more seamless reading experience for our discerning audience. The method for citing various types of sources in a research paper is explained systematically below, accompanied by illustrative examples.

Please note that our approach differs from these methods in a few respects. First, instead of including in-text citations, we will use footnotes and provide a bibliography at the end of the article. Second, we will use dots (periods) in both the footnotes and the bibliography, whereas the original text may use full stops differently. Regarding names, we will follow the standard convention: first name followed by the surname; the bibliography will also be organised alphabetically according to this format. We will omit titles such as 'Dr.' or 'Prof.'—even in their abbreviated forms—except when they appear as part of a primary source (for instance, if an author wrote under a pen name like 'Moti B.A.', we will list all their works under that name). When using abbreviations for names, include dots without spaces—for example, 'G.P. Srivastava' rather than 'G. P. Srivastava'. Well-known institutional or national acronyms should not include dots (e.g., 'UNESCO' rather than 'U.N.E.S.C.O.', or 'UK' rather than 'U.K.').

We will also use the ‘nuqta’ (diacritic dot), as it is necessary for the correct representation of certain English and Urdu-derived terms—for example: Zulfiqar Bukhari, Žižek, ZTV, ‘qayamat’, ‘farmaish’, ‘ghazal’, ‘khayal’, etc. Similarly, we will use the ‘ardh-chandra’ (crescent mark) or ‘chandra-bindu’ (nasalization mark) wherever appropriate—such as in 'football', 'All India Radio', ‘hansna’ (to laugh), or ‘paanch’ (five). Please note, however, that if a ‘nuqta’ or ‘chandra-bindu’ is absent in the original text of a quoted document, we should not add it ourselves. Similarly, if a traditional calendar system (panchang/samvat) is used, continue to use it. In cases where a date is unclear or unavailable, this should be explicitly noted. When using a colon (or the visarga symbol), ensure there is a space on both sides. However, if the symbol follows a digit directly, the space should appear only after the symbol. Use Arabic numerals—i.e., 1, 2, 3, 4, etc.—throughout.

 

Format for citing a book in a footnote:

A shortened form of the reference is used in the footnote, but the page number must be included. For example: Author's name (year of publication in parentheses): page number.

Example: Sumit Sarkar (1985): 21.

Format for the full citation of a book in the bibliography (reference list) provided at the end of the text:

Sumit Sarkar (1985), Modern India: 1885–1947, Macmillan, London.

Note that the page number is not included here.

 

If the same reference appears again in a footnote, you may simply use the author's name, followed by the page number. If the same reference is cited consecutively in footnotes, using "Ibid.: page number" will suffice; if the page number also remains the same, then "Ibid." alone is enough. If there are two authors or editors, both names should be included; if there are more than two, include the names followed by "et al." (or the equivalent term). However, in the initial footnote and the bibliography, all names must be listed in full. If a book has multiple editions, the specific edition used should be cited, with the original year of publication included in parentheses. If two works by the same author, published in the same year, are cited, then to distinguish between them in the footnotes or bibliography, add a suffix (such as 'a', 'b', etc.) after the title of the work, alongside the year of publication.

 

Example:

Ramachandra Guha (1982a), 'Forestry in British and Post-British India: A Historical Analysis', Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 18, No. 44: 1882–1896.

-------------(1982b), 'Forestry in British and Post-British India: A Historical Analysis', Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 18, No. 45: 1940–1947.

If a book is translated, the translator's name should appear in parentheses after the book title in both the footnote and the bibliography:

Example: Manna Dey (2008), ‘Yaadein Jee Uthin: Ek Aatmakatha’ [Memories Come Alive: An Autobiography], translated from English by Raksha Shukla, Penguin Books, New Delhi.

Articles published in an edited book:

Example: Harish Trivedi, 'All Kinds of Hindi: The Evolving Language of Hindi Cinema', in Ashis Nandy and Vinay Lal (eds.), ‘Fingerprinting Popular Culture: The Mythic and the Iconic in Indian Cinema’, Oxford University Press, New Delhi: 51–86. Articles published in journals/magazines, etc.:

Author (Year of publication), 'Title of the article', Name of the journal/magazine, Volume, Issue, page range; if a specific page needs to be highlighted, add it at the end:

Example: Premlata Verma (2001), 'Ibne-Maryam Hua Kare Koi', Bahuvachan, Year 2, Issue 8 (July–September): 110–128, 115.

Articles from journals/magazines:

Example: Bajrang Bihari Tiwari (2012), 'Dalit Movement and Dalit Literature in Kerala', Kathadesh, Year 32: Issue 5 (July): 76.

 

Works or reports published in newspapers:

Article: Deepanita Nath, 'Radio Rewind', ‘The Sunday Express’, New Delhi, August 10, 2008.

Report: 'A Time of Crisis for Hindi in This Field: Asghar', ‘Jansatta’ (2005), Delhi, March 20: 7.

For citing a published interview: Name of the interviewee > Title and name of the interviewer (in quotation marks) > Reference to the book (starting with the author's name) or the journal/magazine, as applicable.

Example: Vishwanath Tripathi, 'Ramvilas Sharma Was Considered a Supporter of BTR in 1950' (in conversation with Ajey Kumar), ‘Udbhavna’ (Ramvilas Sharma Special Issue; Ed. Pradeep Kumar), Issue 104: 199.

If the interview was conducted by the author themselves, it should be noted as follows: Interview conducted by the author, October 13, 2005, New Delhi.

 

Citing archival material:

Home Department, 42-48/November 1916, A. Jails, National Archives of India (hereinafter NAI).

 

Citing court cases/judgments:

All India ITDC Workers Union and Others v. ITDC and Others, (2006).

2007 AIR 301, (2006) 10 SCC 66.

 

Material sourced from the World Wide Web should be cited as follows:

Example: 'Paan Singh Tomar' on Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paan_Singh_Tomar; accessed on July 28, 2012.

If the entry is in Hindi, provide the Hindi version: http://hi.wikipedia.org/wiki/राजेश_खन्ना. Sometimes, when copying and pasting web addresses, the script of Indian languages ​​may become garbled or unreadable; to avoid this, manually type the content into your word processor rather than relying on a direct copy-paste of the web address.

'Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi', Part-4: YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWqkCpybNLo&feature=g-vrec; accessed/viewed/listened to/read on July 30, 2010.

If the article focuses on films, a filmography must be included alongside the bibliography, specifying the film's title, the producer/director, and the year of release.

Example: ‘Ab Dilli Door Nahin’, R.K. Films, Director: Amar Kumar, 1957. In the main text, however, it is sufficient to simply mention the film's title and release year in parentheses: (‘Ab Dilli Door Nahin’, 1957).

    1. Authors should submit only original, unpublished work to journals—material that has not been published previously (in print or online), nor is currently under consideration by another journal or as a book chapter.
    2. Manuscripts should be approximately 2,000–5,000 words in length, while book reviews should be approximately 2,000 words. 3. The manuscript must be typed in Hindi using the 'Kokila' or 'Mangal' font at a size of 12 points and submitted to the editor via email.
    3. The author must include their name, designation, institutional/organizational address, and email ID in the paper.
    4. A plagiarism report—generated using software such as DrillBit, Turnitin, or iThenticate—must be submitted along with the paper. Papers submitted without a plagiarism report will not be accepted.
    5. Articles submitted to the journal undergo a 'blind review' by subject-matter experts. A peer-review panel of experts evaluates the quality, reliability, and accuracy of the paper, as well as its contribution to the existing body of knowledge in the relevant field. (A 'blind review' implies that the identities of the reviewers are kept confidential from the authors, and the identities of the authors are kept confidential from the reviewers. Editors, reviewers, coordinators, and all involved parties must maintain this two-way confidentiality throughout the blind review process.)
    6. Following the review, the author will receive an email regarding the acceptance, revision, or rejection of the paper.
    7. The editor reserves the right to modify the phrasing, punctuation, etc., within the paper.
    8. Manuscripts must be submitted exclusively through the journal's website.
    9. The author(s) will receive an email from the journal immediately upon publication.
    10. 'Vagdhara' is an open-access journal. The full text of all articles published in the journal can be read online without any restrictions. Anyone wishing to reproduce content from the journal must obtain prior written permission from the editor of 'Vagdhara'.
    11. The opinions expressed in the articles and other materials appearing in the journal are solely those of the respective authors and do not, in any way, reflect the views of the editors or the journal 'Vagdhara'. Authors submitting their work for publication in ‘Vagdhara’ are responsible for obtaining permission for any copyrighted material used in their articles. ‘Vagdhara’ shall not be held liable for any infringement of copyright laws regarding the published content.
    12. The journal reserves the right to publish a revised version of a paper, in consultation with the author, if:
    13. Incorrect or misleading information has been published.
    14. Any part of the content contains an erroneous interpretation.
    15. A paper may be retracted by the journal, in consultation with the author, under the following circumstances:
    16. Plagiarism (online or offline) is identified that violates UGC guidelines.
    17. The work has already been published elsewhere.

 

Responsibilities of the Author:

    • Authors of manuscripts must assume ethical responsibility for the originality of the content and the authenticity of the sources used.
    • Authors must ethically adhere to requirements concerning copyright, patents, permissions, citations, disclosures, and conflicts of interest, wherever and in whatever manner these may apply.
    • Material submitted for publication in ‘Vagdhara’ journal must be free from plagiarism.
    • Authors should claim credit only for work that they have originally produced themselves.
    • Authors must appropriately cite and acknowledge the work of others, as well as their own previously published work that is referenced in the current manuscript. It is the responsibility of the authors—not the editors, reviewers, or any other member of the journal’s team—to ensure that relevant prior research findings and discoveries are duly acknowledged and accompanied by original citations within the submitted manuscript.