The Yoda Press Team’s Statement on The Occupied Clinic: Militarism and Care in Kashmir

Over the last few days we have been accused of not standing by our author, Saiba Varma, author of The Occupied Clinic: Militarism And Care In Kashmir, as questions have been raised about explicit positionality in her scholarship. We would like to reiterate that we have always stood by our authors, even when they have been targeted and hounded by the State. However, the context in which we are speaking now is vastly different, and we believe it is vital for us to clarify our position on the ethical obligations of the scholars we publish.

We would like to make it clear that we were not privy to the particular detail about Saiba Varma’s antecedents that has emerged recently. She simply never disclosed it to us. We are also of the opinion that many facts and voices on this matter are only now emerging and the final word on it has not yet been spoken. On our end, we have therefore decided to await the disclosure of further information before taking on any further printing of the South Asia edition of the book.

Publishers are known for keeping their eye on commercial considerations and staying quiet in times such as this when their books are called into serious question. Yoda Press has never been, and never will be, that publisher. We hold paramount the need for disclosure and ethical praxis in the academic works we publish and expect the same from our authors. It is our belief that accountability and positionality are crucial for authors and publishers alike if we are to contribute to the production of knowledge in service of a liberatory goal.