PRAGOTI

AIMS

Pragoti.org is an endeavour to develop an online space for those who stand for a Left and democratic alternative in India. It seeks to facilitate free and vibrant discussions and debates, both by providing a web forum for such discussions as well as by making available resources from the Left in the form of articles, reports, news and documents from India and abroad. Pragoti.org stands opposed to all forms of exploitation and oppression - to capitalism, imperialism, caste and gender oppression, communalism and chauvinism. Pragoti.org stands for the establishment of a democratic and just society free of exploitation and supports democratic movements and struggles across the world which seek to achieve the same.

ORGANIZATION

• All executive and editorial decisions regarding Pragoti.org will be taken by an Editorial Committee of maximum 15 members.
• The Editorial Committee will have a Convenor, who will mainly coordinate the activities of Pragoti.org.
• Other members of the Editorial Committee should fully cooperate with the Convenor and undertake responsibilities assigned to them.
• The Convenor should be elected by the Editorial Committee members from among themselves following one person one vote method.
• The Convenor will have a power of Veto.
• The tenure of a Convenor should be 6 months following which a new Convenor should be elected. An incumbent Convenor can be re-elected.
• Membership of the Editorial Committee would in generally be offered to individuals who have been regular contributors to Pragoti forums, though exceptions can be made for individuals with special skills or experience.
• Members who are inactive for extended periods of time or whose activities are considered disruptive of Pragoti.org's functioning or whose actions or opinions are not consistent with Pragoti.org's aims can be dropped from the Editorial Committee.
• Resolutions for inducting a new member or dropping an existing member can be moved by any two members of the Editorial Committee. Such a proposal must be communicated to all members of the Committee through the Committee mailing list or by other means and members will be given 7 days to express their opinion. All members must communicate whether they Agree, Disagree or Abstain on the resolution and decisions will be taken by 2/3 majority vote.
• Resolutions for amending this policy document may be moved by any two members of the Editorial Committee. Such a proposal must be communicated to all members of the Committee through the Committee mailing list or by other means and members will be given 7 days to express their opinion. All members must communicate whether they Agree, Disagree or Abstain on the resolution and decisions will be taken by 2/3 majority vote.

CONTENT POLICY

The different categories of content carried on Pragoti.org and the criteria applying to them:

• News: Reporting of facts. May be sourced from wire services, newspapers etc. Must be correct and unbiased (preferably from reputed sources) and relevant to the Aims of Pragoti.org.
• Reports: In-depth journalistic piece. Must be correct, unbiased and topical as above.
• Analysis: Opinion pieces. Must be original - not in the sense of being written specifically for Pragoti.org but in the sense of saying something substantially new in terms of ideas and/or presentation. Should not simply be a reiteration of the well-known stances of individuals or political formations. Should be based on well-documented facts, use sound reasoning, and be written in good faith. Ideas expressed in such a piece should be consistent with the Aims of Pragoti.org.
• Primary documents: Programs and policy briefs of political parties and other organizations, government documents, results of empirical and field studies, historical documents not easily found online. Can contain documents from anti-Left forces if considered important and relevant enough for understanding these forces.
• Interviews: Must contain original opinions, elucide original positions, or be first-person accounts from participants in events consistent with the Aims of Pragoti.org.

EDITORIAL WORKFLOW

• Any member can propose that an item be carried in Pragoti, specifying the category under which the item should be carried. While there is no strict limit on the number of items that a member can send, it is desirable that the number does not exceed more than 7 in a week.
• If no member opposes such a proposal within 12 hours for the 'News' category or 36 hours for other categories, then the item may be uploaded to the site.
• The Convenor can exercise her/his veto in exceptional circumstances.
• In case there are members opposed to the item, discussion should be initiated to arrive at a consensus on any of the following: carry the item; don't carry the item; carry the item with a particular comment signed by the Editorial Committee; carry the item with a particular comment signed by individual Committee members.
• If a consensus cannot be reached on any of these outcomes within 72 hours of the original proposal, the item will be dropped.

COMMENTS AND FORUM POSTS

• The comment and forum pages of Pragoti.org shall be open to all, including anonymous contributors.
• All comments and posts will be carried except those that are abusive, indecorous and/or disruptive.