Submissions

Author Guidelines

Authors must ensure originality, cite all sources accurately, disclose overlap with previous work, and submit a declaration confirming the manuscript is plagiarism-free. 

File format

Manuscripts should be submitted as a Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) document, featuring a main heading in 14-point bold and subheadings in 12-point bold to maintain a clear structural hierarchy. The body text must be in Times New Roman, 12-point font, with double line spacing and 1-inch margins on all sides. All citations and references must strictly follow the APA 7th edition style, also ensuring that any supplementary charts or maps are provided in high-resolution black and white within the same file or as clear attachments. 

Submission Requirements       

The journal invites original, unpublished manuscripts with word length of 6000-8000 words including references. Each manuscript should contain abstract of about 250 words with 5-6 keywords that should be listed after the abstract.      The manuscript should be in English language.

Manuscript Structure

The manuscript structure for the Indian Journal of African Studies (IJAS) should follow a scholarly sequence beginning with a Title Page (containing author details), followed by a Title (without author names for blind review), a concise Abstract ( 250 words), Keywords, an Introduction, the Main Body (divided by bold headings and subheadings), a Conclusion, and a comprehensive Reference list in APA 7 style. When preparing your submission, do ensure the work is original and adheres to the word limit (6,000–8,000 words), do use high-quality black-and-white graphics, and do proofread for academic rigor; conversely, do not include any self-identifying information within the main text, do not submit a manuscript that is currently under consideration elsewhere, and do not use footnotes for simple citations, as these should be integrated in-text according to the journal's guidelines.

References     

For your reference list, ensure each entry follows a hanging indent format where the first line is flush left and subsequent lines are indented by 0.5 inches. List authors by their last names and initials, using an ampersand before the final author's name, and capitalize only the first word and proper nouns in article or book titles (sentence case). Italicize the titles of books and the names of journals, including the volume number, to distinguish the container from the specific work. Finally, always provide a functional DOI or URL for digital sources to ensure your reader can retrieve the original material directly. Authors should quote all the references used in their manuscript at the end of the paper. For example, refer to the attached file.
https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/paper-format/sample-papers

Publication     

The Indian Journal of African Studies (IJAS) typically conveys the status of a manuscript via a formal Letter of Acceptance or an email notification sent by the Editor-in-Chief or the Editorial Board following a blind peer-review process. Once you receive this notification, the manuscript is considered to be in its final stages, meaning the core arguments, data, and structure are locked in. At this juncture, only minor changes—such as correcting typographical errors, refining grammatical nuances, or updating specific references—are permitted to ensure the work is polished for print. Significant revisions or the introduction of new data are generally not allowed after the formal acceptance, as the version approved by the reviewers is the one slated for publication. 

Licence to Publish   

IJAS encourages the use of open-access licensing, typically under Creative Commons licenses, to facilitate wider dissemination while respecting authors’ rights. The specific license (e.g., CC-BY, CC-BY-NC) will be clearly stated in the published article. Licensing terms must be transparent, ensuring that readers, institutions, and other researchers understand how content can be used, shared, or adapted. Authors retain copyright of their published work, unless otherwise agreed in writing. Upon submission, authors grant IJAS the right to publish, reproduce, and distribute the article in any form while maintaining their moral and intellectual rights. IJAS does not claim ownership of the underlying research or ideas. Authors remain fully responsible for the originality and accuracy of their content. Authors retain the right to reuse their work in other scholarly publications, teaching materials, and institutional repositories, with proper citation of the original IJAS publication. Authors have the right to request corrections, clarifications, or retractions in case of errors, following IJAS editorial policies. Authors should ensure that all co-authors are aware of and agree to the submission, copyright, and licensing terms.