These Terms of Use govern your use of Diaspora Dreams, available at diasporadream.com (the “Site”). By using the Site you agree to these terms. If you do not agree, please do not use the Site.

1. What we are

Diaspora Dreams is an editorial publication for the Indian diaspora. We publish news, long-form reporting, interviews, cultural criticism, and practical journalism on subjects relevant to the Indian diaspora — visas and law, business, politics, culture, heritage, opinion, yoga and spiritualism, and study abroad.

We are a publication, not a law firm, not a financial adviser, not a consulting practice, not an emergency service, and not an arm of the Indian government. Where our journalism touches on legal, tax, immigration, financial, medical, or other professional matters, the content is journalism — informative and carefully sourced, but not a substitute for advice from a qualified professional in your jurisdiction. You agree not to treat our content as such.

2. Editorial standards

We hold our own work to standards we publish openly on our About page: independence from advertisers and subjects, inline citation of sources, transparent corrections, and clear labelling of sponsored content. Where we make a mistake, we correct it. Tell us if you find one — write to our contact page.

3. Intellectual property

All editorial content on the Site — articles, photographs, illustrations, podcasts, video, design elements, code, and the “Diaspora Dreams” name and marks — is owned by Diaspora Dreams or licensed to us.

You may read, share, and link to our content for personal and non-commercial purposes. You may quote short excerpts in your own reporting or writing, with attribution and a link back to the original. You may not republish our articles in full without our prior written permission, frame our content within your own commercial property, or use our marks in a way that suggests endorsement we have not given.

Some photographs on the Site are licensed under Creative Commons (commonly CC BY-SA) from Wikimedia Commons or other open-source archives. Where this is the case, the photo credit in the caption identifies the licensor and the licence. Those images may be reused under the terms of their respective licences, not these Terms.

4. Reader submissions

When you submit content to us — through the contact form, the Ask the Newsroom form, the Grievances form, or the newsletter signup — you grant Diaspora Dreams a non-exclusive, perpetual, royalty-free, worldwide licence to use, reproduce, edit, anonymise, summarise, and publish the content for editorial purposes.

We will not name you in published work without your permission, except where you have specifically asked us to (for example, by signing your name to a letter to the editor intended for publication). For most submissions — questions, grievances, tips — we use them editorially in aggregated or anonymised form, as described on the relevant page.

You warrant that any content you submit is yours to submit, is accurate to the best of your knowledge, does not infringe anyone else's rights, and is not unlawful. You will not use any of our forms to send abusive, threatening, defamatory, or unlawful content.

5. Sponsored content

Diaspora Dreams takes paid commissions for profiles, interviews, and long-form features through our Work with us programme. Every commissioned piece published on the Site is clearly labelled as a Paid Post, segregated from our editorial feeds, and accompanied by a disclosure block at the top and bottom of the article. Sponsored content does not appear in our Cover Story, Latest, In Conversation, Related Articles, or Google News sitemap.

The editorial standards described in section 2 above apply, with one difference: the subject or sponsor of a commissioned piece reviews the draft for factual accuracy (names, dates, titles, places). Editorial voice, structure, and framing remain with us. Our full position on what we will and will not take money for is published on the Work with us page.

6. External links

The Site contains links to third-party websites — government portals, source material, related publications, and so on. We provide these links for your convenience and as part of our journalistic sourcing practice. We do not control those sites, are not responsible for their content or their privacy practices, and the inclusion of a link does not constitute endorsement.

Where a link is part of a sponsored arrangement, the link is marked with rel="sponsored noopener" in line with search-engine disclosure standards.

7. Disclaimer

We take care to publish accurate, well-sourced journalism. But the Site is provided on an “as is” basis. We do not warrant that the Site will be available without interruption, that the content will be free of errors, or that any specific outcome will follow from acting on information found here. To the maximum extent permitted by law, we disclaim all warranties, express or implied.

In particular — and we say this so often it is a refrain of our journalism, not a footnote — nothing on the Site is legal, tax, immigration, medical, or financial advice. For binding advice on your situation, consult a qualified professional in your jurisdiction.

8. Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Diaspora Dreams will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, consequential, special, or punitive damages arising from your use of the Site, including any loss of profits, loss of data, or loss of opportunity. Nothing in these terms limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud, or for any other liability that cannot be limited under applicable law.

9. Indemnity

If your use of the Site, or any content you submit through it, causes Diaspora Dreams to incur loss or face a claim from a third party, you agree to indemnify us against the reasonable cost of that loss or claim — for example, if you submit content that infringes someone else's copyright and we are subsequently sued.

10. Termination

We may suspend or restrict your access to the Site at any time, without notice, if we reasonably believe you have breached these Terms. The provisions of these Terms that by their nature should survive termination — including sections on intellectual property, reader submissions, disclaimer, limitation of liability, indemnity, and governing law — will continue to apply.

11. Governing law

These Terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales. The courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute arising from or in connection with these Terms or the Site, save that nothing in these Terms prevents readers domiciled in another jurisdiction from bringing a claim in the courts of their own domicile where that right is guaranteed by the law of that jurisdiction.

12. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. The “effective” date at the top of the page reflects the most recent change. Continued use of the Site after a change constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms. Material changes will be announced on this page.

13. Contact

Questions about these Terms: privacy@diasporadream.com
Privacy questions: see our Privacy Policy
Editorial enquiries: contact page
Commercial enquiries: work with us

These Terms were drafted in-house and reflect our actual practices as of the effective date. For binding interpretation, our legal counsel is the authoritative source. Readers in specific jurisdictions may wish to consult their own legal advisers regarding rights that cannot be varied by these Terms.