Mapping of Dental Journal Publishing in India - A Pilot Study on Epistemological Challenges in Southern Scholarly Publishing

Background: Epistemic injustice and the so‑called “predators” or illegitimate publishers are the challenges of Southern scholarly publishing. Even though open access (OA) publishing is revolutionary in academic publishing, increased compensation from authors in the form of author processing charges (APCs) by commercial publishers has marginalized knowledge creation in the Global South. The purpose of this study was to map the nature and scope of dental journal publishing in India. Methods: We searched databases like Scopus, WoS, DOAJ, and the UGC CARE list for dental journals published in India. Result: There are currently 35 active dental journals, which mostly belong to or are affiliated with non‑profit organizations (26, 55.9%) or educational institutions (9, 25.8%). The publication of 25 journals has been outsourced to international commercial publishers, with most of these linked to non‑profit organizations. About 39.8% of Indian dental journals are OA and almost half charge APCs. Around 60% of the Indian journals are indexed in Scopus, and slightly less than half (12) are included in the Web of Science (WoS). Discussion: The monopoly of international commercial publishers and the presence of APCs are the real culprits of epistemic injustice in Indian dental journal publishing. Besides, the identification of regional legitimate publishers would help demarcate the term “predatory publishing”. Conclusion: The post‑colonial world witnessed an emergence in Southern scholarly publishing. However, the hegemony or neoliberal exploitation of international commercial publishers and the prolonged use of “predators” in scholarly debates marginalized the knowledge produced in the Global South.