Stree and Samya are two imprints of Bhatkal and Sen, a joint partnership of the Bhatkals of Popular Prakashan and Mandira Sen. Founded in 1990, Stree publishes on gender studies, focusing on the status of women in India, in English and in Bengali. It publishes on the workplace, class relations and political subjection, marriage, the family, the impact of religion, culture and ideology. It translates women's writings, fiction and nonfiction, from the Indian languages into English. Samya, founded in 1996, focuses on culture and dissent, which gives priority to the study of caste in a changing society, through scholarly analysis, its place in the creation of knowledge, and the writings of Dalits.

Stree publishes on gender studies and analyses the condition of women in India, in English and Bengali. Our concern is to reflect on the diverse problems that confront women. We publish on the fundamental issues facing women in India today: work and the workplace, whether organized or unorganized, paid or unpaid, class relations and political subjectivity, marriage and the family, and the impact of religion, culture and ideology. We also plan studies on the past which will suggest guidelines for an understanding of the present.

Samya takes a critical look at culture and identity, which gives priority to the study of caste in a changing society, its place in the creation of knowledge and the writings of Dalits, often in translations into English. It weaves together scholarly analysis and the everyday experiences of activists, presenting a deeper understanding of social changes taking place today. Dissecting the system of privilege and oppression, invites readers to participate in the ensuing debate hence we focus on contemporary issues and those of past, examining the roots of injustice from the point of view of an underprivileged.

As a leading independent publisher, we primarily focus on publishing knowledge generated in India, which is then also distributed abroad, or sometimes presented as a co-edition with a western publisher. A tremendous effort has been undertaken to develop new authors and to showcase their work in high-quality editions that reflect the best editorial and production skills available in India. Our books compete with the best books in international publishing. We have bought very few books from scholarly publishers abroad, which may have slowed our growth, but we believe it has been worth it.

In August 2015, two joint imprints, Sage-Stree and Sage-Samya, were begun to take these alternative publishing programmes forward in ways to gain greater access to readership. On its part, Sage, as a distinguished publisher of the social sciences worldwide, offers informed support and encouragement, enabling the imprints to continue to present outstanding books to readers, permitting alternative publishing to meet the mainstream creatively.