Baaz Is Now Four Years Old
"When we started, we were asked if this model, which prioritizes the written word and patient content, would work in today's age of algorithms and short attention spans. Well, it did."
From the Editors
January 18, 2025 | 2 min. read | Editorial
We are four years old today.
What started as a humble independent outlet for the Sikh and Punjabi diaspora has now developed into the digital news platform of record in the community.
Our high-quality journalism on various topics this year - from the Hindu Nationalist mob violence targeting Sikhs in Brampton/Mississauga and Indian foreign interference directed at the Conservative Party of Canada to Indian intelligence operating out of consulates around the world and the dark history of 3HO boarding schools - generated mainstream headlines. You will be hard-pressed to find the kind of original reporting that happens at Baaz anywhere else.
We don't merely report the news. We uncover it.
Then there's the analysis and opinion pieces as well, providing thought leadership and meaningful debate on issues of politics, culture, and religion.
What is so rewarding about all of this is the love we receive from our loyal readers. Within the roughly 2.5 million-strong Sikh diaspora, our website, home to our now famous long-form articles, has passed a significant milestone: over 1,000,000 reads and over 750,000 unique visitors. We also hit millions of impressions on our socials - even though we are entirely censored in India.
The millions of views and reads we have garnered across mediums are almost wholly from Canada, America, the UK, and Australia. When we say we speak for the Sikh and Punjabi diaspora, we mean it.
We did this not by pumping out countless shallow articles, engaging in clickbait, or regurgitating press releases but by publishing a small handful of pieces monthly, providing deep and meaningful coverage on issues impacting our communities.
Since we started Baaz, we have stuck to our commitment to sharing credible, in-depth, and unapologetic articles for the diaspora. We also stuck to high standards of journalistic integrity. Our followers prove that independent journalism can thrive and that Sikhs seek reads beyond the headlines (or tweets).
When we began, we were asked if this model, which prioritizes the written word and patient content, would work in today's age of algorithms and short attention spans. Yet, here we are four years later, organically reaching vast swaths of our diaspora community with minimal resources.
Sharing the news and shaping the world around us brings us great joy. Four years in and, God willing, many more to go. Thank you once again for all the support.
In chardi kala.
Baaz is home to opinions, analysis, and original reporting for the Sikh and Punjabi diaspora. Support us by subscribing. Find us on Twitter, Instagram, and Bluesky at @BaazNewsOrg. If you would like to submit a written piece for consideration please email us at editor@baaznews.org.