 "Journey of a journal")
To those unfamiliar with Economic & Political Weekly's history, the resignation of its editor, C Rammanohar Reddy, on January 13 was just another news item. What they wouldn't know is that in the 50 years since its inception, this was the first time the journal's editor had stepped down over internal conflict, triggering concern among its contributors: a letter signed by 101 academics from various disciplines and countries was sent to members of the Sameeksha Trust that runs the journal. It urged the Trust to ask Reddy "to take up and continue the activities he had planned to celebrate this anniversary". "We also strongly urge that he be included and given a role in the process of selecting the new editor, and that such a selection be done in an open and transparent manner with all Trustees invited to be part of that process."
Reports suggest that Reddy had a disagreement with the board of the Sameeksha Trust over plans for the 50th year celebrations for the journal. Reddy, as he explained in an interview to Scroll, wanted to create a documentary and show the story of India through the eyes of EPW.
It appears that the board, which consists of historian Romila Thapar, economist Deepak Nayyar and banker Deepak Parekh, among others, was not pleased with Reddy's plans, despite the fact that Reddy had secured the funds for this project from the Tata Trust.
In 1966, Sachin Chaudhuri, changed the name of the periodical Economic Weekly, which he had edited since its inception in 1949, to EPW. That same year, Chaudhuri died and economist R K Hazari took his place as the editor. His tenure lasted three years before he joined the Reserve Bank of India. It was then that Krishna Raj, an assistant editor, took over as editor, a role he fulfilled for for 35 years, till his death in 2004.
A search committee was put together to look for his successor and the Sameeksha Trust appointed Reddy as the editor. At the time, Reddy was the economics editor for The Hindu and the financial sacrifice he had to make for the switch was considerable. There was also a personal sacrifice involved, when Reddy had to relocate to Mumbai, while his family stayed back in Hyderabad.
"Frankly, I think it is quite embarrassing," says Reddy over a phone call. "Working with EPW is a dream job for certain people and it has been an honour to have edited it."
"Role- and knowledge-wise, there aren't many other places where one could grow into the job as much. That is why, in my perception, EPW was an attractive place to work," says a former member of the staff. "The small editorial team and the immense expertise and idealism in it made the office exude a collegial atmosphere to work in."
Having read EPW with great reverence and some intimidation, I ask Reddy questions with some degree of nervousness. At once an editor and scholar, he approaches our conversation like a teacher would: listening patiently before answering calmly. Reddy puts one condition to our conversation: he will not speak to me about the controversy around his resignation.
At one point, I begin a question about the stature of EPW with the letter that scholars signed to express their concerns over his resignation and he cuts me short and rephrases the question before answering it. On that count, Reddy remains firm throughout, the teacher turning strict when the pupil veers off-course.
"I have often wondered how EPW garnered the goodwill it does. I think it is because the journal is independent and contributors and readers see it as their own," says Reddy.
He explains that EPW remains distinctive in India and perhaps even the world for presenting both research papers and news analysis. "While editorially we are a journal of defence, we have endeavoured to never shut out any debate or particular school of thought."
Even though it positions itself to the Left, it has published works by proponents of free-trade too. For instance, both Amartya Sen and Jagdish Bhagwati have contributed to EPW - two economists who belong to the opposite ends of the ideological spectrum.
Historian Ramchandra Guha, for the very fact of EPW's scholarly variety, says that he owes his career to the journal. "It is a priceless resource. But we also must keep in mind that EPW is what it is because of its editor," he says.
In a moving piece titled The Gentle Colossus for The Caravan in 2012, Guha wrote of the first time his paper was published in EPW and his long-standing professional relationship with Raj.
Another historian and a signatory of the letter to the Trust explains how EPW has survived crises such as Emergency and the 1991 foreign exchange shortage, emerging only stronger. While the quality of printing and the look and feel of the journal are abysmally akin to what a government paper would look like in the 1980s, it is the content that truly gives it distinction. "To use a cliched term, EPW bridges Bastar to Brooklyn," he says.
Reddy also played a key role in digitising EPW, increasing its reach and readership manifold, even if the official print circulation remains at 12,000 copies per week. There's a sort of fable about EPW - almost 10 times as many people read the journal than its actual print circulation, both through libraries and online research archives such as JSTOR.
Reading EPW can sometimes be challenging for first-time readers, with lengthy papers that need extra attention and patience to just wade through them. Those who accomplish that task often come out feeling intellectually valiant.
A student at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences explains how he first discovered EPW and how it enriched the years that followed. "I discovered EPW in a dusty pile in a corner of my college hostel's little-used library. The red-and-black on a yellowing white front cover was unusually appealing," he says.
While high on the academic quotient and low on the "newsy" aspect, EPW allowed him to get a sense of the economic and social realities of India and the world. "That V S Naipaul once called EPW, which is widely considered by those who do not agree with its ideological stance as a Leftist mouthpiece, India's best news publication only further set the journal apart."
What also set it apart was the fact that its editor, and not the Trust, was able to mobilise funds to keep it afloat. "Reddy always went above and beyond the scope of his duties. And unlike some media organisations where the editor has a stronger personality than the paper itself, he was always behind-the-scenes at EPW," says Guha.
In 2006, Reddy convinced Rohini Nilekani to contribute Rs 2 crore to the journal, allowing it to shift to a permanent office. Nilekani declined to comment on her relationship with the journal. The Sameeksha Trust is registered under the Bombay Public Trusts Act, which comes under the purview of Maharashtra's charity commissioner. While the Trust can be located on the charity commissioner's website, details of its financial statements and assets aren't there.
Reddy, Guha adds, had "outsized shoes to fill" after Raj, which he was able to accomplish successfully. Former colleagues, too, speak highly of the environment at EPW. "Every Tuesday, there were long meetings, two to three hours, and the debates and discussions were intense but friendly," he says. "There was a great degree of ownership among the editorial staff with the process and the product."
While some regular readers of EPW call the current row "distracting", Guha is apprehensive who would succeed Reddy. "What worries me is that if an even-tempered editor like Reddy could be pushed to the brink, anyone succeeding him would be concerned about the state of affairs, too," says Guha.
But Reddy and those familiar with the inner workings of EPW insist that the relationship between the Trust and the editorial team has always been cordial and open.
Over the last week, efforts have been made to reconcile members of the Board and Reddy, to arrive at a resolution that would be in the best interests of the journal. This might mean that the Board consults with Reddy on who should succeed him.
As a student of literature in Delhi University, I once quoted an EPW article in one of my assignments. While it did not fetch me a higher score, it certainly won me some brownie points with a professor, who then started paying more attention to the arguments I posited in class. Scholars all around, it seems, want to ensure the intellectual brownie-points don't cease.
Reports suggest that Reddy had a disagreement with the board of the Sameeksha Trust over plans for the 50th year celebrations for the journal. Reddy, as he explained in an interview to Scroll, wanted to create a documentary and show the story of India through the eyes of EPW.
It appears that the board, which consists of historian Romila Thapar, economist Deepak Nayyar and banker Deepak Parekh, among others, was not pleased with Reddy's plans, despite the fact that Reddy had secured the funds for this project from the Tata Trust.
Also Read
Reddy, in the interview, wondered what would come next "once the autonomy of the editor is breached". Over 100 scholars, it seems, are worried about the same thing.
In 1966, Sachin Chaudhuri, changed the name of the periodical Economic Weekly, which he had edited since its inception in 1949, to EPW. That same year, Chaudhuri died and economist R K Hazari took his place as the editor. His tenure lasted three years before he joined the Reserve Bank of India. It was then that Krishna Raj, an assistant editor, took over as editor, a role he fulfilled for for 35 years, till his death in 2004.
A search committee was put together to look for his successor and the Sameeksha Trust appointed Reddy as the editor. At the time, Reddy was the economics editor for The Hindu and the financial sacrifice he had to make for the switch was considerable. There was also a personal sacrifice involved, when Reddy had to relocate to Mumbai, while his family stayed back in Hyderabad.
"Frankly, I think it is quite embarrassing," says Reddy over a phone call. "Working with EPW is a dream job for certain people and it has been an honour to have edited it."
"Role- and knowledge-wise, there aren't many other places where one could grow into the job as much. That is why, in my perception, EPW was an attractive place to work," says a former member of the staff. "The small editorial team and the immense expertise and idealism in it made the office exude a collegial atmosphere to work in."
Having read EPW with great reverence and some intimidation, I ask Reddy questions with some degree of nervousness. At once an editor and scholar, he approaches our conversation like a teacher would: listening patiently before answering calmly. Reddy puts one condition to our conversation: he will not speak to me about the controversy around his resignation.
At one point, I begin a question about the stature of EPW with the letter that scholars signed to express their concerns over his resignation and he cuts me short and rephrases the question before answering it. On that count, Reddy remains firm throughout, the teacher turning strict when the pupil veers off-course.
"I have often wondered how EPW garnered the goodwill it does. I think it is because the journal is independent and contributors and readers see it as their own," says Reddy.
He explains that EPW remains distinctive in India and perhaps even the world for presenting both research papers and news analysis. "While editorially we are a journal of defence, we have endeavoured to never shut out any debate or particular school of thought."
Even though it positions itself to the Left, it has published works by proponents of free-trade too. For instance, both Amartya Sen and Jagdish Bhagwati have contributed to EPW - two economists who belong to the opposite ends of the ideological spectrum.
Historian Ramchandra Guha, for the very fact of EPW's scholarly variety, says that he owes his career to the journal. "It is a priceless resource. But we also must keep in mind that EPW is what it is because of its editor," he says.
In a moving piece titled The Gentle Colossus for The Caravan in 2012, Guha wrote of the first time his paper was published in EPW and his long-standing professional relationship with Raj.
Another historian and a signatory of the letter to the Trust explains how EPW has survived crises such as Emergency and the 1991 foreign exchange shortage, emerging only stronger. While the quality of printing and the look and feel of the journal are abysmally akin to what a government paper would look like in the 1980s, it is the content that truly gives it distinction. "To use a cliched term, EPW bridges Bastar to Brooklyn," he says.
Reddy also played a key role in digitising EPW, increasing its reach and readership manifold, even if the official print circulation remains at 12,000 copies per week. There's a sort of fable about EPW - almost 10 times as many people read the journal than its actual print circulation, both through libraries and online research archives such as JSTOR.
Reading EPW can sometimes be challenging for first-time readers, with lengthy papers that need extra attention and patience to just wade through them. Those who accomplish that task often come out feeling intellectually valiant.
A student at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences explains how he first discovered EPW and how it enriched the years that followed. "I discovered EPW in a dusty pile in a corner of my college hostel's little-used library. The red-and-black on a yellowing white front cover was unusually appealing," he says.
While high on the academic quotient and low on the "newsy" aspect, EPW allowed him to get a sense of the economic and social realities of India and the world. "That V S Naipaul once called EPW, which is widely considered by those who do not agree with its ideological stance as a Leftist mouthpiece, India's best news publication only further set the journal apart."
What also set it apart was the fact that its editor, and not the Trust, was able to mobilise funds to keep it afloat. "Reddy always went above and beyond the scope of his duties. And unlike some media organisations where the editor has a stronger personality than the paper itself, he was always behind-the-scenes at EPW," says Guha.
In 2006, Reddy convinced Rohini Nilekani to contribute Rs 2 crore to the journal, allowing it to shift to a permanent office. Nilekani declined to comment on her relationship with the journal. The Sameeksha Trust is registered under the Bombay Public Trusts Act, which comes under the purview of Maharashtra's charity commissioner. While the Trust can be located on the charity commissioner's website, details of its financial statements and assets aren't there.
Reddy, Guha adds, had "outsized shoes to fill" after Raj, which he was able to accomplish successfully. Former colleagues, too, speak highly of the environment at EPW. "Every Tuesday, there were long meetings, two to three hours, and the debates and discussions were intense but friendly," he says. "There was a great degree of ownership among the editorial staff with the process and the product."
While some regular readers of EPW call the current row "distracting", Guha is apprehensive who would succeed Reddy. "What worries me is that if an even-tempered editor like Reddy could be pushed to the brink, anyone succeeding him would be concerned about the state of affairs, too," says Guha.
But Reddy and those familiar with the inner workings of EPW insist that the relationship between the Trust and the editorial team has always been cordial and open.
Over the last week, efforts have been made to reconcile members of the Board and Reddy, to arrive at a resolution that would be in the best interests of the journal. This might mean that the Board consults with Reddy on who should succeed him.
As a student of literature in Delhi University, I once quoted an EPW article in one of my assignments. While it did not fetch me a higher score, it certainly won me some brownie points with a professor, who then started paying more attention to the arguments I posited in class. Scholars all around, it seems, want to ensure the intellectual brownie-points don't cease.