The following is the text of a letter sent by 101 social scientists from all over the world to the trustees of the Economic and Political Weekly expressing their concern about recent developments.Recent editions of the Economic and Political WeeklyWe write to you today as longstanding admirers of EPW and as proud members of the “EPW community” that has benefited from the existence of this unique and high-quality journal. We wish to express our concern at what we have heard of the unusual circumstances in which the incumbent editor of the Economic and Political Weekly, Rammanohar Reddy, who had decided to step down in April 2016 but had agreed to continue as editor-in-chief or in some other position as requested by the board of trustees, has chosen to formally announce that he is resigning from his position as editor and severing all links with the institution.In our view, Ram Reddy’s decision to accept the role of editor at a crucial juncture in the history of the journal, despite the considerable personal (and economic) sacrifice it involved, was only the first indication of his commitment to the journal and its objectives. In the 11 years since then, he has succeeded in transforming the journal into a consistently excellent and contemporary periodical, which is widely seen as an internationally unrivalled journal – one that combines fine scholarship with social conscience. He has done much to streamline organisational functioning, significantly improve and diversify journal content, stabilise the journal’s financial position, mobilise additional resources to expand editorial staff and enable EPW to have its own office, give EPW a strong online presence with commercially marketed archival access, and strengthen the EPW Research Foundation. In sum, Ram Reddy as editor did an exceptional job of re-energising and contemporising EPW at a time when many felt it was showing its age and at risk of losing its edge. All this he did in a self-effacing and accommodating style that has won him respect and admiration across ideological lines.It would indeed be profoundly unfortunate if such dedication, personal sacrifice, and unstinting effort from an extremely successful editor were to end in an unhappy and ungracious parting of ways between him and the EPW board of trustees. We understand that the board had questioned the appropriateness of his efforts to produce a set of volumes and a documentary to commemorate the completion in 2016 of 50 years of the journal’s existence, even though he had organised the required funding from outside. In addition, he had been excluded from any role in the future governance of the journal and also kept out of the formal process of finding a successor, even though he clearly is the person most thoroughly involved with and informed about the editorial and financial conditions and requirements of the journal, and therefore conscious of its future needs. We believe that involving him as a member of the board of trustees would be a natural next step following his retirement, and one that would be widely welcomed in the broader community of contributors and readers of EPW.We therefore sincerely request the board of trustees to reconsider its decisions in this regard, so that all of us feel secure about the future of the journal and can participate with full enthusiasm in the celebrations to mark the 50 years of EPW’s existence. We propose that Ram Reddy be asked 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. We believe that in the interests of continuity, and to build on the achievements registered during his tenure, it would be ideal if Ram Reddy is persuaded to take on a role in the transition to a new editorial regime and in the future governance of the EPW, preferably as a trustee. The progressive and democratic character and legacy of the EPW all suggest that once they appoint the editor, the chairman and trustees of Sameeksha Trust, who are non-executive trustees, must scrupulously respect his or her editorial independence and judgment and not seek to exercise hands-on control over the way EPW is managed and run, as long as the editor keeps the board of trustees informed. The EPW is in effect a public institution, not only because it receives substantial support from public sources like the Reserve Bank of India, the UGC and the ICSSR, but because, as Ram Reddy puts it in his letter announcing his departure, finally, “it is the larger ‘EPW community’ of writers, readers, staff, and a large circle of associates that has looked after it through good times and bad and helped it grow.”We are all deeply committed to maintaining the democratic, progressive, and independent character of the EPW. It is in that spirit that we write to you: in the hope and expectation that these suggestions will be taken on board in the decisions that you make in the days ahead.In addition, we would be happy to help in any way that we can and that you find appropriate. We recall that within a few years of his taking over, Ram had a very fruitful brainstorming session with some members of the ‘EPW community’ on the future directions which the journal could take. We believe that such a meeting might be extremely useful in the current context, and if you choose to call such a meeting with some of us, we would be happy to attend. With regards,Itty Abraham, National University of SingaporeDilip Abreu, Princeton University, USAIsher Ahluwalia, Chairperson, Indian Council for Research into International Economic Relations, DelhiMontek Singh Ahluwalia, Former Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, Government of IndiaSabina Alkire, George Washington University, USAVenkatesh Athreya, former Professor, Bharatidasan University, Tamil NaduAmiya Kumar Bagchi, Institute of Development Studies, KolkataAbhijit Banerjee, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USAPranab Bardhan, University of California, Berkeley, USAAmita Baviskar, Institute of Economic Growth, Delhi UniversityRana P. Behal, Delhi UniversityAditya Bhattacharjea, Delhi School of Economics, Delhi UniversityNeeladri Bhattacharya, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New DelhiSabyasachi Bhattacharya, Institute of Development Studies, KolkataAkeel Bilgrami, Columbia University, New York, USASugata Bose, Harvard University, USAAchin Chakraborty, Director, Institute of Development Studies, KolkataPinaki Chakraborty, National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, New DelhiC. P. Chandrasekhar, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New DelhiPartha Chatterjee, Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, KolkataSudip Chaudhuri, Indian Institute of Management, KolkataAnuradha Chenoy, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New DelhiKamal Mitra Chenoy, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New DelhiAngus Deaton, Princeton University, USAAshwini Deshpande, Delhi School of Economics, Delhi UniversitySatish Deshpande, Institute of Economic Growth, Delhi UniversityRitu Dewan, Centre for Study of Society and Secularism, MumbaiBiswajit Dhar, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New DelhiNavroz Dubash, Centre for Policy Research, DelhiGopalkrishna Gandhi, Ashoka University, DelhiRajmohan Gandhi, University of Illinois, USAJayati Ghosh, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New DelhiRamachandra Guha, historian, writer, BangaloreIrfan Habib, Aligarh Muslim University, AligarhK. N. Harilal, Centre for Development Studies, ThiruvananthapuramBarbara Harriss-White, Oxford University, UKZoya Hasan, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New DelhiNeeraj Hatekar, Director, Department of Economics, University of MumbaiHimanshu, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New DelhiChristophe Jaffrelot, Director, CERI, Universite Sciences Po, ParisDevaki Jain, economist, DelhiPraveen Jha, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New DelhiT. Jayaraman, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, MumbaiSurinder Jodhka, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New DelhiMary E. John, Centre for Women’s Development Studies, DelhiChitra Joshi, Delhi UniversityKalpana Kannabiran, Director, Council for Social Development, HyderabadK. P. Kannan, Centre for Development Studies, ThiruvananthapuramS. Mahendradev, Director, Indira Gandhi Institute of development Research, MumbaiMukul Kesavan, Jamia Millia Islamia University, DelhiSushil Khanna, Indian Institute of Management, KolkataSunil Khilnani, Kings College, LondonAtul Kohli, Princeton University, USAK. L. Krishna, Delhi School of Economics, DelhiN. Krishnaji, economist, HyderabadMaithreyi Krishnaraj, researcher, MumbaiSashi Kumar, Chairman, Media Development Foundation, ChennaiKalyani Menon-Sen, researcher, DelhiShireen Moosvi, Aligarh Muslim University, AligarhChandan Mukherjee, Ambedkar University, DelhiRinku Murgai, The World Bank, New DelhiDilip Nachane, Indira Gandhi Institute for Development Research, MumbaiR. Nagaraj, Indira Gandhi Institute for Development Research, MumbaiS. Narayanan, former Ambassador of India to WTOPulin Nayak, Delhi School of Economics, DelhiParthapratim Pal, Indian Institute of Management, KolkataSuhas Palshikar, University of Pune, PuneRohini Pande, Harvard University USAS. Parasuraman, Director, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, MumbaiPrabhat Patnaik, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New DelhiUtsa Patnaik, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New DelhiSeeta Prabhu, economist, MumbaiSrinath Raghavan, Centre for Policy Research, DelhiIndira Rajaraman, Member, Central Board of Governors, RBIN. Ram, Chairman, Kasturi & Sons Ltd, The Hindu group of newspapers, ChennaiM.V. Ramana, Princeton University, USAT. T. Rammohan, Indian Institute of Management, AhmedabadMahesh Rangarajan, Ashoka University, DelhiVikas Rawal, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New DelhiAmit Shovon Ray, Director, Centre for Development Studies, ThiruvananthapuramPartha Ray, Indian Institute of Management, KolkataD. Narasimha Reddy, Institute of Human Development, New DelhiTirthankar Roy, London School of Economics and Political Science, LondonE. A. S. Sarma, former Secretary, Government of IndiaAbhijit Sen, former Member, Planning Commission, Government of IndiaPronab Sen, Chairman, National Statistical CommissionMihir Shah, former Member, Planning Commission, Government of IndiaDipa Sinha, Ambedkar University DelhiAtul Sood, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New DelhiRavi Srivastava, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New DelhiS. Subramaniam, Madras Institute of Development Studies, ChennaiPadmini Swaminathan, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, HyderabadS. K. Thorat, Chairman, ICSSR, New DelhiJeemol Unni, Director, Institute of Rural Management, AnandA. Vaidyanathan, Madras Institute of Development Studies, ChennaiAchin Vanaik, Delhi UniversityK. Velupillai, economist, Stockholm, SwedenK. Venugopal, former Secretary, Government of IndiaM. Vijayabaskar, Madras Institute of Development Studies, ChennaiRobert Wade, London School of Economics and Political Science, LondonYogendra Yadav, Swaraj AbhiyanJean Dreze adds:Apropos the letter to the board of the Sameeksha Trust, signed by 101 eminent scholars, this is clarify that I share their concerns and resigned from the board on this issue some time ago, with effect from 31 March 2016.
