When ‘Good People’ Give Up on Good Sense

The simple question before us, who love Economic and Political Weekly and consider themselves part of EPW Community is, did the Trustees of the Sameeksha Trust order taking down of Paranjoy Guha Thakurta’s articles, which exposed Narendra Modi Government’s munificence on Adani Group? Their statement issued on 20th July is silent on this. Therefore, for the Trustees of Sameeksha Trust to say that they will not bow before “external pressure”, begs an explanation.

They are also silent on what they mean by ‘norms of behavior between the Board of Trustees and the Editor, as well as preventing an editor to write under his/her byline. So it is unclear whether the Trustees are committed to Editorial freedom and non-interference.

The question of whether Paranjoy was fit to replace Ram Manohar Reddy as the Editor, is incidental because the choice was that of the Trustees alone who even refused to involve Ram Manohar Reddy in the selection of the new Editor. He alone among all the Trustees (as an ex-officio member of the Trust) knew what Editor’s job in EPW entailed. If despite this, and knowing well that Paranjoy Guha Thakurta is a respected investigative journalist, they chose him, it meant that they wanted him to take EPW in a ‘new’ direction. We in the EPW community continued to harbor apprehension but ensured that the new Editor received our support. We even swallowed our distress at the Trustees hurling unwarranted accusations at Ram Manohar Reddy.

The Trustees have now gone ahead and compounded their mistake, which in turn undermines the respect EPW had earned over the last 50 years because of hard work put in by its Editors and his colleagues and staff.  Sachin Chaudhury, Krishna Raj, Ram Manohar Reddy and their colleagues over five decades earned respect and admiration for turning EPW into a unique journal, academic, analytical, and one open to myriad perspectives. In the past Trustees had always reposed their faith in the Editor they chose and stood by him. They did not interfere. They did not speak of setting up “editorial norms”. They acted as custodians with grace and dignity which a public trust behooves.  However in last fifteen months two eminent editors have been removed and this casts a shadow over the future of this esteemed journal.

 The Trustees are brilliant scholars, and some of them are public intellectuals of repute. So it is a sad commentary on such eminent Left-Liberal intellectuals that they could not live up to their role as custodian of a public institution. As someone with nearly four decade long association with EPW, my trust in the Trustees and their ability to protect and promote EPW as an independent and fearless journal stands eroded.

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are the author's personal views, and do not necessarily represent the views of Newsclick.