On 23 January 2016, the Sameeksha Trust—a charitable trust that publishes the Bombay journal the Economic and Political Weekly—appointed a new editor for EPW: the senior business journalist Paranjoy Guha Thakurta. This announcement was made barely a week after C Rammanohar Reddy, who has edited the weekly since 2004, resigned from his post. This decision was reportedly prompted by his disagreements with the members of the trust. Reddy will be handing over his editorial responsibilities to Guha Thakurta on 1 April. Yesterday, Atul Dev, a web reporter with The Caravan, spoke to Guha Thakurta about this development, the recent controversy and his plans for the future of the country’s most venerated scholarly journal.

Atul Dev: How would you evaluate the EPW as a reader?

Paranjoy Guha Thakurta: To me, the Economic and Political Weekly has been a unique institution. One of its kind in the world, I would say. One part of the magazine (and now of the website) offers scholarly, researched, footnoted articles on several subjects. Then there is another part—the front of the magazine—which is more topical, more newsy and analytical. It offers a wide range.

There are many writers—social scientists, researchers and writers of significance in this country and around the world—I have come to know from the pages of the Weekly.

AD: When did you hear about your appointment?