From the Editor

It is an honour and privilege to be associated with Economic & Political Weekly (EPW) as the editor. I am overwhelmed by the gracious welcome and best wishes sent by several members of the extended family of EPW. I hope to live up to the expectations of the larger EPW community. The first thing that comes to mind when one thinks of EPW is the undeniable impact it has had on informing and shaping discussions across the social sciences. The unique format of a combination of academic articles and a commentary section on current affairs was designed by Sachin Chaudhuri in its earlier avatar, the Economic Weekly. Successive editors of EPW have refined, expanded, and maintained its fairness and scholarly work. It also progressed on the use of digital technology. The journal has also taken the initiative to translate EPW articles into regional languages to reach a wider audience. In the last 57 years, it has been a resourceful forum for a variety of subjects such as economics, political science, history, sociol­ogy, women studies, literature, environment, and, occasionally, natural sciences. There were debates on the mode of production, farm size and productivity, industrial stagnation, poverty, international trade, etc, in the 1970s and 1980s. The debates on several other topics continued over time. A unique feature of the EPW is its fraternity, or community, or extended family. Everyone has a sense of co-ownership of this journal.

In the words of Lloyd I Rudolph and Susanne Hoeber Rudolph, “Research in our large South Asia Centre has profited so much from the knowledge and insights the EPW made available week after week, month after month and year after year. EPW also has unique quality of presenting scholarship that is professionally outstanding while remaining relevant to the world of policy and action.” Publishing with quality every week has been possible because of the highly dedicated staff of the journal.