On 28 July 2017, a letter from the staff of Economic and Political Weekly (EPW) to the Sameeksha Trust (the owners of EPW) was published on a Meghalaya-based webzine, Raiot. In the letter, which had been published on Scribd but then taken down, the staff demanded answers from the Trust on why the article “Modi Government’s ₹500 Crore Bonanza to Adani Group Company” (EPW, 19 June 2017), co-authored by former editor Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, was deleted from the EPW website. The letter also raised questions over Guha Thakurta’s behaviour during his tenure as editor.
The veteran journalist, who resigned his post on 18 July 2017, has responded to the letter in a detailed statement on Wednesday. The response addresses each of the allegations raised regarding his behaviour. He also raises his concerns regarding the blockage of his access to his EPW email account, and thanks his colleagues for also questioning the decision by the Trust to withdraw the article.
Here are some excerpts from the statement.
Also Read: In Letter to Trustees, EPW Staff Question Guha Thakurta as Editor
On the Allegation of Undermining the Review Process at EPW
On the issue of my allegedly undermining the review process in the EPW, I wish to assert that I exercised my prerogative as an editor to shorten the review process in the cases of barely a handful of articles out of the hundreds of articles that were published in the print and web editions of the EPW in the 15 months that I was privileged to serve in this position. I wish to place on record that among this handful of articles was one that was strongly recommended for publication by one of the Trustees of the Sameeksha Trust. After this article was published, it attracted a strong rejoinder which too was published. The same Trustee also wrote an email to me expressing unhappiness at the rejection of a particular article. While it is not normal practice in the EPW to specify the reasons for rejecting an article, in this instance, because a specific complaint had come from a Trustee, I requested the reviewer to specify the reasons for rejecting the article. These reasons were then emailed to the Trustee who retorted with a harangue questioning the decision of the reviewer. I wish to, therefore, categorically deny the claim that I have undermined the review process in the EPW.
On the Allegation of Higher Payments to Certain Authors
… I proposed a payment of Rs 30,000 and Rs 20,000 respectively for the two authors of the two articles which I felt would be commensurate with the efforts they had put in. These were not the typical articles contributed to the EPW for which the authors are paid token amounts. The articles were specially assigned. An important point to note in this context is that the EPW recently received a generous grant from a foundation for its digital edition and one component of this grant was specifically meant for “corporate investigations” and “web exclusives” for which a separate budget has been earmarked…
On the Allegation of Sexist/Sexual Comments
What has pained me the most is the claim that I have, on occasions, used inappropriate and sexist/sexual language in office. On only one (repeat one) occasion, did I inadvertently use a phrase in a conversation with a woman colleague that may have been considered inappropriate. On realising this, I immediately apologised to her. Later in the day, I followed it up with an email to her placing on record my apology for what I had said. I cannot prove what I have stated as my email account with the EPW has been suddenly blocked. It is important to note that if my way of functioning with my women colleagues in office had on occasions caused them discomfort as is being alleged in the letter to the Trustees, I am not aware if any formal complaint was ever made. That this is being made an issue now seems like it is part of a bigger agenda to malign me personally.
On the Blockage of his Email Account
I am taking particular umbrage at the decision to suddenly block what used to be my official email account. This is contrary to the explicit assurance that had been given to me that I would be allowed access to my EPW email account for a few weeks after my resignation from the post of editor of the EPW on 18 July. I sincerely hope that what is contained in my EPW email account will not be tampered with. I also hope I will still be given an opportunity to access my email account to retrieve what is rightfully my own work.
On the Sameeksha Trust’s Decision to Pull the Article
I am particularly thankful to my former colleagues for expressing their disagreement with the manner in which the trustees of the Sameeksha Trust directed/instructed/ordered me on 18 July to pull down an article on Adani Power Limited, ostensibly because a lawyer representing the company had sent the EPW a letter/notice alleging defamation without having moved a court of law. My former colleagues have rightly perceived this action as an encroachment on editorial autonomy.
Also Read: EPW-Adani Row: Corporate Bullying or Unconvincing Journalism?
You can read the full letter here:
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