An enduring achievement

As the Economic and Political Weekly accommodates and adjusts to the late Mr Krishna Raj's successor, it is fitting that its readers reflect on the contributions that the magazine has made to academic and political discourse under his stewardship.

Though a paper with limited reach, many people recognise the Weekly as a unique publication, certainly in this country and perhaps even globally, because it combined two disparate and potentially conflicting roles.

On the one hand, it has been a political journal with a clear ideological position. It has given expression to the views of a panel of writers who articulated this position in their interpretation and analysis of social, economic and political developments.

On the other, it has been an academic journal, which has published papers based on empirical research across the range of social sciences.

Virtually all researchers of any significance in the country, and many from outside it, have been published by the Weekly. Its perceived preferences did not apparently come in the way of what the editor felt was 'good' research.

There is a broader context in which the achievement needs to be appreciated. The academic dimension of the Weekly over the last four decades flourished in an environment in which virtually all the more traditional academic journals in the country suffered.

Many of them, including some that aspired briefly to international standards, simply withered. Others continue to be published but are unable to ensure any quality standards.

As a consequence, they have been singularly unsuccessful in shaping and influencing either research priorities or policy debate. The reasons for this are complex, but given that it is so widespread, the persistent appeal of the Weekly for academic researchers over the decades, both as contributors and readers, is remarkable.

Over the last decade, as the centre of gravity in economic policy swung distinctly to the right, the Weekly was perceived by many to be too rigid in sticking to its ideological guns and therefore becoming irrelevant, until the editor belatedly trimmed his ideological sails.

Its ability to influence the process of policy-making and perhaps to give it the balance that critics on the other side say it has lacked so far, would have been better served by engaging much earlier in the debate over what was the best policy to adopt in a given set of circumstances.

Nevertheless, as the reforms unfolded, and research about their impact on the economy emerged, the Weekly did not hesitate to publish it. As Mr Raj's successor contemplates his strategies, he might consider a more active advocacy role for the magazine, shaped in turn by the weight of the research findings that it publishes.

After all, endurance itself is determined by the ability to change and adapt to new circumstances.