Economic and Political Weekly

Economic and Political Weekly
Title	Economic and Political Weekly
Discipline	Social sciences
Abbreviation	EPW
Language	English
Editor	Romesh Thapar; Prabhat Patnaik; Krishna Raj
Publisher	Sameeksha Trust
Country	India
History	1949–present
Frequency	Weekly
Issn	0012-9976

Economic and Political Weekly

Economic and Political Weekly is a long-running Indian peer-reviewed social science journal founded in 1949 and published by the Sameeksha Trust in Mumbai. It has been cited and debated across South Asian studies, development studies, political economy, labour studies and public policy circles, serving as a forum connecting scholars, policymakers, activists and journalists. The journal's pages have featured contributors connected to institutions such as the University of Cambridge, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Oxford University, Harvard University, London School of Economics, and the University of Chicago.

History

The journal was established by Romesh Thapar and S. A. Dange with early editorial involvement from figures associated with Indian National Congress, Communist Party of India, and postcolonial intellectual networks. During the 1950s and 1960s it published debates linked to the Non-Aligned Movement, the United Nations General Assembly, and policy discussions around the First Five-Year Plan (India) and Second Five-Year Plan (India). In the 1970s EPW covered events such as the Emergency (India), featuring analyses informed by scholars connected to University of Delhi, Banaras Hindu University, and Tata Institute of Social Sciences. The journal engaged with international currents including the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and critiques associated with Dependency theory and proponents from Latin American structuralism.

Through the 1980s and 1990s EPW published work responding to the Indira Gandhi assassination, the Economic Liberalisation in India (1991), and debates around the Mandal Commission and the Babri Masjid demolition. Editors and boards often included academics affiliated with Jawaharlal Nehru University and Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta. In the 2000s and 2010s the journal interacted with scholarship produced at Columbia University, Princeton University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and research institutes such as the Institute of Development Studies (UK).

Editorial Profile and Content

EPW's editorial stance has traditionally combined scholarly articles, field reports, book reviews, and commentary. It emphasizes work related to public policy debates about social welfare schemes linked to the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act debates, land reforms with references to cases like Naxalbari uprising, agrarian studies engaging with regions such as Punjab, Bihar, Maharashtra, and urban studies treating cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, and Bengaluru. The journal has featured interdisciplinary methods drawn from scholars affiliated with Social Science Research Council, Centre for Policy Research, Brookings Institution, and the International Institute for Environment and Development. Regular thematic sections have addressed topics connected to Right to Information Act (India), public health crises such as the 2014 Indian general election period debates, and labour movements linked to unions like All India Trade Union Congress and Centre of Indian Trade Unions.

The editorial board historically included economists, sociologists and political scientists associated with Prabhat Patnaik, Amartya Sen-linked networks, and scholars engaged with feminist work related to activists from Self-Employed Women's Association and researchers at TISS. EPW has also published policy critiques referencing reports from Planning Commission (India) and commentary interacting with judgments from the Supreme Court of India.

Contributors and Notable Articles

Over decades EPW published contributions from academics and public intellectuals linked to institutions such as Harvard University, Oxford University, Cambridge University, Jawaharlal Nehru University, University of Chicago, and activists connected to Medha Patkar and Arundhati Roy. Notable contributors include economists and social scientists who have also been associated with awards like the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences and fellowships at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Seminal articles engaged with topics related to the Green Revolution in India, analyses of the Bihar famine, critiques of structural adjustment policies championed by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, and empirical studies of caste politics referencing the Dravidian movement and leaders connected to B. R. Ambedkar scholarship.

EPW has carried influential book-review essays and symposium pieces responding to works published by presses such as Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, Routledge, and research monographs produced at the Institute of Development Studies (India). Field reports by scholars working with NGOs like Centre for Science and Environment and campaigners such as Right to Food Campaign (India) also featured prominently.

Circulation, Access and Impact

The journal circulates among libraries, university departments and policy institutes including Indian Council of Social Science Research, National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, and international repositories at Library of Congress and university libraries at Columbia University and University of California, Berkeley. EPW's articles have been cited in academic journals associated with American Economic Review, World Development, Journal of Asian Studies, and in reports by think tanks including Observer Research Foundation and Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. The publication influenced debates in legislative settings such as discussions in the Parliament of India and informed litigation amicus briefs filed in the Supreme Court of India.

Controversies and Legal Issues

The journal's publishing choices have occasionally led to litigation and public controversy involving parties represented by advocates from the Supreme Court Bar Association and coverage critiqued in outlets like The Hindu, Indian Express, Times of India and The New York Times. Disputes have touched on alleged defamation claims brought by public figures, copyright disputes referencing major presses, and regulatory interactions with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India). Episodes involving editorial resignations have featured individuals connected to institutions such as Jawaharlal Nehru University and coverage that provoked parliamentary questions raised by members of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.

Category:Indian academic journals