Sameeksha Trust's Statement on Guha Thakurta's Resignation

The Trustees of Sameeksha Trust met on 20th July and have issued a statement regarding the actions of the Trust taken during an Emergency meeting on 18th July that led to the editor Paranjoy Guha Thakurta's  resignation. The statement explains,

A legal notice was served on the Sameeksha Trust, the editor Paranjoy Guha Thakurta and his co-authors, in connection with an article published in Economic and Political Weekly (EPW).

Mr Guha Thakurta initiated a legal process ostensibly on behalf of the Sameeksha Trust without informing, let alone obtaining approval of, the Trust although such a decision was not in the domain of the Editor to make. The legal reply (sent on the instruction of Mr Guha Thakurta) falsely began with a statement that it was at the instruction of the Sameeksha Trust. This reply and the legal notice were placed on the EPW website, even before the Chairman and Managing Trustee were informed, so that the Trustees were completely unaware of these developments.”

The statement continues,

After discussion, it was conveyed to Mr Guha Thakurta that he had committed a grave impropriety amounting to a breach of trust, in taking a unilateral decision on a matter where any decision could be taken only by the Sameeksha Trust as the governing board. Thereupon, Mr Guha Thakurta submitted his resignation. It was accepted by the Trustees after due deliberation.”

Guha Thakurta has been widely quoted as having accepted his mistake in taking the unilateral step of hiring a lawyer, and had apologised to the board. He has also been quoted saying that the Trustees then imposed conditions on the editor, which he found unacceptable, leading to his resignation.

The statement issued by the trustees also states,

The EPW is a unique institution which has earned its reputation as an independent, impartial, journal over five decades, for publishing scholarly articles – research-based academic writing and evidence-based public policy critiques – and providing incisive analysis together with independent commentary on the issues of the time. These are its unique attributes. There is no question of the Sameeksha Trust, an independent non-partisan institution, bowing to external pressures of any kind. It never has. It is guided solely by the objectives of maintaining the ethos, quality and standards of EPW, while ensuring spotless propriety and ethics in the working of its staff.”

No explanation has been furnished in the statement of why the article referred above, regarding Adani Group's Rs. 500 crore windfall gifted by the Modi government, has been taken down.