We observe November 17th every year as the national epilepsy day. Epilepsy is one of the oldest diseases known to mankind. Over 50 million people have epilepsy across the globe. In 1997, the International League Against Epilepsy, International Bureau of Epilepsy and World Health Organization had initiated a mission – Global campaign against epilepsy: Out of the shadows – to improve acceptability, treatment, services and prevention of epilepsy worldwide. It is regrettable that the standards of care vary widely within India. The treatment gap for epilepsy ranges from 35% to 90% in different parts of India, even as there are several advanced centers of epilepsy care in India. The public awareness and attitude toward epilepsy in India is far from desirable levels. The stigma of epilepsy continues to haunt persons with epilepsy, particularly women. The social consequences of epilepsy, such as educational deprivation, underemployment, marital problems and lack of economic independence, are major impediments for optimal rehabilitation of persons with epilepsy. There had been some national-level efforts to control epilepsy. Epilepsy care is included in the district mental health program[1] initiated as a national program that includes epilepsy. The Government of India is planning to expand this program during the next 5-year plan period. Epilepsy is the most common neurological disorder that we encounter in our day-to-day practice. As clinicians and neuroscientists, we have a great role to play in controlling epilepsy and bringing the affected men and women out of the shadows into the mainstream of life.This issue of the journal is of particular importance to me as I will be stepping down as the Editor of the Annals of Indian Academy of Neurology. AIAN has an important role to play as the official medium of the neurologists who care for more than a billion people. During the past 6 years, AIAN had attracted much attention in the professional world. The submissions to the journal have increased several times. We were able to bring out each issue on time. Introduction of theme-based supplements and review articles dealing with the issues of geographic and contemporary relevance had increased the appeal and scientific value of the journal. The major milestone during this period was that the journal got indexed with PubMed and several other indexing agencies. We had followed the open-access policy, by which the entire contents of the journal were freely available globally in HTML format. As Editor, I had to devote a considerable amount of my time for the journal – about 3 h on a daily basis for the past 6 years – a demand that my family graciously accepted. I would like to thank the academy for the trust, whole-hearted support and encouragement, but for which I would not have been able to perform effectively. The members of the editorial board and editorial advisory committee had been a great support and help. My sincere thanks are due to Medknow Publishers under the leadership of Dr. DK Sahu, who had rendered excellent services in publishing and distributing the AIAN. Next year onwards, Dr. Satish Khadilkar will be bringing out AIAN to you. I am confident that he will do a great job and take the journal to greater heights. I wish him and his team all success.