New Delhi witnessed the demise of veteran journalist and author Sir William Mark Tully, popularly known as Mark Tully, who passed away at the age of 90 on Sunday. Renowned for his extensive coverage of Indian politics and major events during the late 20th century, Tully was a distinguished figure in journalism.
Mark Tully was a former BBC journalist who spent his career reporting on India and South Asia. Both the Indian and British governments honoured him for his contributions to journalism. He had been unwell for some time and breathed his last at a hospital in South Delhi.
Born on 24 October 1935 in Kolkata’s Tollygunge area into a prosperous British business family, Mark Tully completed his early education in India, including at a boarding school in Darjeeling. At the age of nine, he moved to the United Kingdom. He studied Theology at Cambridge University and initially considered a career in the church but later chose journalism instead. He joined the BBC in 1964.
In 1965, Tully returned to India as the BBC’s India correspondent and eventually became the head of the New Delhi bureau. Over a 22-year tenure, he reported on almost all major South Asian events, including the India-Pakistan wars, Operation Blue Star, the assassination of Indira Gandhi and the subsequent anti-Sikh riots, the Bhopal gas tragedy, the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, and the Babri Masjid demolition.
After a dispute with the then Director-General, he left the BBC in July 1994 but continued to work as an independent journalist and broadcaster based in New Delhi. Despite leaving the BBC, he remained associated with the organisation, appearing in some programmes until 2019.
Mark Tully was also a well-known author. His notable books include “Amritsar: Mrs Gandhi’s Last Battle” (1985), “Raj to Rajiv: Forty Years of Indian Independence” (1988), “No Full Stops in India” (1988), “India in Slow Motion” (2002), “India’s Unending Journey” (2008), and “India: The Road Ahead” (2011). His celebrated fictional works include “The Heart of India” (1995) and “Upcountry Tales” (2017).
For his services, Mark Tully was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1985. The Government of India honoured him with the Padma Shri in 1992 and the Padma Bhushan in 2005.
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