Mark Tully, Journalist and Author, Dies at 90
Sir William Mark Tully, one of the most influential voices in Indian journalism and broadcasting, died in a Delhi hospital on January 25, 2026, at age 90.
Born in Tollygunge, Calcutta (now Kolkata), to British parents, Mark Tully spent his early childhood in India before being sent to England for schooling at Marlborough College and Trinity Hall, Cambridge. Yet India remained the gravitational centre of his life and work.
During his BBC tenure, Tully became synonymous with balanced, empathetic reporting on critical moments in modern Indian history including the 1975-1977 Emergency, the 1984 assassination of Indira Gandhi and anti-Sikh violence, Operation Blue Star, the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition, economic liberalization, and numerous elections.
Expelled from India during the Emergency but later allowed to return, he was knighted in 2002 and awarded the Padma Shri in 2005, receiving official recognition from both Britain and India.
After leaving the BBC, Tully wrote prolifically, publishing books including No Full Stops in India (1988), The Heart of India (1995), India in Slow Motion (2002, co-authored with Gillian Wright), and India: The Road Ahead (2011), along with short story collections offering affectionate yet unflinching portraits of India.
A devout Anglican, Tully lived much of his later life in New Delhi and McLeod Ganj, maintaining an abiding curiosity about India's complexities and speaking of spiritual convergences between his Christian faith and Indian pluralism.
So sorry to hear the news of sad demise of veteran journalist Sir Mark Tully! He is fondly remembered by our generation for his honest, bold and dedicated journalism during Bangladesh’s liberation war. We would invariably tune on Radio at 8 PM everyday to listen to BBC Bengali channel where Mark Tully’s translated reporting on war from rural areas would come on air - the only trusted news coverage during the 1971 liberation war. Mark Tully was a household name in Rural and Urban Bangladesh alike.
ReplyDeleteHe did return to Bangladesh to cover the devastating flood that engulfed 60% of the country in 1988, travelled widely to affected areas in speed boats. His reporting was considered most credible in the country at that time.
I had the good fortune of meeting Sir Mark Tully in the 90s a number of times during my years of posting in Delhi. He would occasionally come to India International Center (IIC) old cafeteria in Delhi located across the street from UNICEF office at 73 Lodi Estate, where a few of UNICEF colleagues namely Sam Frederick, Jag Jugessur, late Ramon Lores would go for lunch every day. Brings back the memories of good old days!!!
Rest in Peace Sir Mark Tully. You will always remain alive in the hearts of Bangladeshis of our generation!!
Very interesting memoir indeed. As you very correctly recapitulated - Marc Tully was a household name in the then East Pakistan across length & breadth during the War of Liberation and thereafter in the turmoil times of Bangladesh. I didn't know he settled in New Delhi after retirement. May his soul rest in peace.
DeleteBangladesh newspaper pays tribute to Sir Mark Tully!!
DeleteIn 2012, Bangladesh named him a "Foreign Friend of Bangladesh" for his role in highlighting the true face of the Liberation War to the world.
https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/obituary/news/bangladesh-loses-truth-teller-1971-4090066