Mark Tully, the BBC's 'voice of India', passes away

The broadcaster and journalist Sir Mark Tully - for many years known as the BBC's "voice of India" - has passed away. He was 90. He died at a hospital in New Delhi on Sunday. The BBC Hindi Service says his passing was confirmed by former colleague Satish Jacob.

He covered war, famine, riots and assassinations, the Bhopal gas tragedy and the Indian army's storming of the Sikh Golden Temple. He spent more than 20 years as the BBC's head of bureau in Delhi, leading the reporting not simply of India but of South Asia, including the birth of Bangladesh, periods of military rule in Pakistan, the Tamil Tigers' rebellion in Sri Lanka and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

Tully was the BBC’s South Asia correspondent when the Liberation War broke out in Bangladesh. He became a household name in Bangladesh for his news broadcasts on BBC Radio, which became a leading source of information on the conflict.

In 2012, Bangladesh named him a Foreign Friend of Bangladesh for his role in highlighting the true face of the war to the world. India was where Tully was born - in what was then Calcutta in 1935. He was a child of the British Raj. His father was a businessman. His mother had been born in Bengal - her family had worked in India as traders and administrators for generations. Tully went to the UK at the age of nine for his education.
He later studied history and theology at the University of Cambridge and briefly attended theological college with the intention of entering the clergy, a plan he did not pursue.

He joined the BBC and was posted to India in 1965, initially as an administrative assistant. He later moved into reporting. He eventually became the Delhi bureau chief, a post in which he served for 20 years.

In 1975, he was withdrawn from India with 24 hours’ notice following the declaration of a state of emergency by then prime minister Indira Gandhi.
He returned 18 months later and remained based in New Delhi thereafter, becoming an Overseas Citizen of India.

He received two of India’s highest civilian honours, the Padma Shri and the Padma Bhushan. In the UK, he was knighted in the 2002 New Year Honours for services to broadcasting and journalism.

Tully continued to write books on India, including essays, analyses, and short stories, sometimes co-authoring with his partner Gillian Wright.