Legendary journalist Mark Tully, who covered Operation Blue Star, passes away in Delhi after brief illness

Mark Tully, one of the most recognised and trusted radio voices in India for over a quarter of a century, passed away on Sunday at a hospital in Delhi after a brief illness. Tully was 90 years old at the time of his death, news agency PTI reported. 

The award-winning journalist was unwell for some time and had been admitted to Max Hospital Saket for the past week. 

“Mark passed away at Max Hospital Saket this afternoon," Satish Jacob, veteran journalist and a close friend of Tully, told PTI.

About Mark Tully

Born in Tollygunge in West Bengal on October 24, 1935, he was sent to a British boarding school in Darjeeling at the age of 4 before going to England for further schooling from the age of 9.

In the UK, he was educated at Twyford School in Hampshire, Marlborough College, and at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, where he studied theology. After his education at Cambridge, Tully expressed his intent to become a priest in the Church of England but abandoned it after 2 terms at Lincoln Theological College. 

He worked with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) for 30 years before resigning in July 1994. Mark Tully was the BBC's India correspondent during the 1971 India-Pakistan war that led to the formation of Bangladesh. 

As a correspondent for the BBC, he covered all the major incidents in India, including the Indo-Pakistan conflicts, the Bhopal gas tragedy, Operation Blue Star and the subsequent assassination of Indira Gandhi, the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, and the Babari Masjid demolition. 

The veteran British journalist was barred from entering India in 1975-77 when Indira Gandhi imposed censorship curbs on the press during the Emergency. 

He was knighted in 2002 and received the Padma Bhushan from the Government of India in 2005. Besides his stellar journalistic career, he has also written several books on India, including Amritsar: Mrs Gandhi's Last Battle (1985), No Full Stops in India (1988), India in Slow Motion (2002), India's Unending Journey (2008), and The Road Ahead (2011), published in the country under the title Non-Stop India.

His latest book, Upcountry Tales: Once Upon A Time In The Heart of India (2017), is a collection of short stories set in rural north India. 

In 2001, he married Margaret, with whom he had 4 children in London. When in India, he lived with his girlfriend Gillian Wright.