10 things you must know about the most famous foreign correspondent in India who made Bharat his home.
1. British journalist Mark Tully reported for the BBC in India and South Asia for nearly thirty years.
2. Born in Kolkata on October 24, 1935 during the British Raj, he spent his early years in India and received an education in England.
3. He studied to be a priest, but gave it up for journalism and returned to India to work for the BBC in 1964. He holds an overseas Citizenship of India and lives in New Delhi.
4. Some of the major events he covered were the India-Pakistan wars, the Emergency, Operation Blue Star, the Bhopal gas tragedy, Indira Gandhi's and Rajiv Gandhi's assassinations, demolition of the Babri Masjid.
5. He was among the first journalists to enter Bangladesh in the 1971 War. His voice was amongst the most recognisable and trusted voices on radio.
6. He was banned from India during the Emergency by then prime minister Indira Gandhi.
7. India honoured him with the Padma Shri in 1992 and the Padma Bhushan in 2005. Queen Elizabeth knighted him in 2002.
8. He has written nine books, most have the word India in their titles.
9. Some of the famous personalities he met on the job were Indira Gandhi, Morarji Desai, Rajiv Gandhi, Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, Mujibur Rahman, Zia-ul Haq and Margaret Thatcher.
10. He resigned as a radio correspondent for in BBC in 1994, but hosted a programme on Indian spirituality till 2019. He has made India his home and India has embraced him as her own.
Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff
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