Veteran BBC journalist Mark Tully IS a lifelong observer of India, dies at 90, leaving behind decades of thoughtful reporting and writing.
Mark Tully is the BBC’s longtime New Delhi bureau chief, whose voice shaped global understanding of India for decades (Photo: X)
Mark Tully is one of the towering figures among foreign correspondents, who wrote on India for decades that shaped people’s understanding of that country, passed away on Jan 25, 2026, at his New Delhi residence. Tully was 90 years old when he died and he was able to give people an insightful and nuanced view of India that was not confined within normal parameters but went far beyond. Tully was calm, curious and sensible, but he did not restrict himself to simply looking and reporting and he was a listener on India.
Sir William Mark Tully was a prominent British writer, broadcaster and author best known for his work with the BBC, where he made a name for himself as a prominent journalist with his reports from India as its New Delhi bureau chief, where he wrote about India through its political turmoil, social change and states of emergency without defining India on simple terms.
Mark Tully was born on October 24, 1935 in Calcutta, now called Kolkata and lived a long life of 90 years, being closely related to India, professionally and personally, for almost seven decades of a century-long life.
His education path brought together two worlds, India and the United Kingdom. He attended Twyford School, then Marlborough College, followed by theology training at Trinity Hall, Cambridge University. Initially, he considered a career with the Church of England, but he finally decided to follow a career in journalism a decision that shaped the rest of his career path.
He came from a traditionally British father who was a businessman in the colonial era, while the mother came from a family with Bengalis who had long settled in India, reminding Tully early in life of India even though he pointed out the distance between the colony and ordinary Indians themselves.
Tully married again in 1960, to Margaret, and they had four children, though he also went into a life partnership in later years, together with writer, collaborating partner, Gillian Wright. Despite all that, home to him remained always India, from the mid-sixties onwards.
His books combined reportage with storytelling, often focusing on rural India and social change.
Financial information of Mark Tully remained private with him and the source of his income, that it was generated primarily by means of his journalism, broadcasting and literary royalties. His wealth level was moderate as compared with his professional sphere, again reflecting his life of purpose rather than gain.
Tully died away after a lingering illness at a health institution in Delhi where he received medical attention in a nephrology ward. His death meant that an age had come to a close for all correspondence with India.
