Veteran BBC Journalist Mark Tully, Chronicler of Bangladesh’s Birth, Dies at 90

The Chronify

January 26, 2026

Mark Tully, the legendary BBC correspondent known as the “voice of India,” has died in New Delhi at the age of 90. His reporting shaped global understanding of South Asia, including the historic birth of Bangladesh in 1971.

Mark Tully, one of the most influential foreign correspondents in South Asia, passed away on Sunday at a hospital in New Delhi, India. With a career spanning decades, Tully became a trusted chronicler of the region’s defining moments, earning deep respect from audiences across the world.

Tully’s distinctive, warm voice was familiar to millions of BBC listeners. He reported on war, famine, political upheaval and social change, covering events such as the Bhopal gas disaster, the storming of the Golden Temple in Amritsar, and Bangladesh’s Liberation War in 1971-bringing the realities of South Asia to global attention with rare depth and empathy.

He also witnessed moments of extreme danger. In 1992, while reporting from Ayodhya as Hindu hardliners demolished the Babri Mosque, Tully was trapped by a mob chanting “Death to Mark Tully.” He later described the episode as the gravest blow to India’s secular ideals since independence.

Born in Calcutta in 1935 during the British Raj, Tully grew up immersed in the culture of the subcontinent. Fluent in Hindi-a rarity among foreign correspondents-he earned the nickname “Tully sahib” and built extraordinary access to politicians, activists and ordinary citizens. Although British by nationality, he considered India his home, living there for more than three-quarters of his life.

After studying history and theology at Cambridge, Tully joined the BBC in 1965, initially in an administrative role before moving into journalism. He went on to serve more than 20 years as the BBC’s Delhi bureau chief, covering Bangladesh’s independence, military rule in Pakistan, the Sri Lankan civil war, and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

Known for his strong advocacy of secularism, tolerance and minority rights, Tully’s legacy endures through reporting that combined accuracy with humanity-ensuring South Asia’s struggles, triumphs and voices were heard around the world.