Journalist Mark Tully, BBC's 'Voice Of India', Dies At 90, Covered Iconic Events Including Babri Masjid Demolition
New Delhi: Veteran journalist Mark Tully, known as the BBC’s “voice of India”, died at the age of 90 on Sunday at a hospital in Delhi after a brief illness. The journalist who covered Operation Blue Star, was known for many years in Britain and around the world as the BBC’s “voice of India.”
Tully has been a much-admired foreign correspondent and respected reporter and commentator on India, and has covered famine, riots and assassinations, among other historic events such as the Bhopal gas tragedy and the Indian army’s storming of the Sikh Golden Temple.
Tully also witnessed a huge crowd of Hindu hardliners tear down the historic medieval Babari Masjid in the north Indian city of Ayodhya in 1992, braving mob threats to the BBC reporter allegedly chanting death to Mark Tully.
Mully was allegedly locked in a room for several hours before a local official and a Hindu priest came to his aid during the ‘dark day’ in the Indian democracy.
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Afternoon in Delhi in the company of my former colleagues Mark Tully, Satish Jacob and Qurban Ali, who continuously reported the demolition of Babri Masjid for the BBC in 1992.
Mark was rescued by the head priest (Mahant) of one of Ayodhya’s temples as the Hindu militants bayed for their blood outside. The mahant covered Mark in his shawl to hide his identity, and they were all asked to tie a Ram Janm Bhūmi Kar Sevak scarf/bandanna on their foreheads.
