'Saddened By Passing of Sir Mark Tully': PM Modi Condoles Death of 'a Towering Voice of Journalism'

New Delhi: Hailing legendary Mark Tully as a "towering voice of journalism," Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday expressed condolences to his family, friends and many admirers. PM Modi said Tully's "connect" with India was reflected in his works.

"Saddened by the passing of Sir Mark Tully, a towering voice of journalism. His connect with India and the people of our nation was reflected in his works. His reporting and insights have left an enduring mark on public discourse. Condolences to his family, friends and many admirers," PM Modi said in a post on X.

Legendary journalist Mark Tully passed away at the age of 90 at a private hospital in the national capital on Sunday, the hospital said.

The former BBC journalist had been admitted to Max Super Speciality Hospital in the south Delhi locality of Saket for the past week. According to an official statement from the hospital, Tully passed away on January 25 at 2:35 PM.

"The cause of death was multi-organ failure following a stroke. Our thoughts and heartfelt condolences are with his family, loved ones, and all those affected by his passing," the statement said.

Senior BJP leader and Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri also condoled the death of Mark Tully, crediting him with reporting some of the most defining moments in the region's history.

Tully was born in Calcutta in 1935 into a wealthy family of British settlers. His father was the director of a railroad and a partner in a holding company that owned a bank, an insurance firm, and tea plantations. After the Second World War, his parents sent him to boarding school in the United Kingdom. He later took theology courses at Cambridge University and then entered a seminary.

His career as a journalist brought him back to the land of his birth. In 1965, he was hired as an administrator by the BBC's New Delhi office. Tully returned to London in 1969 to head the Hindi service and then the West Asia service, for which he covered the Bangladesh War of Independence in 1971 and the execution of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

Tully's coverage of India included the imposition of the Emergency in 1975, Operation Blue Star in June 1984, the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in the same year in October, the killing of Rajiv Gandhi in 1991, the economic liberalisation, the demolition of the Ram JanamBhoomi-Babri Masjid disputed structure in Ayodhya in 1992 and countless elections.

Tully, known as the BBC's "voice of India", was even expelled from the country in 1975 at 24 hours' notice for refusing to sign a 'censorship agreement' after the then Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, imposed the emergency. But he returned to the country after the Emergency ended and has been in the national capital ever since. He was residing in Nizamuddin West, South Delhi. 

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