Tavleen Singh is a distinguished Indian journalist, political reporter, and author, currently serving as a leading columnist for The Indian Express. With a career spanning over four decades, she is widely recognized for her incisive commentary on Indian politics, public policy, and governance.
Professional Experience & Journey: Singh began her journalistic career in the United Kingdom with the Evening Mail in Slough, where she trained under the Westminster Press training scheme. She returned to India in 1974, joining The Statesman as a reporter. Her extensive fieldwork includes tenure as a Special Correspondent for The Telegraph in 1982 and as the South Asia Correspondent for the Sunday Times, London. Over the years, she has contributed to major publications including India Today and has played a pioneering role in Indian television journalism, heading the Delhi bureau for Plus Channel.
Expertise & Focus Areas: Renowned for her deep understanding of India's political landscape, Singh has covered some of the most critical events in the nation's history, including the Punjab insurgency and the conflict in Kashmir. Her writing often bridges the gap between the "Durbar" of Delhi’s political elite and the ground realities of rural India. She currently writes the popular weekly column "Fifth Column" for The Indian Express, appearing every Sunday, where she offers critical analysis of government policies and political shifts.
Authoritativeness & Recognition Singh is a celebrated author of several best-selling books that serve as important records of contemporary Indian history. Her notable works include:
Kashmir: A Tragedy of Errors (1995)
Lollipop Street: Why India Will Survive Her Politicians (1999)
Durbar (2012)
India's Broken Tryst (2016)
Messiah Modi: A Tale of Great Expectations (2020)
Her fearless reporting has earned her significant accolades, including the Chameli Devi Jain Award for Outstanding Woman Mediaperson (1988) and the Sanskriti Award (1985) for her comprehensive coverage of the Punjab crisis.
Trust & Credibility As a veteran voice in Indian media, Singh is known for her unyielding candor and independent perspective. Her long-standing association with The Indian Express, a publication known for its "Journalism of Courage," reinforces her standing as a...

September 20, 2020 03:50 IST
It is a campaign that will serve mostly to help our homegrown jihadists convince more and more ordinary Muslims to lend support to their evil cause.
Sun, Sep 20, 2020
September 13, 2020 03:50 IST
Famous TV journalists who have been responsible for the despicable media lynching we have witnessed do not dare admit that they have become pawns in a political game.
Sun, Sep 13, 2020
September 06, 2020 03:50 IST
If the Prime Minister steps out of his lovely garden and meets Indian and foreign investors he will discover quickly how hard it is to do business.
Sun, Sep 06, 2020
August 30, 2020 03:50 IST
That time has gone when it mattered to voters that you were the grandson or granddaughter of Indira Gandhi. So, to flaunt this as your reason for being in politics is not just futile but stupid.
Sun, Aug 30, 2020
August 23, 2020 03:40 IST
The New Education Policy is a remarkable achievement and it is great that India has a Minister for Education at last.
Sun, Aug 23, 2020
August 16, 2020 03:50 IST
If the economy was booming and millions of young Indians were able to get new jobs and take the first steps towards a better life, then the year gone by may have been remembered differently.
Sun, Aug 16, 2020
August 09, 2020 03:50 IST
Now, that the Prime Minister has fulfilled that old BJP promise to ‘rectify a historical wrong’ by building a ‘magnificent’ temple, could he please return to present times and address more modern problems?
Sun, Aug 09, 2020
August 02, 2020 03:45 IST
Let Muslims join in building the temple and when it is ready let both communities come together to build a mosque on the other bank of the Saryu river.
Mon, Aug 03, 2020
July 26, 2020 04:05 IST
The PM has a second chance to fulfil the promise to move India from the limited goal of poverty alleviation, to a grander goal of real prosperity.
Sun, Jul 26, 2020
July 19, 2020 03:50 IST
The Congress party is in a worse position in every way. Its dirty laundry has not only been washed in public, it is still hanging on a public clothesline.
Sun, Jul 19, 2020
July 12, 2020 04:00 IST
While we are on the subject it is also a good time for the Prime Minister to abandon his grandiose plans to rebuild Parliament and build a house for himself on the Central Vista.
Sun, Jul 12, 2020
July 05, 2020 04:05 IST
Real patriots and nationalists are those who speak truth to power in the fullest sense of that term. Modi needs them today more than ever.
Sun, Jul 05, 2020
June 28, 2020 03:30 IST
Where are the men who are in charge of national security? Where is the National Security Advisor? He has not been seen since he trotted off to the Tablighi Jamaat’s headquarters in Delhi in the early days of the pandemic.
Sun, Jun 28, 2020
June 21, 2020 03:25 IST
Instead of fielding arrogant BJP spokesmen it would have been wiser to field those who are actually responsible for the defence of this country. Where was the Chief of Defence Staff? Where was the Army Chief?
Sun, Jun 21, 2020
June 14, 2020 02:21 IST
Having had nearly two decades of administrative experience before becoming Prime Minister, these failures of Modi’s administration are both surprising and very worrying.
Sun, Jun 14, 2020
June 07, 2020 03:22 IST
In the aftermath of the cyclone, without phones, emails and digital newspapers, I have found time to dwell on the absurdity of political leaders and high officials sitting in distant cities deciding the future of people who live in what can only be described as another country.
Sun, Jun 07, 2020
May 31, 2020 02:05 IST
Tavleen Singh writes: Tushar Mehta's statement has done the Prime Minister more harm than anything said by us ‘prophets of doom.’ This is because Mr Mehta showed arrogant contempt for those who have suffered. They have suffered due to criminal negligence on the part of our officials. Not Covid-19.
Sun, May 31, 2020
May 24, 2020 00:30 IST
Prime Minister Narendra Modi tried in his latest address to the nation to revive the dream of the 21st century being India’s century and promised reforms that would make this dream a reality. The pandemic gives him a second chance to achieve this old goal.
Sun, May 24, 2020
May 17, 2020 04:03 IST
Last week the Prime Minister returned to those old promises he made of taking India in a new economic direction. This time those same old promises were packaged as Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan.
Sun, May 17, 2020
May 10, 2020 00:48 IST
In India if we continue with what is believed to be the severest lockdown of any country, we could end up with an economic situation in which millions of very poor people will be pushed back under that awful poverty line.
Sun, May 10, 2020
May 03, 2020 01:00 IST
With this pandemic, the converse is sadly true.
Wed, May 06, 2020
April 26, 2020 02:27 IST
Sadly, in the past six years there has not been the smallest sign yet that Narendra Modi meant what he said. In some matters the exact opposite has happened, in the form of a company law that seeks to interfere in the minutest details of doing business.
Sun, Apr 26, 2020
April 19, 2020 00:57 IST
If there is one good thing that this virus has done it is that it has put an end to the problems created by the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). It has to stay that way. Never before has India more needed to come together to fight a common enemy.
Sun, Apr 19, 2020
April 12, 2020 04:10 IST
Stories of farmers unable to reach markets to sell their freshly harvested grain are as heartbreaking as the stories from Mumbai’s slums. Vegetables and fruit are being allowed to rot in the fields because there is nothing else that can be done with them.
Sun, Apr 12, 2020
April 05, 2020 01:15 IST
Tavleen Singh writes: We thanked our frontline corona warriors in advance on the day of the Janata Curfew by ringing bells and banging our ‘thalis’ but can we now ensure that they have the protective equipment they desperately need?
Sun, Apr 05, 2020




