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...

March 29, 2020 02:15 IST
It is only when he shows that he trusts us enough to give us some idea of what he plans to do to bring us safely through this terrible battle, that has no battlefield and no visible enemy, will we be able to trust him to lead us from these days of darkness to light.
Sun, Mar 29, 2020
March 22, 2020 04:45 IST
Coronavirus pandemic has for once made health care an important political issue. It could make or break a prime minister.
Sun, Mar 22, 2020
March 15, 2020 03:25 IST
Fifth column by Tavleen Singh: The Prime Minister has advised us not to panic, but perhaps what we need is to panic enough to acknowledge that we live in a country that is notorious for having the most hopelessly inadequate public health services.
Sun, Mar 15, 2020
March 08, 2020 04:32 IST
The Modi government is so thin-skinned that even mild criticism is seen as an attack. Dissent is seen as sedition, and if you happen to be a dissenting Muslim, you risk being labelled a traitor.
Sun, Mar 08, 2020
March 01, 2020 04:05 IST
Modi has himself to blame. Not just for the horrible violence in Delhi in which over 40 people lost their lives, but also for the hate speeches he allowed his senior ministers to make.
Sun, Mar 01, 2020
February 23, 2020 01:12 IST
Tavleen Singh's Fifth Column: If there has been dissidence against the amendment to the citizenship law, it is because of this kind of ugly nationalism.
Sun, Feb 23, 2020
February 16, 2020 00:07 IST
For Amit Shah, who is usually in aggressive, attack mode, to go so far as admitting that the poison and hate spewed by his lieutenants may have hurt the BJP in Delhi is both surprising and welcome.
Sun, Feb 16, 2020
February 09, 2020 02:05 IST
Despite the ugliness and venom that defined the BJP’s campaign, early opinion polls indicate that it is unlikely to win Delhi. It deserves to lose.
Tue, Feb 11, 2020
February 09, 2020 00:55 IST
Shortly after the lynching of Pehlu Khan, Tavleen Singh was granted an audience with the Prime Minister, and found him somewhat changed.
Sun, Feb 09, 2020
February 02, 2020 04:25 IST
Now that we are no longer the fastest growing major economy, Prime Minister narendra Modi has stopped boasting about this and the truth is that since his second term began, he hardly mentions the economy.
Sun, Feb 02, 2020
January 26, 2020 00:25 IST
The world has started to see India as a country in which aggressive nationalism and religious intolerance have become a serious threat to democracy. So much so that in Davos last week, Imran Khan got away with telling an important international news channel that India was in the grip of an ideology called ‘Hindu-vata’ that was inspired by the Nazis.
Mon, Dec 27, 2021
January 19, 2020 03:50 IST
If for no other reason than that India faces an unemployment crisis, we should have welcomed Jeff Bezos with open arms last week. He tried his best to assure Modi and his ministers that he came bearing the gift of creating a million new jobs by 2025.
Sun, Jan 19, 2020
January 12, 2020 04:19 IST
The CAA protesters are no longer only Muslims. Their ranks have been joined by people whom the BJP’s shouting brigade calls ‘libtards’ and ‘sickularists’.
Sun, Jan 12, 2020
January 05, 2020 04:30 IST
Despite protests across India in recent weeks that have so severely damaged the Prime Minister’s image internationally, there is one reason why he continues to be India’s most credible leader. That reason is Rahul Gandhi.
Sun, Jan 05, 2020
December 29, 2019 02:40 IST
My personal wish for this new decade is that, before it ends, India will finally become a country that stops being discussed as having the ‘potential’ to become prosperous and powerful.
Sun, Dec 29, 2019
December 22, 2019 04:30 IST
As a man who was killed for trying to make Hindus and Muslims live in peace Gandhi would have certainly not approved of a law that specifically excludes Muslims.
Sun, Dec 22, 2019
December 15, 2019 01:29 IST
May I urge the Prime Minister to examine the priorities of his government and set a new agenda. At the top of this has to be the economy.
Sun, Dec 15, 2019
December 08, 2019 03:54 IST
The Prime Minister continues to remain silent about this law but his closest confidant, the Home Minister, concentrates on reminding us almost daily that Indian citizenship is no longer anyone’s birthright. It will in future be treated as a privilege, especially for Muslims.
Sun, Dec 08, 2019
December 01, 2019 00:31 IST
It is unfortunate for the Prime Minister that the stain of ignominy has spread beyond the borders of Maharashtra and ‘the people’ are beginning to ask if Modi is the great moral leader they thought he was or whether they misjudged him completely.
Sun, Dec 01, 2019
November 24, 2019 04:30 IST
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has brought real ‘parivartan’ that has gone almost unobserved.
Sun, Nov 24, 2019
November 17, 2019 01:30 IST
Nehru’s economic policies may have taken us down the wrong road but it says something for him that not even ‘rightist’ Mr Modi has been able to step away from the socialist road. What he has stepped away from is Nehru’s political legacy, which was his deep commitment to the fundamental principles of democracy.
Sun, Nov 17, 2019
November 10, 2019 04:16 IST
I wanted to ask Nirmala Sitharaman if she was ashamed that in a country of more than a billion people there were only 5,000 super-rich Indians.
Sun, Nov 10, 2019
November 09, 2019 05:06 IST
I have to say that I am truly horrified that this was done without my even being given a hearing. Of course, as the BJP’s Twitter trolls tell me gleefully, I could go to court.
Sat, Nov 09, 2019
November 03, 2019 04:47 IST
India has compelling reasons for the abrogation of Article 370. But, so far, they have been put before the world so badly that it is Pakistan that has taken control of the narrative.
Sun, Nov 03, 2019
October 27, 2019 03:10 IST
The BJP may well form governments again in both these states but the truth is that in this seeming victory lies hidden a warning that Narendra Modi would do well to heed.
Sun, Oct 27, 2019




