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...

July 09, 2017 02:09 IST
Almost no country needs to be more worried about jihadist Islam spreading than India, where more Muslims live than anywhere else, except Indonesia.
Sun, Jul 09, 2017
July 02, 2017 00:36 IST
The Prime Minister said last week that nobody had the right to take the law into his own hands. So what he needs to do now is investigate why it is mostly in states ruled by BJP chief ministers that we have seen so many incidents of cow vigilantism.
Sun, Jul 02, 2017
June 25, 2017 01:43 IST
Never before has a senior police officer been beaten to death in the way that Deputy Superintendent of Police Mohammed Ayub Pandith was outside Srinagar’s most important mosque last week. It really is time for Jammu Kashmir CM Mehbooba Mufti to be sacked.
Sun, Jun 25, 2017
June 18, 2017 02:06 IST
What I found both fascinating and very scary was the extent of their hatred for those who subscribe to faiths that are not Indian in their origin.
Sun, Jun 18, 2017
June 11, 2017 03:12 IST
It is true that some ministers have done reasonably well but not a single one of them so well as to explain the smugness that has settled over the Modi government.
Sun, Jun 11, 2017
June 04, 2017 01:15 IST
Justice Mahesh Chandra Sharma gave several interviews last week on the day that he was retiring from the Rajasthan High Court. Not about the failure of our justice system to speed up the delivery of justice, but about his faith.
Sun, Jun 04, 2017
May 28, 2017 01:59 IST
Why does Modi remain a ‘fascist’ monster in the eyes of such a large, vocal group of Indians?
Sun, May 28, 2017
May 21, 2017 00:40 IST
The third red flag I want to raise on this third anniversary is that there are no signs yet of the economic boom that people like me believed would happen as soon as Modi became Prime Minister.
Sun, May 21, 2017
May 14, 2017 01:18 IST
Arnab Goswami is breaking a journalistic rule that is definitely etched in stone.
Sun, May 14, 2017
May 07, 2017 00:02 IST
It is hard to understand why a PM so passionate about making India a modern, digital, prosperous country has seemingly not noticed that hunting and killing Muslims on the pretext of cows and love jihad does not sit well with modernity.
Sun, May 07, 2017
April 30, 2017 00:51 IST
Every time a new electoral defeat happens, venerable opposition leaders say exactly the same thing they have been saying since the Modi era began.
Sun, Apr 30, 2017
April 23, 2017 01:53 IST
So if peace is to be restored, what we need is a strategy for war.
Sun, Apr 23, 2017
April 16, 2017 00:08 IST
One of the reasons this column supported Modi was because he seemed to understand well the possibilities of creating millions of jobs through investment in tourism.
Sun, Apr 16, 2017
April 09, 2017 00:43 IST
If cow protection is their motive, why are they not rescuing cows abandoned in the streets of our cities?
Sun, Apr 09, 2017
April 02, 2017 05:59 IST
At social gatherings, our honorable MPs behave like best friends and not political opponents.
Sun, Apr 02, 2017
March 26, 2017 01:12 IST
There is not a country ruled by religious men that allows normal human beings to go about the normal business of living joyfully, without the interference of morality policemen.
Sun, Mar 26, 2017
March 19, 2017 00:50 IST
With his uncanny knack for keeping his finger firmly on the pulse of Indian voters, he knows that what they really want is a different India.
Sun, Mar 19, 2017
March 12, 2017 00:44 IST
In Gujarat in 2002, both Hindus and Muslims died, but we called it a pogrom and the demonisation of Narendra Modi began.
Sun, Mar 12, 2017
March 05, 2017 00:48 IST
In India our political leaders have in 70 years of glorious independence not been able to provide the vast majority of our citizens with the most basic public services.
Sun, Mar 05, 2017
February 26, 2017 00:03 IST
The Prime Minister is right when he says India cannot move forward until UP does. But forgets that in 2014, this state gave him the 73 seats he needed to get a full majority.
Sun, Feb 26, 2017
February 19, 2017 01:55 IST
Sasikala went only after trying to portray herself as a martyr.
Sun, Feb 19, 2017
February 12, 2017 00:25 IST
The fact that demonetisation was handled so inefficiently should tell the Prime Minister that administrative reforms are almost more important now than economic reforms.
Sun, Feb 12, 2017
February 05, 2017 00:04 IST
On paper all kinds of anti-poverty schemes were available in the village, but had made little or no difference.
Sun, Feb 05, 2017
January 29, 2017 00:05 IST
Since the Prime Minister sees black money as one of our biggest problems, we must hope that in pursuance of his search for it, he will start inquiring into the finances of our political dynasties.
Sun, Jan 29, 2017
January 22, 2017 00:30 IST
There were as many Indian participants at this year’s annual meeting of the World Economic Forum as there were Chinese, but nobody noticed India at all
Sun, Jan 22, 2017



