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 24, 2016 01:54 IST
Violence against Dalits is not something that began in the past two years as the tenor of the debate in Parliament would have us believe.
Sun, Jul 24, 2016
July 17, 2016 03:48 IST
Fifth Column: Every time the Valley explodes, experts emerge to pronounce in ponderous tones that we need to find a ‘political solution’ instead of just a military one.
Sun, Jul 17, 2016
July 10, 2016 01:02 IST
The ideology of Islamism is directly responsible for creating these monsters who become bereft even of basic humanity.
Sun, Jul 10, 2016
July 03, 2016 00:56 IST
The great Indian dream in those times was a government job. Private enterprise and profit were dirty words. Entrepreneurs who produced more than their licences permitted were punished.
Sun, Jul 03, 2016
June 26, 2016 01:12 IST
He maintained a dignified silence, as RBI Governors should, in the initial months of his appointment. But no sooner did Narendra Modi become PM than he took to commenting on almost everything.
Sun, Jun 26, 2016
June 19, 2016 00:31 IST
The great strength of the Indic religions is that they do not believe that theirs is the only truth and theirs the only God. This must not change.
Sun, Jun 19, 2016
June 12, 2016 00:01 IST
According to said news item, there are plans afoot to build Sanskriti schools across India for the benefit of bureaucrats’ children when their parents get transferred out of Delhi.
Sun, Jun 12, 2016
June 05, 2016 00:00 IST
The awful Swami Adityanath went so far as to demand that Akhlaq’s family be arrested on cow slaughter charges. Is he sick or mad?
Sun, Jun 05, 2016
May 29, 2016 00:30 IST
Prime Minister seems unaware that reforms are needed not just in the economy if real ‘parivartan’ is to ever happen in our ancient, decrepit land.
Sun, May 29, 2016
May 22, 2016 00:25 IST
At a time when jihadi terrorism has proved that it is the biggest threat to the world as we know it, whipping up fears over Hindutva terrorism is absurd and has a hollow ring. Yet this continues to be the Congress party’s only weapon against the BJP.
Sun, May 22, 2016
May 15, 2016 00:05 IST
As someone who lives in Maharashtra, I can report that in this state nothing has changed since a BJP chief minister took power two years ago.
Sun, May 15, 2016
May 08, 2016 00:34 IST
In my view, the Prime Minister has done a great job of improving India’s image in the world and his foreign policy initiatives have been good.
Sun, May 08, 2016
May 01, 2016 00:24 IST
If the Prime Minister is serious about fighting corruption, then this defence scandal gives him a real chance to go deeper into the causes of the rot.
Sun, May 01, 2016
April 24, 2016 00:00 IST
If the Prime Minister wants to stop having his agenda for governance and development derailed, he must build better relations with the media.
Mon, Apr 25, 2016
April 17, 2016 00:15 IST
It was with sadness and cynicism that I watched the unprecedented outpouring of paeans to Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar on his 125th birth anniversary last week.
Sun, Apr 17, 2016
April 10, 2016 00:11 IST
This is money that would have been much better spent on improving our disgraceful government schools and appalling government hospitals,
Sun, Apr 10, 2016
April 03, 2016 00:20 IST
My experience came as a harsh reminder that ‘parivartan’ has not begun to happen in officialdom despite Narendra Modi’s promise of ‘minimum government and maximum governance’.
Sun, Apr 03, 2016
March 27, 2016 00:10 IST
In India, jihadi violence has a longer history than almost anywhere else because of the Islamic Republic next door.
Sun, Mar 27, 2016
March 20, 2016 00:10 IST
The ‘idea of India’ that leftists and secularists cling to so passionately is one in which the subcontinent has come to resemble a vast slum, in which the majority of Indians live in degraded conditions without clean water or clean air.
Sun, Mar 20, 2016
March 13, 2016 00:35 IST
‘Q’ is an important reminder of the exact moment when India began to become a kleptocracy.
Sun, Mar 13, 2016
March 06, 2016 00:20 IST
It was good to hear the Prime Minister speak in the Lok Sabha last week. Not just because he made a good speech but because we need to hear him a lot more and his rabidly Hindutva ministers a lot less.
Sun, Mar 06, 2016
February 28, 2016 00:37 IST
In my mind, there is no doubt that in Parliament the BJP won the debate over the latest frenzied distraction.
Sun, Feb 28, 2016
February 21, 2016 00:22 IST
Frankly I was appalled by the videos I saw. I am no hyper-nationalist but object totally to students demanding that India be broken into pieces.
Sun, Feb 21, 2016
February 14, 2016 00:49 IST
A solution is not hard to find if the Prime Minister makes it clear that he has a clear, new policy.
Sun, Feb 14, 2016
February 07, 2016 00:15 IST
If Modi continues to adopt policies reminiscent of Indira Gandhi’s ‘ghareebi hatao’ days, he will end up betraying the mandate he was given.
Sun, Feb 07, 2016




