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...

January 31, 2016 00:10 IST
Modi has three years to go before the next election and this is more than enough time to build a political team capable of putting Delhi’s mighty mandarins in their place.
Sun, Jan 31, 2016
January 25, 2016 00:06 IST
Finance minister, RBI governor, Indian businessmen did a good job presenting their case but sadly it was mostly Indians who seemed interested
Mon, Jan 25, 2016
January 24, 2016 00:20 IST
The ministers in the Modi government who interfered in student politics should also have the grace to resign.
Mon, Feb 01, 2016
January 19, 2016 00:00 IST
Over 20 years, transition from an economy without allure to India Everywhere to Make in India
Tue, Jan 19, 2016
January 17, 2016 00:20 IST
The most worrying failure of Modi’s first two years as PM has been the absence of job creation. So possibly, the most important thing he can do this year is find out why more jobs are not being created.
Sun, Jan 17, 2016
January 10, 2016 00:25 IST
Jihadi terrorism is the biggest threat to civilization as we know it, but what we saw in Pathankot last week cannot be dismissed as just another act of jihadi terrorism.
Sun, Jan 10, 2016
January 03, 2016 00:45 IST
Every one of our political leaders must share the blame, and they would do well to spend this first Sunday of 2016 reflecting on how much their behaviour harmed the interests of the people who elected them.
Sun, Jan 03, 2016
December 27, 2015 00:10 IST
Muslims have been the automatic target of the beef hysteria, but they are not the only Indians who made a living out of the cattle trade.
Sun, Dec 27, 2015
December 24, 2015 00:00 IST
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley sums up the NDA government’s achievements and failures while seeking to dispel the perception that it has deviated from the parivartan, vikas and achche din it had promised on the way to assuming power. Excerpts from an interview
Thu, Dec 24, 2015
December 20, 2015 03:13 IST
Arun Jaitley tells The Indian Express why he feels the AAP is playing the victim card.
Sun, Dec 20, 2015
December 20, 2015 00:15 IST
The Modi government must prepare for an endless non-cooperation movement and get on with the task of governance.
Sun, Dec 20, 2015
December 19, 2015 05:13 IST
On Kirti Azad: ‘Every party has a Trojan horse’
Sat, Dec 19, 2015
December 13, 2015 00:09 IST
After returning from another mysterious medical break in a mysterious foreign country, Sonia got the news that the Delhi High Court had accepted that there was merit in the National Herald case.
Sun, Dec 13, 2015
December 06, 2015 00:35 IST
Rahul Gandhi gave Narendra Modi a lecture last week on how to behave like a Prime Minister.
Sun, Dec 06, 2015
November 29, 2015 00:06 IST
When a huge star like Aamir Khan chooses instead to talk about his fears of Hindu intolerance, he does his faith a disservice.
Sun, Nov 29, 2015
November 22, 2015 00:02 IST
The truth is that jihadi terrorism has everything to do with Islam for those who think of the time of the Prophet as a blessed time that Muslims must return to.
Sun, Nov 22, 2015
November 15, 2015 00:00 IST
If you read the foreign press and watch IS videos on YouTube you know that Yazidi girls have been auctioned in slave markets.
Sun, Nov 15, 2015
November 08, 2015 00:00 IST
Young Biharis whenever allowed to speak, said in the clearest terms that what Bihar needed most was good schools, hospitals, roads and above all, jobs.
Sun, Nov 08, 2015
November 01, 2015 00:05 IST
The truth is that us ‘liberal’ types are really the most illiberal people you will ever meet.
Sun, Nov 01, 2015
October 25, 2015 00:05 IST
Instead, all we have talked about since Mohammad Akhlaq’s barbaric murder are the things that have held India back for decades. Old hatreds, old enmities, cultural intolerance and religious violence.
Sun, Oct 25, 2015
October 18, 2015 00:22 IST
Writers who would have been adults during the Emergency said that the atmosphere of ‘intolerance’ today was worse than it was then. Really? How many of them have been jailed for saying this?
Sun, Oct 18, 2015
October 11, 2015 00:20 IST
Narendra Modi finally spoke, but it was not a strong message and it came too late.
Sun, Oct 11, 2015
October 04, 2015 00:00 IST
Akhlaq’s death was foretold from the moment Bharatiya Janata Party chief ministers started banning meat on the excuse of festivals during which it has never been banned before.
Sun, Oct 04, 2015
September 27, 2015 00:00 IST
Last year, I was in Madison Gardens and reported in this newspaper that rock stars would be lucky to get the adulation that Modi got, writes Tavleen Singh.
Sun, Sep 27, 2015
September 20, 2015 00:18 IST
It is not just the treatment of NGOs that has made Modi into an undesirable alien in the eyes of American academia, it is also his ‘interference’ in Indian universities and academic institutions.
Sun, Sep 20, 2015




