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...

February 29, 2004 00:00 IST
These days I find myself in constant search of Shining India. Every time I travel down one of the shiny, new highways or succeed in using my...
Sun, Feb 29, 2004
February 22, 2004 00:00 IST
If there is one reason I have never fully trusted our friendly neighbourhood military dictator it was that first speech he made renouncing t...
Sun, Feb 22, 2004
February 15, 2004 00:00 IST
It is when you look at the Indian education system through rural eyes that its monumental absurdities become painfully evident. Only when se...
Sun, Feb 15, 2004
February 08, 2004 00:00 IST
When will the Congress Party realise that it has to offer us more than yet another member of the Gandhi family? When will it wake up to the ...
Sun, Feb 08, 2004
February 01, 2004 00:00 IST
In Davos this year there was much talk of Islam and its differences with the West. The emphasis was on trying to understand why rather than ...
Sun, Feb 01, 2004
January 25, 2004 00:00 IST
The World Social Forum was started four years ago as a protest against the World Economic Forum so it was appropriate that I should come to ...
Sun, Jan 25, 2004
January 18, 2004 00:00 IST
Last week Sonia Gandhi set off on a kisan yatra. Rural India is so distant from our genteel, middle-class lives that Sonia appears to have f...
Sun, Jan 18, 2004
January 11, 2004 00:00 IST
As someone who believes that the only good thing about Hindutva is its demand that Indian education be Indianised it always shocks me when I...
Sun, Jan 11, 2004
January 04, 2004 00:00 IST
This is the first column of a New Year and on principle I try to make it a cheerful ‘‘feel good’’ piece unless disaster ...
Sun, Jan 04, 2004
December 28, 2003 00:00 IST
The end of the year seems always to bring either war or peace between India and Pakistan. This time it is a hesitant, nervous sort of peace ...
Sun, Dec 28, 2003
December 21, 2003 00:00 IST
We hear the word vikas a lot since the assembly elections. Development. It’s all about vikas political pundits have taken to saying ev...
Sun, Dec 21, 2003
December 14, 2003 00:00 IST
This week I am going to play Devil’s Advocate. I am going to speak up for the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) which because ...
Sun, Dec 14, 2003
December 07, 2003 00:00 IST
Introspection. If you were politically interested enough to have remained transfixed by your television set when the results of the assembly...
Sun, Dec 07, 2003
November 30, 2003 00:00 IST
Not long ago I happened to be on a flight with BJP President Venakaiah Naidu. He was returning from Jodhpur after campaigning for Vasundhara...
Sun, Nov 30, 2003
November 23, 2003 00:00 IST
Jet-lagged and bleary eyed I landed at Mumbai airport in the early hours of a morning last week to be accosted, while waiting for my bags to...
Sun, Nov 23, 2003
November 16, 2003 00:00 IST
This week I write from New York where one of the most interesting stories when seen through my Indian eyes was the WTO decision, last week, ...
Sun, Nov 16, 2003
November 09, 2003 00:00 IST
Indira Gandhi’s death anniversary went by almost unnoticed. There was that little fracas over grandson, Feroze Varun, being denied entr...
Sun, Nov 09, 2003
November 02, 2003 00:00 IST
In a village in Maharashtra, last week, in the dak edition of a badly printed newspaper I read that by 2050 India’s economy will be num...
Sun, Nov 02, 2003
October 26, 2003 00:00 IST
Last week this newspaper got two of the government’s economic advisors to write a ‘very, very happy Diwali’ piece and it was ...
Sun, Oct 26, 2003
October 19, 2003 00:00 IST
As a steadfast member of the school of political thinking that totally opposes foreign prime ministers for India I never fail to take up the...
Sun, Oct 19, 2003
October 12, 2003 00:00 IST
What I like about Mayawati is her honesty. That may sound like a funny thing to say but I am being completely serious. I like her for never ...
Sun, Oct 12, 2003
October 05, 2003 00:00 IST
For reasons I have never fully understood religious fanatics love writing letters. No sooner do I mention Hindutva or jehad in this column t...
Sun, Oct 05, 2003
September 28, 2003 00:00 IST
As someone who dislikes military dictators in general and Pervez Musharraf in particular let me begin by conceding that the man has one qual...
Sun, Sep 28, 2003
September 21, 2003 00:00 IST
Our justice system was in the news for two reasons recently but, sadly, the more significant reason for its making headlines was virtually i...
Sun, Sep 21, 2003
September 14, 2003 00:00 IST
On a perfect morning in Srinagar last week as I sat on the roof of a houseboat on the Dal Lake listening to happy, hopeful tales of the Vall...
Sun, Sep 14, 2003



