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 21, 2024 07:46 IST
On the eve of the consecration of Ram’s new temple, I would like to warn against Hindu triumphalism once again.
Sun, Jan 21, 2024
January 14, 2024 08:00 IST
Why has the Congress Party been reduced to such a state that in the past two general elections it has not been able to win enough seats to claim the position of leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha?
Mon, Jan 15, 2024
January 07, 2024 07:55 IST
The consecration ceremony is two weeks away, but it is hard to find a news bulletin that does not lead with the latest developments in the temple.
Sun, Jan 07, 2024
December 31, 2023 07:30 IST
If Modi’s guarantees have more resonance, it is because he seems to have understood exactly what appeals to the Indian voter today
Sun, Dec 31, 2023
December 24, 2023 07:45 IST
It has long been evident that one of the great skills of the Modi government is to create a distraction every time it finds itself in a tight spot and this is what it did with the harmless spoof on the Vice President.
Sun, Dec 24, 2023
December 17, 2023 07:10 IST
Extreme poverty and casteism have long been the material that our political leaders use to create their vote banks but why have the Dalit groups who attacked me last week not done more? Is it because their compassion is fake or because they have learned how to exploit these most deprived of India’s citizens just like politicians?
Sun, Dec 17, 2023
December 10, 2023 07:30 IST
Among the benefits that accrue is that you can claim vast tracts of valuable public land for this supposedly charitable activity. The whole system is corrupt, outdated and evil, and the people who barely benefit because of it are those deprived and discriminated castes for whom reservations were created in the first place.
Mon, Dec 11, 2023
December 03, 2023 07:14 IST
When Narendra Modi first appeared upon the national political stage, he took a refreshingly different view of poverty.
Sun, Dec 03, 2023
November 26, 2023 08:00 IST
As someone who lives in Mumbai in that vicinity where the attacks took place, what has horrified me is how little has been done since 26/11 to strengthen our defences against jihadi terrorism.
Sun, Nov 26, 2023
November 19, 2023 07:15 IST
When I asked moderate Muslim friends why Osama was seen as a hero, they said he was fighting for Allah against the ‘evil western world’ and this made him a holy warrior. How ironic that he has become a hero once more in the eyes of young people bred in the very world that he set out to destroy.
Sun, Nov 19, 2023
November 12, 2023 07:02 IST
If things get better, I promise that next Diwali I will write a piece full of joy and sparkle. This year it has been too hard to do.
Sun, Nov 12, 2023
November 05, 2023 07:11 IST
In Srinagar, there are rumours that Imams had been warned not to talk about the Middle East in their Friday sermons. They do not need to.
Tue, Nov 07, 2023
October 29, 2023 07:45 IST
Preserving democracy has become vitally important today not just in India but in the world because long shadows loom over democratic countries like Israel and Ukraine.
Sun, Oct 29, 2023
October 22, 2023 07:56 IST
There are ‘liberals’ in India who believe that jihadism is no different to Hindutva and that both need to be condemned in equal measure. I believe they are wrong.
Mon, Oct 23, 2023
October 15, 2023 07:00 IST
If civilians in Gaza are killed in the war that Israel hopes will finish Hamas once and for all, it will be Hamas that is to blame.
Mon, Oct 16, 2023
October 08, 2023 07:45 IST
It is largely because PM Modi has taken so aggressive a tone that the coming election has begun to sound more like a civil war.
Sun, Oct 08, 2023
October 01, 2023 07:43 IST
Manipur has been burning for nearly six months now, and you can count on the fingers of one hand the number of journalists who have gone there to report what is really happening.
Sun, Oct 01, 2023
September 24, 2023 07:10 IST
Of course, this is against the laws that govern international relations but let us not pretend that if after 26/11 India had managed to bump off evil men like Hafiz Saeed in their sanctuaries in Pakistan nobody would have shed a tear.
Mon, Sep 25, 2023
September 17, 2023 07:31 IST
While PM Modi talks of healing and building trust and while he makes it a point these days to address his countrymen as my “beloved family members” they wander about spreading hatred and violence
Sun, Sep 17, 2023
September 10, 2023 07:26 IST
From Modi’s point of vantage, the summit that concludes today has already brought laurels and glory that will add to his personal prestige.
Mon, Sep 11, 2023
September 03, 2023 07:45 IST
Of the conclave of Modi’s opponents in Mumbai, I ask why in the decade that they have spent in opposition they have not come up with new ideas on education, on healthcare or anything else?
Sun, Sep 03, 2023
August 27, 2023 07:00 IST
No sooner did our spacecraft land on the moon than politicians from the BJP and the Congress Party competed to give credit to their party leaders
Sun, Aug 27, 2023
August 20, 2023 07:05 IST
The reason why we are decades behind most Southeast Asian countries is because of the criminally negligent governance that defined the Congress era.
Sun, Aug 20, 2023
August 13, 2023 06:45 IST
That sense of being at an election rally was heightened by the slogans he encouraged his MPs to raise when he said something he thought was exceptional.
Mon, Aug 14, 2023
August 06, 2023 07:12 IST
Gurugram is not just a Haryanvi city it is a suburb of Delhi. In it can be seen on almost every other wall posters advertising G20 meetings and words of inspiration from the Prime Minister like ‘one earth, one planet, one family
Mon, Aug 07, 2023





