Lucknow: For Sir William Mark Tully, former BBC bureau chief and for many years known as the BBC’s “voice of India”, UP was never just another reporting destination.For more than four decades, he covered some of the most important political, historical and cultural events of the state, and built a deep personal connection with Lucknow and the wider region.
Former BBC correspondent Ram Dutt Tripathi told TOI that Tully’s engagement with UP went far beyond isolated assignments.“For years, he travelled extensively across the state, covering elections, political movements and religious gatherings. He covered several Kumbh Melas in Prayagraj, including those held in 1978 and 2013. Even at the age of 78, in 2013, he stayed in a tent near the Sangam to cover ‘Shahi Snan’, moving through huge crowds with the same dedication he showed throughout his career,” Tripathi said.“For Mark Tully, journalism was never about status or fame, but about living close to the people he reported on,” he said.This was clear as early as 1991, when then Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar held the national conference of Janata Dal (S) in rural Ballia. While most senior journalists stayed in city hotels, Tully chose to stay in a temporary tent at the venue. He drank tea from roadside carts, ate ‘baati-chokha’ and filed stories from a makeshift media centre, fully comfortable with simple living.“Even in difficult situations, Tully remained calm. Once, during a return journey to Lucknow, when a truck driver refused to give way, he briefly lost his temper — a rare moment. More often, when tense, he quietly recited the Hanuman Chalisa,” he said.Lucknow remained one of Tully’s working bases. During major political developments — including the arrest of LK Advani and the Babri Masjid case — he worked from the city, covering hearings at the CBI Special Court in Indiranagar.One of the most dramatic moments of his career came on Dec 6, 1992, during the demolition of the Babri Masjid. Despite heavy media presence, Tully was part of the team that first reported that police regained control of the disputed site two days later. The same day, he was held hostage for several hours by kar sevaks before being freed with the help of a prominent Ayodhya ‘mahant’.Veteran journalist Hisam Siddiqui said, “Though Mark was British, he had a strong command over Hindi and other languages. He always felt annoyed if anyone visiting him started a conversation in English. He used to say, ‘Why do people talk to me in English? I am well versed in Hindi’.”Siddiqui also recalls a famous incident about Mark Tully. “Once in an interview, then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi said that the BBC was not relevant now. In response, Mark said that when his mother (Indira Gandhi) was assassinated, and he was informed about the tragedy, he used the radio and confirmed the news while listening to BBC radio,” he said.
