Tavleen Singh
Encyclopedia
Tavleen Singh is a noted India
n syndicated columnist
and political reporter and writer.
in 1950 and studied at the Welham Girls School
. Later she did a short-term Journalism course from the New Delhi Polytechnic in 1969. She completed her education in India and started her career with a reporting job at Evening Mail, Slough
(England), where she worked and trained for two and a half years under the Westminster Press/Thompson training scheme.
Singh returned to India in 1974 to work with The Statesman
as a reporter and went on to do several stories on communal riots, elections and wars. In those days such topics were covered mainly by male reporters.
She joined The Telegraph
as Special Correspondent
in 1982, mainly covering Punjab and Kashmir
. She did the first known interview with Bhindranwale during this time and won the Sanskriti award in 1985 for her reporting of Punjab.
In 1985 and also in 1987 she became the South Asia correspondent
of the Sunday Times
, London
. Subsequently she became a freelancer
and started writing for India Today
and The Indian Express
. Her column in The Indian Express became the first political column to be written by a woman.
In 1990 she began her stint with television by heading Plus Channel's Delhi bureau. Singh presented two video magazines called People Plus and Business Plus. She has done Ek Din Ek Jeevan, a Hindi weekly programme for STAR Plus
.
In 2002 she anchored the new weekly political discussion programme Dateline India produced by Karan Thapar
, on BBC World
.
Currently, she is with The Indian Express
, for which she writes a weekly column, on Sundays.
, born in 1980 in London
, whose father was Governor of Pakistani Punjab, Salman Taseer, was the author of the recently published book Stranger to History.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n syndicated columnist
Syndicated columnist
This list of syndicated columnists comprises columnists whose recurring columns are published in multiple periodical publications .*Ghaith Abdul-Ahad*Yasmin Alibhai-Brown*Timothy Garton Ash*Lucius Beebe*Max Boot...
and political reporter and writer.
Biography
Singh was born in MussoorieMussoorie
Mussoorie is a city and a municipal board in the Dehradun District of the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is located about 35 km from the state capital of Dehradun and 290 km north from the national capital of New Delhi...
in 1950 and studied at the Welham Girls School
Welham Girls School
Welham Girls School is a boarding school for girls located at the foothills of the Himalayas in Dehradun, India...
. Later she did a short-term Journalism course from the New Delhi Polytechnic in 1969. She completed her education in India and started her career with a reporting job at Evening Mail, Slough
Slough
Slough is a borough and unitary authority within the ceremonial county of Royal Berkshire, England. The town straddles the A4 Bath Road and the Great Western Main Line, west of central London...
(England), where she worked and trained for two and a half years under the Westminster Press/Thompson training scheme.
Singh returned to India in 1974 to work with The Statesman
The Statesman
The Statesman is an Indian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper founded in 1875 and published simultaneously in Kolkata, New Delhi, Siliguri and Bhubaneswar. The Statesman is owned by The Statesman Ltd., its headquarters at Statesman House, Chowringhee Square, Calcutta and its national...
as a reporter and went on to do several stories on communal riots, elections and wars. In those days such topics were covered mainly by male reporters.
She joined The Telegraph
The Telegraph (Kolkata)
The Telegraph is an Indian daily newspaper founded and continuously published in Kolkata since 1982. It is published by the ABP Group and the newspaper vies with the Times of India for the position of having the widest widest circulation of any newspaper in Eastern India.According to the Audit...
as Special Correspondent
Correspondent
A correspondent or on-the-scene reporter is a journalist or commentator, or more general speaking, an agent who contributes reports to a newspaper, or radio or television news, or another type of company, from a remote, often distant, location. A foreign correspondent is stationed in a foreign...
in 1982, mainly covering Punjab and Kashmir
Kashmir
Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...
. She did the first known interview with Bhindranwale during this time and won the Sanskriti award in 1985 for her reporting of Punjab.
In 1985 and also in 1987 she became the South Asia correspondent
Correspondent
A correspondent or on-the-scene reporter is a journalist or commentator, or more general speaking, an agent who contributes reports to a newspaper, or radio or television news, or another type of company, from a remote, often distant, location. A foreign correspondent is stationed in a foreign...
of the Sunday Times
The Sunday Times (UK)
The Sunday Times is a Sunday broadsheet newspaper, distributed in the United Kingdom. The Sunday Times is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News International, which is in turn owned by News Corporation. Times Newspapers also owns The Times, but the two papers were founded...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Subsequently she became a freelancer
Freelancer
A freelancer, freelance worker, or freelance is somebody who is self-employed and is not committed to a particular employer long term. These workers are often represented by a company or an agency that resells their labor and that of others to its clients with or without project management and...
and started writing for India Today
India Today
India Today is an Indian weekly news magazine published by Living Media India Limited, in publication since 1975 based in Mumbai. India Today is also the name of its sister-publication in Hindi...
and The Indian Express
The Indian Express
The Indian Express is an Indian English-language daily newspaper. It is published in Mumbai by Indian Express Group. After Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split in 1999 among his family members into two with the southern editions taking the name The New Indian Express, while the old...
. Her column in The Indian Express became the first political column to be written by a woman.
In 1990 she began her stint with television by heading Plus Channel's Delhi bureau. Singh presented two video magazines called People Plus and Business Plus. She has done Ek Din Ek Jeevan, a Hindi weekly programme for STAR Plus
STAR Plus
STAR Plus is a Hindi language general entertainment television channel based in India. The channel is part of the STAR TV network's bouquet of channels...
.
In 2002 she anchored the new weekly political discussion programme Dateline India produced by Karan Thapar
Karan Thapar
Karan Thapar is one of India's noted television commentators and interviewers. He is the youngest child of General P. N. Thapar and Mrs. Bimla Thapar.-Education:...
, on BBC World
BBC World
BBC World News is the BBC's international news and current affairs television channel. It has the largest audience of any BBC channel in the world...
.
Currently, she is with The Indian Express
The Indian Express
The Indian Express is an Indian English-language daily newspaper. It is published in Mumbai by Indian Express Group. After Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split in 1999 among his family members into two with the southern editions taking the name The New Indian Express, while the old...
, for which she writes a weekly column, on Sundays.
Personal life
Her son, journalist-writer Aatish TaseerAatish Taseer
Aatish Taseer , is British-born writer-journalist, and the son of Indian journalist Tavleen Singh and late Pakistani politician and businessman Salmaan Taseer.-Early life:...
, born in 1980 in London
, whose father was Governor of Pakistani Punjab, Salman Taseer, was the author of the recently published book Stranger to History.
Works
- Kashmir: A Tragedy of Errors. Viking, 1995. ISBN 0140250786.
- Lollipop Street: Why India Will Survive Her Politicians. Viking, 1999. ISBN 0670888389.
- Fifth Column. Viking, ISBN 0670081353.
- Political and Incorrect: The real India, warts and all . Harpercollins. 2008. ISBN 817223712X.
Quotes
- "95 percent of corruption is due to the power of the state and socialism. If we could reduce the power of the state, you would reduce corruption a lot."
External links
- Tavleen Singh at Indian Express
- Tavleen Singh at Deccan HeraldDeccan HeraldThe Deccan Herald is a leading English-language daily newspaper distributed in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is published by the Printers Private Limited and has a number of editions in Bangalore, Hubli, Mysore, Mangalore and Gulbarga....
- Tavleen Singh at New York Times