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Mark Tully

Articles by Mark Tully

Can industrialisation and inclusivity coexist?

The government launches campaigns for inclusive development, but amendments to Forest Conservation Act may harm the poorest citizens.

In India, the poorest of the poor live in the forests and are dependent on them for their livelihood. (HT file)

opinion

Published on Aug 05, 2023 11:07 PM IST

ByMark Tully

Jobs for the young must be a key policy priority

In view of the latest figures in latest figures in the Periodic Labour Force Survey, a few questions to ensure unemployment for the youth

Jobs for the youth are a key priority(HT PHOTO)

opinion

Published on Jun 04, 2023 10:47 AM IST

ByMark Tully

For economic growth, focus on fighting graft

What is needed to prevent the emergence of an L-shaped curve is a focus on the services sector, manufacturing, and a renewed drive against corruption.

According to a United Nations report, India lifted 415 million people from multidimensional poverty between 2005 and 2021. (REUTERS)

opinion

Updated on May 20, 2023 07:45 PM IST

ByMark Tully

The king’s coronation is a testament to the crown moving with the times

Respect the King who showed that he has moved with the times, evident by the congregation of people who attended his coronation.

Britain's King Charles III with the St Edward's Crown on his head.(AFP)

opinion

Published on May 08, 2023 04:58 PM IST

ByMark Tully

To bolster democracy, fortify key institutions

There are learned lawyers. So why don’t they arrest the deterioration of the courts? There are committed MPs. Why don’t they restore the dignity of Parliament?

One of the most important debates in any Parliament should be the budget discussion. This year, Parliament has been so unruly that the budget was passed without discussion and once again, the session of Parliament was cut short, now a common practice. (Sonu Mehta/HT PHOTO)

opinion

Updated on Apr 22, 2023 06:59 PM IST

ByMark Tully

Two sacred places in need of modernisation

A tale of two sacred cities, Bateshwar and Mathura.

The Yamuna river front at Bateshwar in Agra district. (Photo HT)

opinion

Published on Apr 09, 2023 03:40 PM IST

ByMark Tully

Green hydrogen holds great promise for India

Green hydrogen can overcome difficulties that other renewable electricity-generating technologies create. India has joined the race to develop a green hydrogen economy

India is still a coal consumer, but it unveiled the National Green Hydrogen Mission earlier this year. (Shutterstock)

opinion

Published on Mar 25, 2023 07:30 PM IST

ByMark Tully

The perils of dictating a country’s culture

A recent lecture by renowned art historian, Fakir Aijazuddin, was a commentary on an official book called Pakistan Culture, and a criticism of India-Pakistan relations

It is important to remember that it’s not just the policies of the present government that have led to the barren relations with this neighbour. (HT File Photo)

opinion

Published on Mar 11, 2023 06:44 PM IST

ByMark Tully

It can take courage to sit on the fence

As a journalist, I have tried to avoid taking sides. I know there are occasions when something is so dreadful that one has to fight, but I think those occasions are much rarer than most journalists think.

Sitting on the fence is what many will feel I have done by not supporting BBC in the dispute with the Government of India over the two documentaries about the Gujarat riots. I think I followed Runcie’s advice and sat on the fence (Shutterstock)

opinion

Published on Feb 25, 2023 05:04 PM IST

ByMark Tully

We need balanced coverage of violence

If we are to have that balance, India, Britain and America must improve their police forces. They need to remember the damage their coverage can cause, but that is not an excuse for claiming a right to secrecy.

When the recent two-part BBC documentary was shown on TV, the focus was on the role the film alleged the prime minister played in the 2002 Gujarat riots. The film did show some scenes of the riots, but what was disturbing and barely commented on was the shocking violence of the police in the library of Jamia Millia Islamia in 2019. The police behaved brutally, smashing everyone and everything, including destroying a security camera. (HT PHOTO)

opinion

Updated on Feb 11, 2023 07:47 PM IST

ByMark Tully

How BBC’s ties with India have evolved

It is hard to get the BBC to apologise, but in the current case, India needs to realise that the BBC does not spew out colonialist propaganda. It’s a journalists’ organisation, and millions of Indians choose to listen to and watch it

Over the years, as the BBC’s Delhi correspondent, I had many discussions with the ministry of external affairs officials about programmes the BBC wanted to make. (archive)

opinion

Updated on Jan 28, 2023 09:16 PM IST

ByMark Tully

India needs to relearn what it has to teach

Minds have to be kept open because there will always be something more to learn about these questions. That’s why Indians should be proud to be an argumentative country. That is why there should not be any full stops in India

In Britain, top universities are battling to win the academically brightest international students. They show no desire to reverse this trend and send their best students abroad. This is not to say there is no interest among international students in coming to India. Still, it is far from being a demand for foreign education at an affordable cost. So, achieving substantially cheaper costs will take a lot of work. (HT PHOTO)

opinion

Updated on Jan 14, 2023 07:56 PM IST

ByMark Tully

Celebrating unsung freedom fighters

If we had continued to fight for Gandhi’s India, if we had not forgotten those inspired by his vision, we would now be a very different nation, writes P Sainath in his new book

India is still, in so many ways, a dysfunctional pre-Independence nation with Parliament and assemblies, courts and police bent on following the government’s will regardless of the law (HT PHOTO)

opinion

Updated on Dec 31, 2022 08:50 PM IST

ByMark Tully

For Bangladeshi politics, a turbulent time looms

From creating despair among development economists, investors and donors, as it used to, the country now gives them hope. But has the bubble burst?

Sheikh Hasina is now facing severe economic problems that could provide fuel for the fire if the Opposition lights it. (AFP)

opinion

Published on Dec 17, 2022 07:35 PM IST

ByMark Tully

The message from G20 Religion Forum

I would like to draw your attention to an article written by Ram Madhav on the G20 Religion Forum, or R20, which ensures that religion functions as a genuine and dynamic source of solutions rather than problems in the world

For religious leaders to play an influen-tial role in making us realise we are all part of one great unity, they must stand together and differ because their beliefs are different (ANI)

opinion

Updated on Dec 03, 2022 09:03 PM IST

ByMark Tully

Remembering friends and the golden days

In the 19070s and 1980s, the radio was king. Fortunately for the BBC and me as their correspondent, the government’s control didn’t allow All India Radio to exploit its potential. So, Indians would turn to the BBC to get independent news. Rajiv Gandhi turned to the BBC to confirm his mother had died

Our friends all loved the BBC as it was then. It’s different now. Is it better? Does it matter to India as much as it used to? (HT)

opinion

Updated on Nov 19, 2022 07:21 PM IST

ByMark Tully

The road to atmanirbharta may go through GM seeds

Lifting the ban on genetically modified seeds should allow tests for the new mustard seed developed by a scientist at Delhi University. But will the step be a game-changer?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Union government is now expected to take a political call on whether to allow commercial cultivation of GM mustard in India. (Reuters)

opinion

Updated on Nov 06, 2022 05:30 PM IST

ByMark Tully

Successor to Truss will face a raft of challenges

The new prime minister will inherit a country wracked by an economic crisis, labour unrest and a ruling party divided against itself

Britain's Prime Minister Liz Truss comes back inside 10 Downing Street, October 20, 2022 (AFP)

opinion

Updated on Oct 21, 2022 07:38 PM IST

ByMark Tully

Decoding the Russian gameplan in Ukraine

Putin has said he is prepared to defend territories he annexed using all available means. Does he hope to arouse such fear that America and NATO agree to cut back or even stop their supply of arms to Ukraine, or is it possible that Putin is prepared to go nuclear?

A Ukrainian firefighter pushes out a fire after a strike in Zaporizhzhia on October 6, 2022 (AFP)

opinion

Updated on Oct 08, 2022 05:28 PM IST

ByMark Tully

Queen Elizabeth was a symbol of stability

Queen Elizabeth succeeded because she was aware that she had to do her duty, and more often than not that meant keeping quiet.

In the end, the 12 days of mourning were a gathering of the Queen’s people to give thanks for a reign of nearly 70 years. She had seen the winds of change sweep away the British Empire, the church accepting women bishops and divorce becoming accepted practice. She held weekly talks with Britain’s first three women prime ministers. (REUTERS)

opinion

Updated on Sep 24, 2022 06:23 PM IST

ByMark Tully

Queen Elizabeth accepted limitations, dedicated her life to being the Queen

Queen Elizabeth II’s death marks the end of an era not just for the people of Great Britain but also for the people of the Commonwealth and indeed the whole world bearing in mind the standards she stood for and the values she upheld. She broke the record for the longest reigning monarch and the oldest queen. She made 247 Commonwealth visits.

In this Oct. 9, 1982 file photo, Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, centre and her husband Prince Philip react, as they drive through the crowd of athletes and officials during the Closing Ceremony of the 12th Commonwealth Games, in the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Sports Centre, in Brisbane, Australia. (AP)

india news

Published on Sep 09, 2022 11:16 PM IST

ByMark Tully

Queen Elizabeth accepted limitations, dedicated her life to being the Queen

The very recent celebrations of Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee demonstrated her popularity and the popularity of the monarchy.

Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s longest-reigning monarch and a rock of stability across much of a turbulent century, died aged 96. (AP Photo, File)

world news

Updated on Sep 10, 2022 07:29 AM IST

ByMark Tully

Why Birmingham put on a massive show for CWG

The reason is Birmingham’s wish to shed the title of Britain’s Second City.

Actors perform during the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony at the Alexander stadium in Birmingham, England, Thursday, July 28, 2022. (AP)

opinion

Published on Jul 30, 2022 07:56 PM IST

ByMark Tully

UK’s PM race: Who should Indians back?

In my view, Sunak is the man who knows India because of his years as Johnson’s finance minister. He needs support, too, because he is receiving such offensive attacks from the tax reducers

Johnson has been forced to resign by his party members in Parliament. Their revolt was sparked off by two ministers with subcontinental roots — Rishi Sunak, the former British chancellor of the exchequer, and Sajid Javid, who was the secretary of state for health and social care. (REUTERS)

opinion

Updated on Jul 16, 2022 07:25 PM IST

ByMark Tully

India can lead the democratic world

In his forthcoming book, Towards Decentralized Democratic Global Governance, economist Ramgopal Agarwala argues that the leadership India can provide would lead to the end of hegemony

To me, the size of India’s population and the potential of its economy make the country potentially hegemonic. Ramgopal calls his governance: “Happiness of all and hegemony of none: A neo-Swadeshi Indian Dream”, and he believes the dream can be fulfilled (Hindustan Times)

opinion

Updated on Jul 02, 2022 08:46 PM IST

ByMark Tully

The pivotal partnership between God and science

If religious groups are to lead the fight against what Amitav Ghosh calls “the securitisation and corporatisation of climate change” they will have to have a theology which goes with it.

All religious leaders, Semitic and Indic, can teach us that we too are created by God and must, therefore, respect all that is created by God’s will.(Pexels)

opinion

Published on Jun 18, 2022 07:46 PM IST

ByMark Tully

Why we shouldn’t be careless about Covid-19

In this Covid-19 calm, the central government and the WHO should sit down together and discuss calculations made by both sides to find out what went wrong and how to put that right

A health care worker collects a swab sample from a passenger for Covid-19 testing, Prayagraj, May 10, 2022 (PTI)

opinion

Updated on Jun 04, 2022 08:30 PM IST

ByMark Tully

Reform the Raj-era judicial system

The dark shadows of the colonial past hang over the proceedings of the SC too. E-courts alone won’t clear those shadows away

This seems to be a classic example of the malfunctioning governance, the laxity, evident in almost all Indian governance. If the SC can’t enforce its orders, what hope does a rural divisional court have? (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

opinion

Updated on May 07, 2022 07:45 PM IST

ByMark Tully

Reforming the higher education system

Students are worried about recovering lost knowledge. But they must also worry about another issue: There may be no teachers to teach their subjects. There is a shortage of 6,481 teachers in centrally funded universities

CUET has just been born, and there could well be trouble when more details are known, particularly its syllabi. Once its full scope is revealed to the public, educationalists will judge whether CUET is a genuinely new exam or it suffers from the same fault almost all Indian exams suffer from (Hindustan Times)

opinion

Updated on Apr 23, 2022 06:01 PM IST

ByMark Tully

The effect of Putin’s actions on the US, NATO and India

People who claim to know Putin well say that he will never accept any end of the war which he cannot see as a victory and sell it as such to the Russians.

It looks as though Putin needs to, at the very least, win control of Donbas to end the war, while Biden needs the sanctions to bring him down before he achieves that objective. (Reuters)

opinion

Updated on Apr 09, 2022 07:17 PM IST

ByMark Tully

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Mark Tully

The government launches campaigns for inclusive development, but amendments to Forest Conservation Act may harm the poorest citizens.

In view of the latest figures in latest figures in the Periodic Labour Force Survey, a few questions to ensure unemployment for the youth

What is needed to prevent the emergence of an L-shaped curve is a focus on the services sector, manufacturing, and a renewed drive against corruption.

Respect the King who showed that he has moved with the times, evident by the congregation of people who attended his coronation.

There are learned lawyers. So why don’t they arrest the deterioration of the courts? There are committed MPs. Why don’t they restore the dignity of Parliament?

A tale of two sacred cities, Bateshwar and Mathura.

Green hydrogen can overcome difficulties that other renewable electricity-generating technologies create. India has joined the race to develop a green hydrogen economy

A recent lecture by renowned art historian, Fakir Aijazuddin, was a commentary on an official book called Pakistan Culture, and a criticism of India-Pakistan relations

As a journalist, I have tried to avoid taking sides. I know there are occasions when something is so dreadful that one has to fight, but I think those occasions are much rarer than most journalists think.

If we are to have that balance, India, Britain and America must improve their police forces. They need to remember the damage their coverage can cause, but that is not an excuse for claiming a right to secrecy.

It is hard to get the BBC to apologise, but in the current case, India needs to realise that the BBC does not spew out colonialist propaganda. It’s a journalists’ organisation, and millions of Indians choose to listen to and watch it

Minds have to be kept open because there will always be something more to learn about these questions. That’s why Indians should be proud to be an argumentative country. That is why there should not be any full stops in India

If we had continued to fight for Gandhi’s India, if we had not forgotten those inspired by his vision, we would now be a very different nation, writes P Sainath in his new book

From creating despair among development economists, investors and donors, as it used to, the country now gives them hope. But has the bubble burst?

I would like to draw your attention to an article written by Ram Madhav on the G20 Religion Forum, or R20, which ensures that religion functions as a genuine and dynamic source of solutions rather than problems in the world

Lifting the ban on genetically modified seeds should allow tests for the new mustard seed developed by a scientist at Delhi University. But will the step be a game-changer?

The new prime minister will inherit a country wracked by an economic crisis, labour unrest and a ruling party divided against itself

Putin has said he is prepared to defend territories he annexed using all available means. Does he hope to arouse such fear that America and NATO agree to cut back or even stop their supply of arms to Ukraine, or is it possible that Putin is prepared to go nuclear?

Queen Elizabeth succeeded because she was aware that she had to do her duty, and more often than not that meant keeping quiet.

The very recent celebrations of Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee demonstrated her popularity and the popularity of the monarchy.

The reason is Birmingham’s wish to shed the title of Britain’s Second City.

In my view, Sunak is the man who knows India because of his years as Johnson’s finance minister. He needs support, too, because he is receiving such offensive attacks from the tax reducers

In his forthcoming book, Towards Decentralized Democratic Global Governance, economist Ramgopal Agarwala argues that the leadership India can provide would lead to the end of hegemony

If religious groups are to lead the fight against what Amitav Ghosh calls “the securitisation and corporatisation of climate change” they will have to have a theology which goes with it.

In this Covid-19 calm, the central government and the WHO should sit down together and discuss calculations made by both sides to find out what went wrong and how to put that right

The dark shadows of the colonial past hang over the proceedings of the SC too. E-courts alone won’t clear those shadows away

Students are worried about recovering lost knowledge. But they must also worry about another issue: There may be no teachers to teach their subjects. There is a shortage of 6,481 teachers in centrally funded universities

People who claim to know Putin well say that he will never accept any end of the war which he cannot see as a victory and sell it as such to the Russians.

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