An Insider view

Mark Tully’s knowledge of Indians, his profound views on politics and association with rural India come from an ever-increasing love for country of his birth

Sir William Mark Tully, a veteran journalist and a famous author known for his books on India, was born in Tollygunge, British India, in 1935. He had spent a decade of his childhood in the country and was later sent to a British Boarding School in Darjeeling. When he was 9-years-old, he was sent to England for further studies.

He came back to India in the year 1964 and in 1965, he started working as Indian Correspondent with BBC. Subsequently, after 10 years he became the Bureau Chief and held that post for two decades before resigning from the job and dedicating his time to travel and writing. The multi-faceted personality is currently hosting the weekly show ‘Something Understood’ for BBC Radio 4. The show is about religion, philosophy and art.

Sir Mark Tully was in Hyderabad to receive the -Gopichand National Literary Award. During an exclusive interview, he reveals that as a child he didn’t know much about India, “As a child with British lineage I was never allowed to mingle with Indian kids. The idea was to keep the children, British.

Children at age of four were sent to boarding schools, where only English children would study. After schooling they were sent to England for further studies.” It was his work as a journalist his travels that brought him closer to India. Here are a few excerpts from his conversation where he shares his opinion on India and media in general

As a senior journalist who has seen so many changes in media, what is your opinion on the current scenario?

The obvious answer is that it has changed a lot. Nowadays the communication is very fast. In our times if we had to dispatch any news, the quality of phone lines was mostly poor. In the current scenario one can communicate with anyone in a jiffy.

I can also say that in my times we had well crafted stories and very good stand-ups. At the moment I do not see crafted stories or proper stand-ups.

What is your take on social media?

According to me social media is dangerous as it contains lot of rubbish. There is no authenticity. I had one such experience when someone posted an article under my name, which was against Sonia Gandhi and it was offensive. A few people understood that I did not write it as it was in bad English.

But, most of the people liked the story, and a few people even came up to me and some called it a nice story and some others said it was a bad story. I told all of them that I did not write the story. People turn to print and broadcast as they are more reliable than the former.

Tell us about your weekly radio show ‘Something Understood’?

It is not a current affairs show. It is about religion, philosophy and art. The programme airs every Sunday. The discussions are about the matters, which we do not understand fully.

Do you think radio is still an effective medium?

Absolutely. I love radio and it is a great medium. In UK many people prefer radio over TV as one can listen to the radio even as they do other work. But in case of TV one has stay glued to the TV. And when we listen to radio, we make picture in our minds. That’s why people say that radio has best visuals.

What do you think of community radios?

They can be very powerful tools for the people from rural India. Farmers can be benefitted from it. They should have shows on effective irrigation system for farmers. As the medium is powerful, people participation should also be included. The government should promote the concept of community radio.

What is your take on Indian literature?

I think it is good now with many young and budding writers are coming up. I think there is more need for translating works from Indian languages to English and vice-versa.

You have been a political analyst. What do you think of the current government?

The present government has made many promises in their election campaign. The expectations of people are very high, and it has not been realised adequately. India should reform its governance system to deliver on promises. People think India follows British System, but in reality the country follows British Colonial System.

Both are different. For example the police in UK is service oriented. However, in the British regime the police was “Dande wale police” and it still continues. People fear police till date. Things like these should change for better governance.

What are your future projects?

I am writing a book, which has many short stories from rural India. The book is almost complete and will be releasing end of the year. And recently I have done research on narrow gauge railway from Jabalpur, which is about to be closed. I planning to write a story called ‘Requiem for Railway’.

By:Navin Pivhal