Tributes have been pouring in for veteran BBC journalist Sir Mark Tully who has been cremated in the Indian capital, Delhi, a day after he died at the age of 90.
Hundreds of people - including friends and family - gathered at the Lodhi crematorium to bid their final goodbye to the broadcaster.
Sir Mark was widely regarded as the BBC's voice of India and was one of the most admired foreign correspondents of his generation.
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi described Sir Mark as a towering voice of journalism, adding that his connect with India and the people of our nation was reflected in his works.
On Monday afternoon, mourners lined up around Sir Mark's body at the crematorium.
Wrapped in a white cloth, his body was laid on a platform on a bed of flowers, made up of rose petals and tuberoses. Marigold garlands and a wreath were placed on top.
Christian priests recited prayers and hymns were sung, before the body was taken for cremation.
Sir Mark, who died on Sunday at a Delhi hospital where he was undergoing treatment, has been described as a chronicler of modern India.
Over a career spanning several decades, he reported on big historical moments that defined South Asia's trajectory, including the Indian army's storming of the Sikh Golden Temple, the birth of Bangladesh, periods of military rule in Pakistan, the Tamil Tigers' rebellion in Sri Lanka and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
In 1992, while reporting on the demolition of the Babri mosque by Hindu hardliners, he faced threats from a mob and was locked in a room for several hours before a local official and a Hindu priest came to his aid.
Journalist Satish Jacob, who worked closely with Sir Mark at the BBC for nearly two decades and later co-authored a book with him, said he first met him on a flight in 1978, an encounter that marked the beginning of a friendship that lasted 48 years.
Author and historian William Dalrymple called Sir Mark a giant among journalists and the greatest Indophile of his generation. As the voice of BBC India he was irreplaceable, a man prepared to stand up to power and to tell the truth, however uncomfortable, Dalrymple wrote in a post on X.
Senior journalists and academics across India have also spoken about Sir Mark's influence on them and the impact of his reporting.
Political scientist Pratap Bhanu Mehta noted that all Indians have a 'Sir Mark memory'. He recalled how Sir Mark’s reports during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots became the only voice of Indian history as it happened.
Born in Calcutta in British India in 1935, Sir Mark spent much of his life in India and was knighted for services to broadcasting and journalism in the 2002 New Year Honours list. He also received two of India’s highest civilian awards - the Padma Shri and the Padma Bhushan - rare honors for a foreign national.
