Tiwari, an author of Punjabi language and professor at the Panjab University; and Jat Sikh mother Amrit Tewari, a dentist who worked as Professor and Head, Oral Health Sciences Center, and Dean at Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research.

[6] Tewari's maternal grandfather, Sardar Tirath Singh was a lawyer and a minister in Congress' government in the state of Punjab.

[4] Tewari married Naznin Shifa, a Parsi in March 1996 and now resides in Lodhi Gardens, New Delhi.

[4] Tewari was the president of National Students Union of India from 1988 to 1993[7] and Indian Youth Congress(I) from 1998 to 2000.

[8] While he was scheduled to contest polls from his constituency Ludhiana, in March 2014 he was admitted to hospital for heart ailment.