Khushwant Singh | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Khushwant Singh receiving the National Amity Award, in New Delhi on September 26, 2008 | |
| Born | Khushal Singh 2 February 1915 Hadali, Punjab Province, British India (now in Punjab, Pakistan) |
| Died | 20 March 2014 (aged 99) New Delhi, India |
| Occupation | Lawyer, journalist, diplomat, writer, politician |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Alma mater | Government College, Lahore (B.A.) University of London (LL.B.) |
| Notable works | The History of Sikhs Train to Pakistan Delhi: A Novel The Company of Women Truth, Love and a Little Malice: An Autobiography With Malice towards One and All Why I Supported the Emergency: Essays and Profiles Khushwantnama, The Lessons of My Life Punjab, Punjabis & Punjabiyat: Reflections on a Land and its People The Mark of Vishnu and Other Stories The Portrait of a Lady |
| Notable awards | Rockefeller Grant Padma Bhushan Honest Man of the Year Punjab Rattan Award Padma Vibhushan Sahitya Akademi Fellowship All-India Minorities Forum Annual Fellowship Award Lifetime Achievement Award Fellow of King's College[1] The Grove Press Award |
| Relatives | Sardar Sujan Singh (grandfather) Lakshmi Devi (grandmother) Sir Sobha Singh (father) Viran Bai (mother) Sardar Ujjal Singh (uncle) Bhagwant Singh (brother) Brigadier Gurbux Singh (brother) Daljit Singh (brother) Mohinder Kaur (sister) Kanwal Malik (spouse) Rahul Singh (son) Mala (daughter) Sir Teja Singh Malik (father-in-law) |
Khushwant Singh FKC (born Khushal Singh, 2 February 1915 – 20 March 2014) was an Indian author, lawyer, diplomat, journalist and politician. His experience in the 1947 Partition of India inspired him to write Train to Pakistan in 1956 (made into film in 1998), which became his most well-known novel.[1][2]
Born in Punjab, Khushwant Singh was educated in Modern School, New Delhi, St. Stephen's College, and graduated from Government College, Lahore. He studied at King's College London and was awarded an LL.B. from University of London. He was called to the bar at the London Inner Temple. After working as a lawyer in Lahore High Court for eight years, he joined the Indian Foreign Service upon the Independence of India from British Empire in 1947. He was appointed journalist in the All India Radio in 1951, and then moved to the Department of Mass Communications of UNESCO at Paris in 1956. These last two careers encouraged him to pursue a literary career. As a writer, he was best known for his trenchant secularism,[3] humour, sarcasm and an abiding love of poetry. His comparisons of social and behavioural characteristics of Westerners and Indians are laced with acid wit. He served as the editor of several literary and news magazines, as well as two newspapers, through the 1970s and 1980s. Between 1980 and 1986 he served as Member of Parliament in Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament of India.
Khushwant Singh was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1974;[4] however, he returned the award in 1984 in protest against Operation Blue Star in which the Indian Army raided Amritsar. In 2007, he was awarded the Padma Vibhushan, the second-highest civilian award in India.[5]
- ^ Sengupta, Somini (20 March 2014). "Khushwant Singh, provocative Indian journalist, dies at 99". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
- ^ Subramonian, Surabhi (20 March 2014). "India's very own literary genius Khushwant Singh passes away, read his story". dna. Diligent Media Corporation Ltd. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
- ^ TNN (20 March 2014). "Khushwant Singh, journalist and writer, dies at 99". The Times of India. Retrieved 21 March 2014.
- ^ "Padma Awards" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 October 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
- ^ TNT (28 January 2008). "Those who said no to top awards". The Times of India. Retrieved 7 May 2015.