Author: Khushwant Singh
Profile: Khushwant Singh born as Khushal Singh, is one of the greatest writers and journalists of all times in India. Besides this he has been a diplomat, an editor, a lawyer, a politician, and an information officer. He was born on February 2, 1915 at Hadali, Punjab Province, British India, (now in Punjab, Pakistan). He died on March 20, 2014 at Sujan Singh Park, Delhi.
After completing LL.B degree at London he worked for 8 years in Lahore High Court as lawyer. In 1947 he joined the IFS (Indian Foreign Service) when India gained Independence from British Empire. In 1951 he worked as journalist in the All India Radio after which he joined UNESCO in Paris in 1956 in the Department of Mass Communications. In the year 1974, this versatile genius was honored with the Padma Bhushan, however in 1984 he opposed Operation Bluestar and returned back his award.
Writing style: In 1947 Khushwant Singh gained inspiration from his experiences during the Partition of India and wrote the novel, Train to Pakistan in 1956. Train to Pakistan is Khushwant Singh’s most well known novel. He gained interest in the literary career after becoming a journalist at UNESCO and lawyer at All India Radio. Khushwant Singh is known well for his sarcasm, humour, trenchant secularism and strong love for poetry. Acid wit laces his comparisons of behavioural and social characteristics of both Westerners and people of India.
Published Texts:
Awards and Acknowledgements:
1966 – Rockefeller Grant
1974 – Padma Bhushan
2000 – Honest Man of the Year, Sulabh International
2006 – Punjab Rattan Award, The Government of Punjab
2007 – Padma Vibhushan
2010 – Sahitya Akademi Fellowship by Sahitya Academy of India
2012- All-India Minorities Forum Annual Fellowship Award by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Akhilesh Yadav
2013 – Lifetime achievement award by Tata Literature Live! The Mumbai Litfest
2014 – Fellow of King’s College London
Books
1950 – The Mark of Vishnu and Other Stories
1953 – The History of Sikhs
1956 – Train to Pakistan
1957 – The Voice of God and Other Stories
1959 – I Shall Not Hear the Nightingale
1959 – The Sikhs Today
1962 – The Fall of the Kingdom of the Punjab
1963 – A History of the Sikhs
1963 – Ranjit Singh: The Maharaja of the Punjab
1966 – Ghadar 1915: India’s first armed revolution
1966 – A History of the Sikhs (2nd edition)
1967 – A Bride for the Sahib and Other Stories
1971 – Black Jasmine
1984 – Tragedy of Punjab
1989 – The Collected Stories of Khushwant Singh
1990 – Delhi: A Novel
1993 – Not a Nice Man to Know: The Best of Khushwant Singh
1993 – We Indians
1995 – Women and Men in My Life
1997 – Declaring Love in Four Languages
1990 – India: An Introduction by Khushwant Singh
1999 – The Company of Women
2002 – Truth, Love and a Little Malice
2003 – The End of India
2004 – Burial at the Sea
2004 – Paradise and Other Stories
2004 – A History of the Sikhs: 1469-1838
2005 – Death at My Doorstep
2005 – A History of the Sikhs: (1839-2004)
2006 – The Illustrated History of the Sikhs
2009 – Why I Supported the Emergency: Essays and Profiles
2010 – The Sunset Club
2012 – Gods and Godmen of India
2012 – Agnostic Khushwant: There is no God
2013 – The Good, the Bad and the Ridiculous
1989 – More Malicious Gossip
1992 – Sex, Scotch & Scholarship
2000 – Big Book of Malice
2013 – Khushwantnama
2012 – The Freethinker’s Prayer Book and Some Words to Live By
