Khushwant Singh Biography

Khushwant Singh was a popular Indian journalist, author and lawyer. He is the writer of the world
famous novel on India-Pakistan partition tragedy titled Train to Pakistan. Check out this biography to
get detailed information on his life.

Quick Facts
Nationality Indian
Born on 02 February 1915 AD
Zodiac Sign Aquarius
Born in Hadali, British India (now in Khushab District,
Punjab, Pakistan)
Died on 20 March 1999 AD
Father Sir Sobha Singh
Spouse Kawal Malik
Children Rahul Singh, Mala Singh
Awards Padma Bhushan (1974)
Punjab Rattan Award (2006)
Padma Vibhushan (2007)

Khushwant Singh was an Indian novelist, journalist, and a lawyer. He was a man of many talents and
served the Indian legal system, Indian journalism and literature all with equal passion and hard work. He
was a well learned man and studied from various institutes like Modern School, New Delhi, Government
College of Lahore, St. Stephen’s College, Delhi and King’s College London. He set his foot in his

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professional life by starting out as a lawyer but soon he turned to Indian Foreign Service. Served that for
a few years and later he found his place in mass communication and journalism. He was the editor of
many reputed newspapers and magazines like, The Illustrated Weekly of India, The National Herald and
the Hindustan Times. Singh was more known for his writing and Indian literature is lucky to have
received works like ‘Train to Pakistan’ (1956), ‘Delhi: A Novel’ (1990), ‘The Company of Women’
(1999), ‘Truth, Love and a Little Malice’ (2002), ‘The Good, the Bad and the Ridiculous’ (2013), etc.
from his side. For his brilliant service to the Indian society and culture, he was awarded with a Padma
Bhushan, but due to his deep contempt for Operation Blue Star, he returned it back to the government.

Childhood & Early Life:

Khushwant Singh was born in Hadali, Punjab , which is now a part of Pakistan to Sir Sobha
Singh. His father was one of the most prominent builders of his times and used to work in
Lutyen’s Delhi.
Singh received his education at Modern School in New Delhi. He also received his higher
education from Government College in Lahore and eventually studied at St. Stephen’s College
in New Delhi and King’s College in London.

Career:

Singh first started his career as that of a professional lawyer in 1938. His heart was set on
working with the legal system in India and contributing towards it. He dedicatedly worked and
gave his best at the Lahore Court for good 8 years.
After India became independent in 1947, he joined the Indian Foreign Services (IFS). He began
his stint in IFS by first serving as the Information Officer of the Government of India in Toronto,
Canada. After that, Singh went on to become the Press Attache and Public Officer for the Indian
High Commission in London and Ottawa.
In 1951, he left the IFS and joined the All India Radio as a journalist.
During the time period 1954-1956, he worked in the Department of Mass Communications of
UNESCO in Paris. In 1956, he got into editorial services and started editing a newspaper called
Yojana, which was an Indian government journal.
During his nine-year tenure (1969–1978) as editor of the weekly magazine, ‘The Illustrated
Weekly', the circulation of the weekly rose from 65,000 to 400000.
From 1980 to 1983, he was the editor of the newspaper 'Hindustan Times'. After his stint as
editor was over, he continued to write a widely syndicated column, called “With Malice Towards
One and All” for the newspaper. The column was quite famous for its dry wit and humor.
From 1980 to 1986, Singh was a member of Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian
parliament. It was during this time that he returned the award as a protest against Operation Blue
Star in 1984.

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 As an author Singh wrote many important and famous books like, Train to Pakistan (1956),
Delhi: A Novel (1990), The Company of Women (1999), Truth, Love and a Little Malice (2002),
The Good, the Bad and the Ridiculous (2013), etc.

Major Works:

Even though Singh was a part of many things, from Indian legal system to Indian Foreign
Services to Indian journalism to editorial to writing novels, it is his novels that made him
renowned all over the world.
His book ‘A History of the Sikhs’ is regarded as the most authoritative work on the Sikh history.

Awards & Achievements:

Khushwant Singh was awarded with a lot of accolades in his lifetime. These include: Padma
Bhushan in1974 ( he returned it in 1984 in protest against the Operation Blue Star), Punjab
Rattan Award (2006), Padma Vibhushan (2007), Sahitya academy fellowship award, (2010),
Tata Literature Live! Award (2013), Fellowship of King’s College, London (2014).

Personal Life & Legacy:

Singh got married to Kawal Malik and had two children with her—Rahul Singh and Mala Singh.
He died on March 20, 2014 in Delhi. He is survived by his children and his death was mourned
by President, Vice President and Prime Minister of India.

Trivia:

He enjoyed his alcohol used to take a peg of Scotch - single malt, everyday, both in the evening
and at dawn.
He was a self confessed agnostic and never said his prayers.
Tisca Chopra, the famous TV and film personality, is his grandniece.

Quotes By Khushwant Singh

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