Khushwant Singh, noted author and journalist, dies at 99 All India | Edited by Deepshikha Ghosh | Khushwant Singh, the grand old man of Indian literature, has died at 99. The renowned author and journalist died peacefully at his Sujan Singh Park home that he lived in for most of his life. His son Rahul Singh said he died some time after he had solved a crossword puzzle. One of Indias best known raconteurs, Mr Singh enthralled millions of readers with classics like Train to Pakistan, I Shall Not Hear the Nightingale and Delhi - A Novel. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called him a gifted author, candid commentator and a dear friend who lived a truly creative life. He was among the first visitors at Khushwant Singhs home today. Author Vikram Seth said, A fearless writer; a man of great discipline yet full of zest for life; a great Indian who embodied our national values of affection, tolerance and understanding; and a true friend. Mr Singh was born on February 2, 1915, in Hadali, now in Pakistans Punjab. He was the founder-editor of Yojana and went on to head The Illustrated Weekly of India, the National Herald and the Hindustan Times. He poured his acid wit into his popular column, With Malice towards One and All, which became a weekly staple with a wide swathe of Indian readers. The bulb is extinguished ...Goodbye Khushwant Singh, tweeted Ashok Malik, referring to the famous icon associated with his column. We lost a national treasure in every sense of the word today. Go out and get a #KhushwantSingh book. It just might change your life, wrote Vir Das. His autobiography, Truth, Love and a Little Malice, was published by Penguin Books in 2002. Even well into his 90s, Khushwant Singh was an unstoppable force loyal to his daily scotch and writing. At 95, he wrote the novel The Sunset Club about a group of pensioners. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1974 but returned it in 1984, in protest against the storming of the Golden Temple in Amritsar by the Indian Army under then prime minister Indira Gandhi. He had controversially backed Mrs Gandhis Emergency of 1975-77, when opposition leaders were jailed or punished. He liked to call a spade a spade. He hated hypocrisy, fundamentalism, and was a gentle person, his son told NDTV.
Posted on: Thu, 20 Mar 2014 10:40:07 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015