Khushwant Singh was born in 1915 in Hadali in pre-Partition Punjab. Educated at Government College, Lahore, and at King’s College and the Inner Temple in London, he practised at the Lahore High Court for a few years. In 1947, he joined the Indian Ministry of External Affairs. Diplomatic postings took him to England and Canada. This was followed by a stint at the UNESCO in Paris that he cut short to return to India. In 1951, he embarked on his career as a journalist with All India Radio. A much-revered journalist and columnist, Khushwant Singh is also an accomplished historian (History of the Sikhs, Vols. I & II), and an award-winning novelist (Train to Pakistan, Grove Press Award, 1954). His vast oeuvre includes translations, joke books, books on Delhi, women, nature and current affairs. Awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1974, Khushwant Singh returned the decoration in 1984 to register his protest against Operation Bluestar — the Union Government’s siege of the Golden Temple. Khushwant Singh was a member of Parliament from 1980 to 1986. Ever since, he has devoted himself to what he excels in — writing.
