Khushwant Singh

Khushwant Singh

Khushwant Singh (born February 2, 1915 in Hadali , Punjab , today Pakistan , † March 20, 2014 in New Delhi ) was an Indian writer and journalist . He wrote entirely in English and is known for his boldness, sincerity, humor and love for poetry.

Life

Khushwant Singh was born into a wealthy Sikh family in 1915 . His father Sobha Singh was a large landowner and builder in Delhi and, among other things, was involved in the construction of Lutyens ' capital buildings. His uncle Ujjal Singh became a politician, held various ministerial posts in Punjab and later was governor of the Indian states of Punjab and Tamil Nadu .

Khushwant studied in Lahore , Cambridge and London . With a law degree, he began practicing in Lahore before being offered a position in the Indian Foreign Ministry. Disappointed with his job at the ministry, he then worked as a journalist. He was editor of the Illustrated Weekly of India - the publication of the Times of India - and the English-language Indian daily newspapers The National Herald and Hindustan Times . His essays and columns appeared regularly in several regional and national daily newspapers.

His books have been translated into many languages ​​and he has received awards, for example for his best-known book Train to Pakistan (1956). His novel Delhi (originally published in 1989) was published in German in 1999 and Der Zug nach Pakistan in 2008 .

In his book The End Of India , published by Penguin Books India in 2003 , he took a critical look at Hindu fundamentalism.

Khushwant Singh was one of the most respected personalities in India . In 1974 he was awarded the Padma Bhushan , which he returned in 1984 in protest against the military action of the Indira Gandhi government at the Golden Temple in Amritsar . From 1980 to 1986 Khushwant was a member of the House of Lords in the Indian Parliament for one term . In 2007 he received the Padma Vibhushan .

Khushwant Singh was married to Kawal Malik and had a son and a daughter. He died on March 20, 2014 at the age of 99 at his New Delhi estate.

Fonts (selection)

• Paradise and other stories. Translated from the English by Claudia Wenner. Dörlemann, Zurich 2006, ISBN 3-908777-23-2 .
• with Kuldip Nayar : Tragedy of Punjab. Operation Bluestar & After. Vision Books, New Delhi 1984.

Web links

Commons : Khushwant Singh  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Obituary in The Guardian
• Literature by and about Khushwant Singh in the catalog of the German National Library
• Biography (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ In Karan Thapar's interview with Khushwant Singh on September 29, 1999, Singh commented on his date of birth (from about 3:00 min.): There was no birth registration in the village in which he was born. His father registered him at school in Delhi on February 2, 1915. His grandmother later called him silly to celebrate his birthday in February, because he was born in the summer (August) when the world war had been going on for a year. Khushwant Singh would actually be about six months younger and born in August 1915.
2. ↑ Literary veteran Khushwant Singh dies at 99 ( Memento of the original from March 20, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
3. ↑ Who built New Delhi? ( Memento of the original from September 7, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
4. ↑ Biography of Sardar Ujjal Singh (1895-1983) ( Memento of the original from July 11, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.