Khushwant Singh

Some Lesser Known Facts About Khushwant Singh

• Did Khushwant Singh drink alcohol?: Yes

  

• Did Khushwant Singh smoke?: No

• Khushwant Singh is a renowned name in the literary world. His name comes in the list of top finest columnists and writers of India.

• After completing his studies, he began his career as a law practitioner in 1938 in the Lahore High Court.

• He published his first story “The Mark of Vishnu” in 1948.

  

• In 1947, he joined the Indian Ministry of External Affairs and worked as a diplomat for few years.

• He left his IFS (Indian Foreign Service) job in 1951 and started working as a journalist with All India Radio.

• In 1954, he joined the Department of Mass Communications of UNESCO in Paris and served there for approximately two years.

• Later, Khushwant Singh became the editor and founder of an Indian journal “Yojana.” He was also the editor of the Illustrated Weekly of India, the Hindustan Times, and the National Herald.

  

• After quitting the editor job, he started focusing on his passion, i.e. writing. He wrote many columns for newspapers out of which “With Malice towards One & All” is the most popular column. The column is still famous for its dry humour and wit.

• He was the man behind “Santa-Banta” jokes.

• He wrote almost 80 books including short stories and novels throughout his career including ‘Train to Pakistan’ (1956), ‘Delhi: A Novel’ (1990), ‘The Company of Women’ (1999), ‘Truth, Love and a Little Malice’ (2002), ‘Gods and Godmen of India’ (2012), ‘The Good, the Bad and the Ridiculous’ (2013), and more.

• He was an agnostic and announced his belief to the world in 2011 by publishing the book “Agnostic Khushwant: There is no God.”

  

• He launched a book “Khushwantnama: The Lessons of My Life” on his 98th birthday. This book is all about his evergreen life.

  

• At the age of 98, he wrote the last book of his life “The Good, The Bad and The Ridiculous” with his co-writer Humra Qureshi.

• He was given the name “il santo grande” means “the great saint” by the people of Combo Hill.

• This delightful writer died on 20 March 2014 in Delhi. His death was mourned by the Prime Minister, the Vice President, and the President of India.