Khushwant Singh (2 February 1915 – 20 March 2014) was born in Hadali, Khushab District, Panjab. He was one of the most well-renowned authors in Indian literary history, having received many awards and honors for his literary and journalistic contributions. Along with his prolific writing career, Khushwant Singh also served as a lawyer, diplomat, and politician.

Khushwant Singh was educated at the Government College, Lahore, King’s College, Cambridge University, and the Inner Temple in London. He practiced law at the Lahore High Court for several years before joining the Indian Ministry of External Affairs in 1947. He began a distinguished career as a journalist with All India Radio in 1951. Khushwant Singh was the founder-editor of Yojana (1951-1953), editor of the Illustrated Weekly of India (1979-1980), chief editor of New Delhi (1979-1980), and editor of the Hindustan Times (1980-1983).

Khushwant Singh was also a member of the Rajya Sabha (upper house of the Indian Parliament) from 1980-1986. After receiving the Padma Bhushan award from the President of India in 1974, he returned it in 1984 in protest against the Indian Government’s siege of Sri Harimandar Sahib, Amritsar, “Operation Bluestar” (the Battle of Amritsar).

List of Literary Works

Books

• The Mark of Vishnu and Other Stories, 1950
• The History of Sikhs, 1953
• Train to Pakistan,1956
• The Voice of God and Other Stories,1957
• I Shall Not Hear the Nightingale, 1959
• The Sikhs Today, 1959
• The Fall of the Kingdom of the Punjab, 1962
• A History of the Sikhs, 1963
• Ranjit Singh: The Maharaja of the Punjab, 1963
• Ghadar 1915: India's first armed revolution, 1966
• A Bride for the Sahib and Other Stories, 1967
• Black Jasmine, 1971
• Tragedy of Punjab, 1984 (with Kuldip Nayar)
• The Sikhs, 1984
• The Collected Stories of Khushwant Singh, Ravi Dayal Publisher, 1989
• More Malicious Gossip, 1989 (collection of essays)
• Delhi: A Novel, 1990
• Sex, Scotch & Scholarship, 1992 (collection of essays)
• Not a Nice Man to Know: The Best of Khushwant Singh, 1993
• We Indians, 1993
• Women and Men in My Life, 1995
• Declaring Love in Four Languages, by Khushwant Singh and Sharda Kaushik, 1997
• The Company of Women, 1999
• Big Book of Malice, 2000 (collection of essays)
• India: An Introduction, 2003
• Truth, Love and a Little Malice: An Autobiography, 2002
• With Malice towards One and All
• The End of India, 2003
• Burial at the Sea, 2004
• A History of the Sikhs, 2004  
• Paradise and Other Stories, 2004
• A History of the Sikhs: 1469–1838, 2004
• Death at My Doorstep, 2005
• A History of the Sikhs: 1839–2004, 2005
• The Illustrated History of the Sikhs, 2006
• Land of Five Rivers, 2006
• Why I Supported the Emergency: Essays and Profiles, 2009
• The Sunset Club, 2010
• Gods and Godmen of India, 2012
• Agnostic Khushwant: There is no God, 2012
• The Freethinker's Prayer Book and Some Words to Live By, 2012
• The Good, the Bad and the Ridiculous, 2013 (co-authored with Humra Qureshi)
• Khushwantnama, The Lessons of My Life, 2013
• Punjab, Punjabis & Punjabiyat: Reflections on a Land and its People, 2018 (posthumously compiled by his daughter Mala Dayal)

Short Stories

• The Portrait of a Lady
• The Strain
• Success Mantra
• A Love Affair in London
• The Wog
• The Portrait of a Lady: Collected Stories (2013)

Plays

• Television Documentary: Third World—Free Press (also presenter; Third Eye series), 1983 (UK)

List of Awards and Honors

• ‍Rockefeller Grant, 1966
• Padma Bhushan, Government of India (1974) (Which he returned in 1984 in protest against “Operation Bluestar”)
• Honest Man of the Year, Sulabh International (2000)
• Punjab Rattan Award, The Government of Punjab (2006)  
• Padma Vibhushan, Government of India (2007)
• Sahitya Akademi Fellowship by Sahitya academy of India (2010)
• 'All-India Minorities Forum Annual Fellowship Award' by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav (2012)
• Lifetime achievement award by Tata Literature Live! The Mumbai Litfest in 2013
• Fellow of King’s College London in January 2014
• 'The Grove Press Award' for the best fiction.