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Khushwant Singh |
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Khushwant Singh (Born on February 2, 1915) |
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Khushwant Singh is a well known Indian journalist and novelist who darkened his name with his support for Indira Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi during some of India's darkest moments. Khushwant Singh's support for Indira Gandhi and her son is hard to understand given that Indira committed the worst possible sin in the eyes of a journalist by imposing press censorship during the state of Emergency she declared in India between 1975-1977. Both Indira and her younger son Sanjay Gandhi caused much grief to the Indian people with their ill considered policies and anti-democratic tendencies. In his book India After Gandhi, Ramachandra Guha writes: "The editor of the Weekly, Khushwant Singh emerged as the chief cheerleader and trumpeter of the rising son [Sanjay Gandhi]." Other political observers have also commented on Khushwant Singh's support for Sanjay Gandhi. Khushwant Singh was born on February 2, 1915 in Hadali (now part of Pakistan) to Sobha Singh and Varyam Kaur. His father Sobha Singh was a prominent builder, who was knighted by the British for his services. Khushwant Singh's 1956 novel Train to Pakistan about the partition is perhaps his best known work. As a journalist, he was editor at various times of different publications including Illustrated Weekly of India, Hindustan Times and Yojana. Khushwant Singh returned his Padma Bhushan award in protest against the attacks on Sikhs after Indira Gandhi's assassination by two Sikh bodyguards on October 31 1984. Awards * Padma Vibhushan, Government of India (2007) * Punjab Rattan, Government of Punjab (2006) * Padma Bhushan, Government of India (1974) Sources: The New York Times India After Gandhi by Ramachandra Guha |