Writer, editor Khushwant Singh dies at 99

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published March 20, 2014

NEW DELHI: Khushwant Singh, a journalist, editor and prolific writer whose work ranged from serious histories to joke collections to one of post-Independence India's great novels, died Thursday at his New Delhi apartment, his daughter said. He was 99.

Singh, who continued writing until shortly before his death, "passed away peacefully at home," said his daughter Mala Singh.

A gleeful provocateur whose love of the limelight competed constantly with his disdain for fame, Singh was a self-proclaimed failure in law and diplomacy who turned to writing in the 1950s, soon after India's 1947 independence, and quickly became a force in Indian journalism and literary circles. He remained one of the country's best-known writers for more than six decades.

The son of a wealthy builder, Singh had a famously patient wife, a newspaper column that skewered everything from corrupt politicians to desk calendars, and a sign outside his apartment door that warned: "Please do not ring the bell unless you are expected."

"He lived a truly creative life," Prime Minister Manmohan Singh tweeted after the death was announced.

Singh, who often said he regretted not having sex with enough women, was one of the first modern Indian novelists to openly discuss sexuality, using often-graphic descriptions that made generations of readers blush.

"I've been called a dirty old man and it doesn't bother me one bit," he said in a 2010 interview with The Associated Press, when age and illness had begun to slow him, and a new generation of writers often regarded him as a literary relic.

Not that he cared much. Bad reviews were little more than flies to be swatted away.

"I couldn't give a damn, he said of an extremely critical review of his 2010 novel, "The Sunset Club." Writing, he said, "is where I succeeded. I was a flop in everything else."

At the height of his powers, Singh was a writer of almost unlimited energy.

He rose to fame in 1956, with a short novel about the horrors of 1947's partition, when British colonial India was carved into largely Hindu India and overwhelmingly Muslim Pakistan. Sectarian violence swept the new nations, as millions of people sought shelter across the newly created borders. Over 1 million people died.

"Train to Pakistan," with its quiet prose and powerful imagery, remains a classic of modern Indian literature.

While born a Sikh, Singh was an avowed agnostic and staunch secularist whose books on the history of the Sikh people and religion were widely praised.

Singh, who never stopped writing, also had lengthy careers as an editor, particularly in the 1970s and 1980s. He turned a minor magazine, the Illustrated Weekly of India, into a journalistic power and also ran two newspapers, the Hindustan Times and the National Herald.

He received the Padma Vibhushan, India's second-highest civilian award.

His wife died in 2002. He is survived by his daughter and a son. - AP

Even a win can't hide Pakistan's structural collapse in cricket

 June 11, 2025:  Pakistan celebrated a narrow win over Bangladesh, but beneath the jubilation lies a deeper crisis—from sidelined veterans to a collapsing domestic structure—signaling an urgent need for cricket reform.

Journalists stage walkout at post-budget briefing over government's dismissive attitude

 June 11, 2025:  Journalists walked out of the post-budget press conference in Islamabad to protest the absence of a technical briefing and the government's dismissive behavior, calling it unacceptable and intolerable.

Legal storm brews as Dr. Nauman Niaz serves defamation notice on Shoaib Akhtar

 May 31, 2025:  Dr. Nauman Niaz has issued a defamation notice to Shoaib Akhtar over derogatory remarks made during a recent broadcast, reigniting a longstanding media feud between the two prominent figures in Pakistan.

HRCP urges complete repeal of PECA, citing threats to free speech and civil liberties

 May 30, 2025:  The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has demanded the full repeal of PECA, citing its vague language, coercive powers, and threats to free speech and digital rights in Pakistan.

PFUJ condemns murder of journalist Syed Mohammad Shah, urges immediate justice

 May 30, 2025:  The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) has condemned the murder of journalist Syed Mohammed Shah in Jacobabad, calling for urgent justice and improved safety for media professionals in Sindh.

State within a state? Police block reinstated Jang employees from resuming duties

 May 26, 2025:  In Rawalpindi, police allegedly side with Jang Group to block 66 reinstated employees from resuming work despite court orders, drawing sharp criticism from unions and press freedom advocates.

PFUJ slams Jang Group's 'economic massacre' after mass firing of over 80 workers

 May 25, 2025:  PFUJ condemns the Jang Group's decision to dismiss over 80 employees in Rawalpindi, calling it an 'economic massacre.' The union warns of nationwide protests if workers are not reinstated.

Labor rights trampled: Daily Jang defies court, terminates over 80 employees

 May 25, 2025:  Daily Jang Rawalpindi has terminated over 80 employees, including female staff, despite multiple court rulings in their favor—raising concerns over labor rights violations and misuse of authority in Pakistani media.