Khushwant Singh Age, Death, Wife, Children, Family, Biography & More

Bio/Wiki
Real Name	Khushal Singh
Nickname	Shalee
Profession(s)	Author, Lawyer, Journalist, Diplomat, Politician
Famous For	His sharp writings laced with Humour, Sarcasm, and Wit
Physical Stats & More
Height (approx.)	in centimeters- 170 cm in meters- 1.70 m in feet inches- 5’ 7”
Eye Colour	Black
Hair Colour	Black
Personal Life
Date of Birth	15 August 1915
Birthplace	Hadali, Khushab District, Punjab (now in Pakistan)
Date of Death	20 March 2014
Deathplace	New Delhi, India
Age (at the time of death)	98 Years
Death Cause	Cardiac Arrest
Zodiac sign/Sun sign	Leo
Signature
Nationality	Indian
Hometown	Hadali, Khushab District, Punjab, Pakistan
School	Modern School, New Delhi
College(s)	Government College of Lahore St. Stephen’s College, Delhi King’s College, London
Educational Qualification	Not Known
Religion	Agnostic
Political Inclination	Indian National Congress
Address	"Sujan Singh Park", near Khan Market, New Delhi
Awards, Honours, Achievements	• Rockefeller Grant (1966) • Padma Bhushan (1974) • "Honest Man of the Year Award" by Sulabh International Social Service Organization in July 2000 • Punjab Rattan Award (2006) • Padma Vibhushan (2007) • Sahitya Academy Fellowship Award by Sahitya Akademi of India in 2010 • Order of Khalsa (Nishaan-e-Khalsa) • Lifetime Achievement Award of Tata Literature Live! The Mumbai Litfest in 2013 • Fellowship of King's College London in 2014
Girls, Affairs, and More
Marital Status	Married
Marriage Year	1939
Family
Wife	Kawal Malik
Children	Son- Rahul Singh Daughter- Mala
Parents	Father- Sobha Singh (a prominent builder in Lutyens' Delhi) Mother- Veeran Bai
Siblings	Brother(s)- Bhagwant Singh, Daljit Singh (Indian Politician), Major Gurbakhsh Singh Sister- Mohinder Kaur
Favourite Things
Favourite Indian Poet	Nissim Ezekiel
Favourite Poem	The Waste Land by T. S. Eliot
Favourite Drink	Premium Scotch
Money Factor
Net Worth (approx.)	₹17 Crores (at the time of death)

Some Lesser Known Facts About Khushwant Singh

• Did Khushwant Singh drink alcohol?: Yes
  

  Khushwant Singh Drinking

• 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.
  

  Khushwant Singh The Mark of Vishnu

• 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.
  

  Khushwant Singh as Editor

• 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.”
  

  Khushwant Singh 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.
  

  Khushwant Singh Khushwantnama: The Lessons of My 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.
  

  Khushwant Singh Death