Khushwant Singh was someone I naturally gravitated towards as a young literature scholar, as he was one of the very few modern, secular Sikh writers with an international profile. (Now we have Brit-Asians like Nirpal Dhaliwal — though judging from this, I’m not really sure that represents progress.) 
But while I did read everything I could find by Khushwant Singh early in graduate school, I ended up not writing about him, barring one seminar paper that my professor at the time didn’t particularly like.
The truth is, from a literary perspective Khushwant Singh’s novels really aren’t that great. They aren’t as adventurous as G.V. Desani’s All About H. Hatterr, and not quite as carefully controlled as the novels written by his contemporaries in the 1950s — i.e., R.K. Narayan. Train to Pakistan (1956) sold very well in the west, and was in print for years and years. It isn’t bad — it’s actually a well-plotted, suspenseful partition novel — but it’s just somewhat unremarkable. I Shall Not Hear the Nightingale and Delhi, by contrast, aren’t very readable at all.
After the 1950s, Khushwant Singh focused less on creative writing and more on journalism, which is where, I think, he’s made his greatest contribution. Between 1969 and 1978 he was the head editor of The Illustrated Weekly of India, an ancient institution that lasted for more than 100 years, and was, until the 1980s, the biggest English-language news-magazine in India (perhaps in all of Asia). Under the British, it was effectively a colonial society magazine, and it didn’t change much under its first two Indian editors. Khushwant Singh was the third Indian editor, and he turned the ethos of the magazine on its head. He describes his approach in the preface to a collection of columns called Khushwant Singh’s Editor’s Page (1981):
Under its first two Indian editors [The Illustrated Weekly] became a vehicle of Indian culture devoting most of its pages to art, sculpture, classical dance and pretty pictures of flowers, birds, and dencing belles. It did not touch controversial subjects, was strictly apolitical and asexual (save occasional blurred reproductions of Khajuraho or Konarak). It earned a well-deserved reputation for dull respectability. I changed all that. What was a four-wheeled victoria taking well-draped ladies out to eat the Indian air I made a noisy rumbustious, jet-propelled vehicle of information, controversy and amusement. I tore up the unwritten norms of gentility, both visual and linguistic. . . . And slowly the circulation built up, till the Illustrated did become a weekly habit of the English-reading pseudo-elite of the country. It became the most widely read journal in Asia (barring Japan) because it reflected all the contending points of view on every conceivable subject: politics, economics, religion, and the arts.
I’ve spent some time looking at the magazine before, during, and after the Khushwant Singh years (1969-1978), and what he says above rings true. The earlier editors were very “respectable,” with relatively safe short stories (often with a ‘village’ theme), and relatively bland features that mostly just synthesized the news. (In the 1960s, the magazine had a special section for “Women and Children,” which says a lot about how it conceived of its readership.) Most English-speaking and reading middle-class Indians in the 1960s hadn’t really remiagined themselves in a way that challenged the dominance of English norms. Given how limited the use of the English was at the time demographically, it’s not hard to see how a continued dependence on England and Englishness could occur. (Several issues gave lavish coverage of Queen Elizabeth II’s tour of India in 1967, for instance.)
Khushwant Singh has always written in English, and he was in every sense a contemporary of the “transitional” colonials: at the time of independence, he was already thirty-two, and had spent several years studying Law in Cambridge and at the Inner Temple, London. But as a journalist I think he broke the stranglehold of Anglophiliaby taking the United States as his English-language reference point rather than England. As an editor, it was wild, sometimes trashy American culture in and after the 1960s that Khushwant brought into the pages of The Illustrated Weekly: rock n’ roll, the Vietnam war protests, and the counter-culture (including the signficiant component of barefoot, Enlightenment-seeking hippies who ended up in India). Admittedly, some of the pictures of bikini-clad free-love kids in Goa splashed on the pages of The Illustrated Weekly were rather more like tabloid sensationalism than serious journalism, but there’s no doubt that these images had an effect on how Indians saw themselves in that era.
I admire Khushwant Singh’s secularism, which for me is always best represented by the Mario cartoon he used on his “Editor’s Page” in The Illustrated Weekly: a caricature of himself, sitting next to a pile of books, a bottle of scotch, and a girlie magazine. This is the basis for the familiar Khushwant Singh slogan, “sex, scotch, and scholarship,” which is also the title of one of his later books of essays. Much has been made of the “sex” and “scotch,” which is ironic since testimony from people who know him has confirmed that he’s neither a womanizer nor a heavy drinker. “Sex, scotch, and scholarship” isn’t literally Khushwant Singh’s lifestyle (nor does it accurately represent his attitude towards women); it’s rather a slogan for his fiercely independent ethos. It’s something India still has need of: a willingness to publicly be something other than “respectable” and “respectful,” to tell the truth rather than wrap the world in mysticism or one or another political ideology.
That’s not to say that Khushwant Singh didn’t make mistakes from time to time. His support for Indira Gandhi during the Emergency now looks extremely questionable, in that Christopher Hitchens-has-he-lost-his-mind? sort of way. And he probably should never have gotten involved with politics (though it could probably be argued that a Rajya Sabha seat isn’t really a “political” post), though at least he knew when it was time (i.e., after 1984) to walk away.
The Sikh community has been somewhat ambivalent about Khushwant Singh over the years. Earlier, he was seen as too close to Indira Gandhi, despite his public rebuke of Operation Blue Star. During the years of militancy in Punjab, his strong opposition to the secesionist movement made things dangerous for him (I believe there was a price on his head for awhile). And even separate from these specific political questions, of course, Khushwant’s aforementioned secularism — his preference for scotch (Sikhs, remember, aren’t supposed to drink alcohol), his crude humor, and his public declaration that he has no personal religious faith, have all eroded support for him from devout Sikhs. Despite that ambivalence, it’s widely recognized that Khushwant Singh’s History of the Sikhs is still a benchmark as a written introduction to the Sikh tradition. (Patwant Singh’s recent book hasn’t really caught on.) And he has, after all, retained the turban and beard that are so important to Sikh cultural identity. In short, despite everything, for most people, Khushwant Singh is still the same old Sardar.
To wrap up. In my view, Khushwant Singh’s talent has lain not in deep or revolutionary thinking, but in the writing of his weekly columns and in a keen sense of what is timely, interesting, and important to talk about. He started doing this in the 1960s, and kept it up for thirty or more years, leaving a sizeable body of work. In a sense, this nurturing of the individualized, independent public voice is quite on par with what we bloggers ourselves do. Writing for The Illustrated Weekly or The Hindustan Times (which he took up in 1980), his voice perhaps had more authority than the average blogger’s, but his consistent egalitarianism and irreverent tone gives me every reason to believe that Khushwant Singh would have a blog if he were fifty (or indeed, seventy) years younger. But who knows: the guy is still at it — he might start one one of these days.
A final note. Khushwant Singh, at the age of 92, is still out and about. This summer he has been doing public lectures in Delhi on the history of the city (his father had a hand in the building of Edward Lutyens’ New Delhi in the 1910s and 20s). He’s also been publishing essays and books pretty regularly, though they aren’t really of quite the same quality as some of his work from the 1970s.
Amardeep,
I grew up on Khushwant Singh.
About 6 months ago, India Today had an anniversary issue where they discussed the most influential Indians. There was great write up on him. Did you read it?
If you know him, tell him about blogging.
His ‘History of the Sikhs’ is remarkably well done. Although his own biases and interpretation of events clearly comes through, he combed through what seems like thousands of medieval and more recent documents to give substance to his work. Volume One in particular is excellent.
from the angle of Kushwant Singh in the Sikh community, I appreciate he provided an alternate way to be a Sikh. Its interesting to consider his History of the Sikhs from that angle. What did it mean for him to write that book? its a real resource for Sikhs as a somewhat impartial history that nevertheless is sympathic to the general Sikh world-view of its history. History in the Sikh community is always present, but a lot of times we don’t really seem to know too much about it. I would say it would have sucked if harm had come to him in the ocho’s.
not that i have anything relevent to say about the rest, other than i thought Train to Pakistan was pretty decent, and one of the only books i personally know of that deals with Partition that’s written in english. that and Punjabi Century by Tandon
Great post,Dr.Singh. This brought back many found memories. I still feel that The Illustrated Weekly was ahead of its times. And to say that “his father had a hand in the building of Edward Lutyens’ New Delhi in the 1910s and 20s” would be an understatement! He (Sir Shobha Singh) was the main contractor for what came to be known as New Delhi and was at one point known as “adhi dilli da maalik,” given the amount of property he owned in the city. Even now by some accounts, huge portions of Connaught Place, among other prominent addresses, remain in the family.
Amazing ! 92 and still going strong. Khushwant Singh & Mario Miranda are icons of a time I remember so well growing up. Some of Mario’s cartoons here.
He’s got a whole series of corny joke books (submitted by readers, not Khushwant’s own jokes) that you can buy from street vendors in Delhi. There was also a paperback called Introduction to India or something that was a decent read, sort of a primer on Indian history, religion, and culture for those who knew nothing about it but were curious.
Amardeep, isn’t Kushwant Singh an atheist? Thats the impression I got reading a few of his essays. I fondly recall one essay where he turned up in 1970s New York and had an interesting evening in what was then the red-light district of Times Square.
I forgot to mention that Khushwant Singh still writes a column every Saturday for the Hindustan Times, which carries among other things, a couple of his famous jokes.
Never mind 🙂 I see where you write he has no personal religious faith…
Desitude,
Unless I’m mistaken, I remember Khushwant Singh referring to himself as a “cultural Sikh” rather than a religious one.
Amardeep –
“Khushwant Singh was someone I naturally gravitated towards as a young literature scholar, as he was one of the very few modern, secular Sikh writers with an international profile.”
Why did you naturally gravitate towards Khushwant Singh?
Masale.Wallah, thanks for the reminder — I somehow thought he’d finally retired. But no, here’s July 21, and here’s July 29. Wow. Still at it!
I wish the HT would make it a little easier to find his stuff — perhaps by making a dedicated page of some kind. But oh well, Google works.
Amardeep –
I should clarify – Why Khushwant, when there were many other secular south asian writers of equal of higher caliber?
Kritic, I think the sentence you quoted answers your question. As a Sikh growing up in the U.S., I was looking for “role models.”
From a purely rational, unsentimental perspective, that kind of need to have someone who looks like yourself seems a little silly. (Indeed, why not James Joyce or Salman Rushdie? They’re better novelists.) But I think a lot of people go through some version of this on their way to figuring out who they are and what they stand for.
Amardeep,
You stand for “sex, scotch, and scholarship” ?
Dr Amardeep Singh is turning out to be a more intriguing guy than I originally imagined. Not so sidha-sadha, eh paaji ? 😉
Arre, Jai — you’re going to get me in trouble. I think you know what I mean!
Amardeep, I’m sure hanging out with nefarious types like Anna and Abhi is already getting you into more trouble than I can possibly imagine.
And who can forget the hawkers at godforsaken train stations crying out — “Ishtrid vikly,Ishtrid vikly”?
I read his columns every now and then. Heard so much about Train to Pakistan, I’ll be sure to pick it up
I agree, Jai! Did you count the number of times Amardeep used the word “porn” in his previous post?
Nice post. I grew up reading Illustrated Weekly and Khushwant Singh’s column “With Malice Towards one and All” (used to appear in The Telegraph with the Mario cartoon and all).
Singh has often crossed paths with Bengali intellectuals over some uncharitable remarks over Rabindranath Tagore – I think he said that we would not rate Rabindranath’s short stories or novels highly while admitting that he hadn’t even read them carefully.
Regarding the point about the tabloid tendencies of Illustrated Weekly – I still remember an issue they did in early 90s on ‘Kissing in Hindi films’ complete with full-blown gratuituous pictures of then-rare kissing scenes in Bollywood and actresses in various stages of undress. Copies of that edition found its way to every dorm-room in boys-hostels over the country !
Also, who can forget Pritish Nandy shaving his head when IW came out with a new look.
Amardeep,
You probably know this:
1) A few years ago, Khushwant Singh gently kissed the Pakistan’s High Commissioner’s daughter on the check. God, the whole Pakistani establishment bonkers. Some crazy stuff.
2) He once said, “We’ve Had So Many Donkeys as PM“. Only he can say that so lucidly. He always speaks his mind clearly and loudly.
PS: Do read the interview I linked. It is hilarious. Excerpt:
What’s the secret of your, well, vitality and long life? The only secret is to acquire long-lived parents. My father died at 90 holding a glass of Scotch and my mother at 94 had one last request: her voice was feeble but she said whisky. The doctor said chalo give it. She took it and then threw it up.
I grew up in my conservative middle-class family hearing about Kushwant Singh as the “dirty guy” every good Indian boy should stay away from. Naturally, in college I found a book by him and read it, and became a fan. The book was his historical fiction novel ‘Delhi’. I was impressed by the erudition of the man.
About Dhaliwal’s article, I was happy about the article until towards the end, where he stopped arguing and started bragging.
Correction: I meant “daughter on the cheek“
I read Train to Pakistan is a bit light weight. When I first read it years ago I thought it was a brave little book that flouted (or must have flouted ) Indian sensibilities of the time. There is sex and communism far more racier than NarayanÂ’s novels anyway. But trying to reread as an adult (and with a better understanding of India) I realize how superficial it is. Perhaps thatÂ’s a bit unfair, the Partition is such great material, that one would have thought he would have produced a novel with more depth. ItÂ’s a bit filmi (more Hollywood than Bollywood), I am surprised no one has thought of making a film.
I also a ready a small selection of his reportage from the 60’s, I think mostly done for foreign newspapers. I think he covers the 1965 war. And he is casually dismissive of upper-middle class Punjabis. I think of he makes fun of their use of “Auntyji”, “mummyji”. He sees them as arrivistes. Isn’t Khushwant Singh’s family super rich or something, I believe they owned half of Delhi.
Thanks, Kush. It was indeed funny. And it’s interesting to hear his statements on Sanjay Gandhi, Vajpayee, and Manmohan Singh.
Ouch, I really should proofread before I post. My first sentence should read “I read Train to Pakistan and it is a bit light weight…
And my apologies for not correcting the numerous other mistakes in my post above.
I think writing a good, yet ACCURATE novel about Partition, or making a good, yet TRUTHFUL film about Partition, would be very tough because it will (if it’s going to be accurate and truthful) be seen as an anti-Muslim endeavor. Part of the reason most of the creative efforts regarding Partition have been so horrible overall is because they have tried to be absolutely neutral, at the expense of exploring what really happened. Atrocities were committed by all sides but if you try to decide who’s FAULT was it, and who started it, the answers will be very unpalatable to a lot of people.
That’s easy — it’s all the fault of the Punjabis.
That’s easy — it’s all the fault of the Punjabis.
well, what wut were the number of deaths in punjab vs. bengal? i mean, what happened in punjab? i recall it wasn’t even muslim league dominated (bengal was). not that there weren’t incidents of violence in bengal, but east and west bengali were not “cleansed” of minority religions.
Great article, Amardeep. i am a big fan of khushwant singh. His main contribution is that he is a totally “normal” person (wants a drink, thinks about women, likes good food and jokes) yet is an intellectual and extremely well informed about (at least) north indian culture. This is ground-breaking in the indian context of the 60s and 70s where a certain reserve was considered an essential part of being a public intellectual. Not to speak of a certain level of hypocrisy and pretense at being far above kama, krodha, etc!!!
What I find most stimulating about Khushwant’s cultural commentary is its precision. He provides careful translation and descriptions of the meaning of sikh, hindu and muslim rituals, prayers and traditions. He is also equally skeptical and outraged at all forms of religio-political fundamentalism – hindu, sikh and islamic.
If memory serves correctly, Rajiv Gandhi’s government asked Khushwant Singh to read Salman Rushdie’s Satanic Verses and recommed whether the book needed to banned. Khushwant Singh read the book and recommended its ban. Accepting this recommendation, Rajiv Gandhi’s government banned the book. Ayatollah Khomeini heard about the ban, then issued the fatwa. I am relying on my memory of events here. However, I found this link, the last paragraph of which at least suggests Khushwant Singh had some kind of role.
Razib (#30):
The difference is that when Bengali Muslims attacked Bengali Hindus, the Hindus rarely if ever fought back (although Bihari Hindus committed large-scale atrocities against Bihari Muslims in response to events in Bengal); when Punjabi Muslims attacked Punjabi Sikhs, the Sikhs fought back and then some. And things spiralled out of control.
Ayatollah Khomeini heard about the ban, then issued the fatwa. I am relying on my memory of events here.
Dude, it is more complicated. Some clerics from UK visited Khomeini personally.
What I know is the Khushwant Singh talked about the riots that Satanic Verses might cause to Penguin India. That is not off the mark. His own words:
My advising Viking-Penguin (India) not to publish the novel in India was in pursuance of my duty as an advisor. I warned them that it would invite trouble, including violence, on its head. I am totally against banning books or films for any reason whatsoever and was against banning The Satanic Verses. People who don’t want to read a book don’t have to read it. But what is one to do with religious frenzy and fanaticism? If Penguin (India) had published the novel its offices would have been wrecked and its staff manhandled. I saved them from taking that risk.
That what he said.
Thanks again, Kush.
Kush, That interview was great !!! This guy is a true maverick. Openly criticizing Bhinderanwale during the height of those days isnt for the faint hearted. I was intrigued by him saying that he had rejected religion at age of 25, but being Sikh is something meant a lot to him. I dont know if he was behind the ban on Satanic Verses as P.G.Woodhouse suggests, but if he was that another intriguing aspect of his career.
RC
Khushwant Singh lived with an armed encampment outside his home (not just a body guard!) for 10 years after his remarks on the khalistan movement. Lately he has been equally blunt about the VHP-Bajrang Dal types.
There is film directed by Pamela Rooks. It is not that well-known though. I remember it mainly because it ran into some trouble with the censor board.
Kush, He could have easily excused himself from reviewing the book, esp, since the sole purpose was to ban or not to ban. Why are we so reluctant to call it like it is – Khushwant supported the Satanic Verses ban to stay good with the powers that be.
Either he is for free speech or he is not. No excuses.
The difference is that when Bengali Muslims attacked Bengali Hindus, the Hindus rarely if ever fought back (although Bihari Hindus committed large-scale atrocities against Bihari Muslims in response to events in Bengal);when Punjabi Muslims attacked Punjabi Sikhs, the Sikhs fought back and then some
Yes because the Sikhs are such a martial race compared to lily-livered Bengali Hindus.
AMJ,
no, a true bhadrolok responds to the immaturity of those beneath themselves 🙂
i don’t know enough about partition to pipe it, but it is striking that east pakistan was still 25% hindu in 1950, and west bengal 20% muslim.
Either he is for free speech or he is not. No excuses.
If you see that way, then he definitely erred in even telling Penguin India not to publish. I agree with you. He himself spoke for free speech in Lolita, Playboy, Peter Seller’s movie Party controversy.
But in his own words, he was only warning/ alerting Penguin India of dangers.
I do not think in 1987-88, he was particularly close to the powers to be. He was his own man.
Amitabh,
There were huge butchery even in Bengal with all of them involved.
Some of it was tempered by Gandhi himself fasting to almost death in Calcutta.
In west, larger regions were at stake, more wealth to be looted and reclaimed.
Watch Khamoshi Pani, or Bhisham Sahni’s Tamas, or Amrita Pritam’s work.
Amardeep: You mention DELHI in the same breath as I SHALL NOT… DELHI is perhaps the most inventive piece of fiction written in the English language, in my humble opinion. It seamlessly weaves delirium with the factual history of “Dilli,” the highbrow with the low, the glory of a historical city with its street culture of centuries past. It is the quintessential work on a city I love.
Anyway, I do agree with you that Singh is more a commentator of our times than a pure novelist. He reminds me of people like H. L. Mencken in the US and Dr. Samuel Johnson in 18th century England – forceful thinkers and astute observers of their respective societies.
Did anybody mention AND MALICE FOR ALL, Khushwant Singh’s autobiography?
Since you guys are discussing the partition –
We all have seen movies, read tomes, watched plays on the horrors of seperation on the Punjab border. What of the Benagali saga? Why the lack of narrative? Does it have soemthing to do with the influence of communism in the state?
ive disagreed before on this subject.
a few more words. free speech is hate speech if used with malice, and if it draws blood, then exercising control in its usage is to be recommended – and so we turn to experts in the field to provide their opinion on managing speech.
i cant begin to guess what rushdie was aiming for – may be he just wanted to tell a fantastic story – but that story had the potential for great harm in india. heck, this is a country where (so a tipster tells me) some guy killed himself over bolly-cinema (or maybe he was just appalled by the story line). then, … mein kampf, if memory serves me right, is still banned in germany. the canadian publishing industry had a self-imposed ban on printing the danish cartoons. heck, i mean, if you look to the west for precedents and protector of ‘free speech’, well, think again mon frere.
basically, i am not a fan of the “either you are with us, or against us” type of argument. I find it quite fatuous.
Yeah that’s right. So ban everything that might make a few people angry and violent..
I think the whole stuff started in Calcutta in Aug 1946 (Direct Acion Day)..
This is from a Bengali Hindu perspective link It is equally bad as in Punjab..
Check out the resignation letter of Jogindranath Mandal, a Dalit and the first law minister of Pakistan (surprised??) FULL TEXT OF THE LETTER OF RESIGNATION DATED 8TH OCTOBER 1950 OF
JOGENDRA NATH MANDAL,
MINISTER FOR LAW AND LABOUR, GOVERNMENT OF PAKISTAN, ADDRESSED TO LIAQUAT ALI KHAN, PRIME MINISTER OF PAKISTAN
Razib,
Wikipedia gives me a slighly different twist to demographics of partition:
Well, they do state that East Pakistan/ Bangladesh had significant minorities during the Partition and even now.
Also, there is a link to art and literature from Partition experience.
Razib,
Your figures of about 25% minorities (Hindus) in East Pakistan around 1947 is correct, I checked.