Khushwant Singh, Journalist And Writer, Dies At 99

NEW DELHI: Noted writer and journalist Khushwant Singh passed away on Thursday. He was 99.

Singh was best known for his trenchant secularism, his humour, and an abiding love for poetry.

"He was fine and passed away peacefully at home on Thursday," his daughter Mala Singh said. His cremation will take place at Lodhi Crematorium at 4pm today.

Read also: Khushwant Singh's column in TOI, dated October 23, 2011 - An agnostic's view of life & death

Born on February 2, 1915 at Hadali, now in Pakistan, Singh wrote classics like "Train to Pakistan", "I Shall Not Hear the Nightingale" and "Delhi".

He was a lawyer-turned-diplomat-turned-writer. His autobiography, "Truth, Love and a Little Malice", was published by Penguin Books in 2002.

He was editor of several literary and news magazines, including the Illustrated Weekly of India as well as two newspapers, the Hindustan Times and the National Herald, through the 1970s and 1980s.

In 2007, he was awarded with the Padma Vibhushan.

Oh no Khushwant Singh is no more. He made our lives so much richer by his literary contributions. “With Malice towards one and all” RIP

— SHAH RUKH KHAN (@iamsrk) March 20, 2014

Khushwant Singh. End of an era. Only KS could say 'There's no condom for a pen." And prove it!

— Shobhaa De (@DeShobhaa) March 20, 2014

Read also: Khushwant Singh's column in TOI, dated May 17, 2011 - He lived by example

Very sad to hear of the death of Khushwant Singh - great historian, novelist, editor, columnist, and a wonderfully kind, generous man. RIP.

— Amitav Ghosh (@GhoshAmitav) March 20, 2014

If you haven't read Khushwant Singh's columns, novels or stories, you're missing out on a sizeable chunk of top notch Indian literature

— ȿ ‏ (@Syddie) March 20, 2014

RIP Khushwant Singh - bet he will be telling jokes in heaven.

— Chitra Narayanan (@ndcnn) March 20, 2014

Read also: Vinita Dawra Nangia's blog, dated November 3, 2013 - Be true to your self, is Khushwant's lesson

Rip Khushwant singh! End of an era! Find memories of train to Pakistan n t bond I shared with him! Wil miss u!

— Divya Dutta (@divyadutta25) March 20, 2014

Khushwant will be remembered for this great history of the Sikhs. He was a very generous man. His bravest act was to take on Bhindranwale...

— Ramachandra Guha (@Ram_Guha) March 20, 2014

Singh, who was a Member of Parliament from 1980 to 1986, was awarded with the Padma Bhushan in 1974 but returned the decoration in 1984 in protest against the storming of the Golden Temple in Amritsar by the Indian Army.

He is survived by son Rahul and daughter Mala.

(With inputs from AP)