Born in the village of Hadali in Punjab (now in Pakistan) in 1915, Khushwant Singh over the years had acquired an iconic stature. He is, arguably, India�s best-known and most widely read author, columnist and journalist. He was the founder-editor of Yojana and editor of The Illustrated Weekly of India, National Herald and the Hindustan Times. Over the past six decades, he has published several bestselling non-fiction and fiction titles, including Train to Pakistan, I Shall Not Hear the Nightingale and Delhi; his autobiography, Truth, Love and Little Malice; and the two-volume work, A History of the Sikhs. Khushwant Singh was a member of the Rajya Sabha from 1980 to 1986. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1974 which he returned in 1984 to protest the siege of the Golden Temple by the Indian Army. In 2007, he was awarded India�s second highest civilian honour, the Padma Vibhushan. Singh passed away on 20 March 2014. He is survived by his son, Rahul Singh, daughter, Mala Dayal, and granddaughter, Naina Dayal. Mala Dayal is the author of Nanak: The Guru, The Story of Hanuman, The Story of Krishna and The Ramayana in Pictures. She is based in Delhi.
