Khushwant Singh

“The leaves of Lajwanti* wither with the touch of human hands.’ A”

— Khushwant Singh

“It had always been so, until the summer of 1947. One”

— Khushwant Singh

I have never, in 50 years, ever missed a deadline [as a journalist].

— Khushwant Singh

I am prolific. Any rubbish I write gets published, so books keep churning out.

— Khushwant Singh

I was never a cardholder. But I was leftist in the sense that I voted communist.

— Khushwant Singh

No one has invented a condom for the pen yet. My pen is still sexy.

— Khushwant Singh

I think the sense of belonging does give you a certain amount of mental satisfaction.

— Khushwant Singh

I've had very little sex. I like my Scotch, but I've never been drunk.

— Khushwant Singh

“Freedom is for the educated people who fought for it. We were slaves of the English, now we will be slaves of…

— Khushwant Singh

I don't want to be cremated, I want to be buried. I don't believe in wasting wood and I feel that one…

— Khushwant Singh

I turned to the Partition experiences, which were churning in my mind. Then came my first novel Train to Pakistan.

— Khushwant Singh

“One Sikh may argue with one Sikh. One Sikh must never argue with two Sikhs–certainly not after dark.”

— Khushwant Singh

“I asked my soul: What is Delhi? She replied: The world is the body and Delhi its life. Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib”

— Khushwant Singh

But big people’s illnesses are always made to sound big. The simple shutting and opening of the royal arse-hole was made to…

— Khushwant Singh

“So many gods, so many creeds, so many paths that wind and wind When just the art of being kind is all…

— Khushwant Singh

I have never lost my temper. I let out my venom in my writing if I have to, but person-to-person, I have…

— Khushwant Singh

I admit I have no forgiveness. If anyone is ever rude to me, however much they may try to make up, I…

— Khushwant Singh

That's Delhi. When life gets too much for you all you need to do is to spend an hour at Nigambodh Ghat,watch…

— Khushwant Singh

“A Turk for toughness, for hands that never tire; An Indian for her rounded bosom bursting with milk; A Persian for her…

— Khushwant Singh

“O Sage ! the stomach is the prison house of wind, The sagacious contain it not in captivity, If wind torment thy…

— Khushwant Singh

I had lots of time to read [being a lawyer] what I hadn't read in my school and college days. Being a…

— Khushwant Singh

“He told us of an incident from the life of the Prophet Musa. Musa heard a poor shepherd praying: ‘Where art Thou…

— Khushwant Singh

I acquired long-lived parents. My mother died at 94. Father died at 90, holding a glass of whisky. I think that's the…

— Khushwant Singh

“And all the mumbo-jumbo of reincarnation. Man into ox into ape into beetle into eight million four hundred thousand kinds of animate…

— Khushwant Singh

“There was another matter which caused much disturbance in our mind: the viciousness of sibling rivalry. We knew that kingship knows no…

— Khushwant Singh

“The Muslims had become masters of Hindustan. They were quite willing to let us Hindus live our lives as we wanted to…

— Khushwant Singh

“I am back in my beloved city. The scene of desolation fills my eyes with tears. At every step my distress and…

— Khushwant Singh

“The Hindus hatred of the Mussalmans did not make sense to me. The Muslims had conquered Hindustan. Why hadn’t our gods saved…

— Khushwant Singh

“I realized that I belonged neither to the Hindus nor to the Mussalmans. How could I explain to my wife that while…

— Khushwant Singh

“In her novel In Times of Siege, Githa Hariharan quotes a German Pastor, Reverend Martin Niemöller, who was persecuted by the Nazis:…

— Khushwant Singh

If you look at things as they are, there does not seem to be a code either of man or of God…

— Khushwant Singh

“It was again to the Prophet Musa that Allah conveyed the essence of true religion. The Almighty said. ‘I was sick, and…

— Khushwant Singh

“Mohammad, a child of Arab parents was enrolled in a school in New York. On the first day, his teacher asked, ‘What…

— Khushwant Singh

“A modern fad which has gained widespread acceptance amongst the semi-educated who wish to appear secular is the practice of meditation. They…

— Khushwant Singh

“A representative from India at the UN Assembly began his address thus: ‘Before beginning my talk I want to tell you something…

— Khushwant Singh

“We can see the process of deification taking place in the Indians’ perception of Mahatma Gandhi. Here we had as great a…

— Khushwant Singh

I am alone, but never lonely. You have always books around you.

— Khushwant Singh

“Consciousness of the bad is an essential prerequisite to the promotion of the good.”

— Khushwant Singh

“poverty which had celebrated a hundred thousand silver and golden jubilees.”

— Khushwant Singh

Friends meddle with my plan of work. I resent people dropping in for a chat.

— Khushwant Singh