Oral history with Khushwant Singh, 2013 August 27
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- Author Khushwant Singh was born nearly 100 years ago, on 2nd February 1915, to father Sir Sobha Singh and mother Varyaam Kaur in Village Hadali, District Sargodha, Punjab, Pakistan. He is one of five siblings, four brothers and one sister. His father, Sir Sobha Singh, contributed greatly to the building of New Delhi immediately following Partition. Prior to Partition, Mr. Khushwant Singh studied at the Modern School in Delhi before going to England to study law at King’s College.At the time of Partition, Mr. Singh was working as a lawyer at the High Court in Lahore. He lived near Lawrence Gardens in Lahore. He shares an interesting memory from the time of Partition in 1947: Mohammad Ali Jinnah approached his father Sir Sobha Singh and proposed that Mr. Khushwant Singh stay on in Lahore as a High Court judge in Pakistan. However, due to the chaos that began to unfold around him at the time of Partition, Mr. Khushwant Singh, decided it was not safe to stay on. He decided to first send his children to Kasauli in early July. A few days before August 15th 1947, he drove with his wife from Lahore to Delhi. Before leaving, he locked his house and handed over the keys to a friend. What he remembers most about his drive are the ghost-like empty roads. As he was entering Delhi, he recalls seeing a group of armed Sikh men attacking another man. He remembers the time of Partition as one during which there was no humanity. He says he visited Lahore many times after Partition. Mr. Singh has written quite extensively about his post-Partition life in Delhi, following his move from Lahore, and is today renowned as an award winning and best selling author. He tells us that Partition affected him profoundly and thinks it is important to preserved lived memories. You can learn more about Mr. Singh's legendary career as an author after Partition through numerous sources:Today Mr. Singh lives in Delhi and continues to write, though he has not kept in the best health recently. He has two children, a son and a daughter, and one grand daughter.Interview by Manleen Sandu and camera by Bhai Baldeep Singh. Archived by Adity Tibrewala. Posted by Elaine Jones. Interview sponsored by the American India Foundation.
Description
| Type of resource | moving image |
|---|---|
| Extent | 4 video files |
| Place | New Delhi (India) |
| Date created | August 27, 2013 |
| Language | English |
| Digital origin | born digital |
| Sound content | Sound |
| Color content | Color |
| Map data | Scale not given ; Pre-partition residence: Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan (31.5497, 74.3436); Migrated to: New Delhi, Delhi, India (28.6139, 77.209); Current residence: New Delhi, Delhi, India (28.6139, 77.209 |
Creators/Contributors
| Interviewee | Singh, Khushwant, 1915- | |
|---|---|---|
| Interviewer | Sandhu, Manleen | |
| Interviewer | Singh, Bhai Baldeep | |
| Creator | Sandhu, Manleen | |
| Creator | Singh, Bhai Baldeep | |
| Cinematographer | Sandhu, Manleen | |
| Sponsor | American India Foundation | |
| Sponsor | Silicon Valley Community Foundation |
Subjects
| Subject | India > History > Partition, 1947 |
|---|---|
| Genre | Filmed interviews |
Bibliographic information
| 1947 Partition Archive - Khushwant Singh | |
|---|---|
| Source ID | partitionArchive_0630 |
| Location | https://purl.stanford.edu/kv282sx8286 |
| Repository | Stanford University. Libraries. Department of Special Collections and University Archives |
Access conditions
- Copyright
- © The 1947 Partition Archive (http://www.1947partitionarchive.org/). All rights reserved. To protect the privacy and well-being of the interviewee, access to this video is restricted. To request access, please visit: https://www.1947partitionarchive.org/archive_access.
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