Khushwant Singh quotes - page 2

Khushwant Singh was an Indian author, journalist, and editor, widely celebrated for his wit and storytelling. His novels, short stories, and columns offered deep insights into Indian society, history, and culture. He became one of India's most influential literary voices, known for both humor and candor. Here are 41 of his quotes:

I've no patience with Hindi films. I find them so unreal. But some I was taken to, like Raj Kapoor's Satyam Shivam Sundaram.

Khushwant Singh

Why not all three? I have worked hard on each (stated with pride and an endearing smile).

Khushwant Singh

I am trying hardest to see no one, because I find it tiresome. I have people descending on me and flattering me. I fall for flattery.

Khushwant Singh

You are being dishonest if you are not writing about sex in your book. It is very natural and normal. Well, I have earned the name of 'dirty old man' but there is not much sex in my books. What I have written is very serious stuff - biography, history, religious texts, etc.

Khushwant Singh

But when she curbed the freedom of press during the emergency, I withdrew my support. Indira Gandhi had the habit of snubbing whoever opposed her. She was waiting for a chance to snub me. I never gave her the chance as I never met her after that.

Khushwant Singh

Sikhs are kesadhari Hindus. Their religious source is Hinduism. Sikhism is a tradition developed within Hinduism. Guru Granth Sahib reflects Vedantic philosophy and Japji Sahib is based on the Upanishads.

Khushwant Singh

Yes, in fact I was almost single-handed in protesting about holding the prisoners of war. It was largely on the pressure of Mujibur Rahman that Mrs Gandhi was holding them. Because she obviously recognised Bangladesh and his (Mujibur's) stand was clear: Let them recognise Bangladesh as an independent state and then we will free them. And that's what we did later.

Khushwant Singh

I write what I believe in and don't care a damn about the consequences.

Khushwant Singh

I think humour can be a very lethal weapon.You make somebody a laughing stock and you kill him. But most journalists don't do it. They get angry, which doesn't serve the purpose.

Khushwant Singh

Once through this ruined city did I pass I espied a lonely bird on a bough and asked ‘What knowest thou of this wilderness?' It replied: 'I can sum it up in two words: ‘Alas, Alas!

Khushwant Singh

I am disappointed in him. He was an able and clean man. I supported him initially. After 1984, Sikhs did not want to vote for Congress. I put forward his name. He came to thank me. But when he was the Home Minister, and he came with his bodyguards in tow, during an event, I took the liberty to say, "You sowed the seed of communalism in the country and the country will pay for it."

Khushwant Singh

What matters most is whether or not India will continue to remain a secular state committed to socialism or become a [[w:Hindu nationalism|Hindu Rashtra wearing a secular mask with an agenda of its own, including building a mammoth Ram Mandir at Ayodhya, preserving the Ram Setu and other relics associated with Hinduism. The choice is between an India of the dreams of Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru on the one side (secular), and those of Vir Savarkar and Guru Golwalkar on the other (Hindutva). By no stretch of the imagination can it be called secular. We have to choose between remaining what we are or opt to become a Hindu Rashtra.

Khushwant Singh

I am disappointed in him. He was an able and clean man. I supported him initially. After 1984, Sikhs did not want to vote for Congress. I put forward his name. He came to thank me. But when he was the Home Minister, and he came with his bodyguards in tow, during an event, I took the liberty to say, "You sowed the seed of communalism in the country and the country will pay for it." Advani doesn't womanize; such men are dangerous.

Khushwant Singh

At long last, shortly before he would turn 100, Khushwant Singh has gone. India loses a pleasant writer and frequently humorous political and social commentator. He was a forthright spokesman of the Nehruvian English-speaking elite, at one time even the direct press chief of Jawaharlal Nehru himself... But he had the virtue of being able to take a laugh at himself, much in contrast to the pompousness and self-importance of most secularists.

Khushwant Singh