I didn't expect a gr8 person like him to fall pray for religious sentiments.
We all know that Indira Gandhi played a lot of politics.
Nevertheless, Sikh leaders using Akal Takht and places around the holy Harmandir Sahib for fighting (whether for just cause or not, is irrelevant) ESPECIALLY for partitioning India again was definitely wrong.
Khushwant Singh refused to accept Padma Bhushan, protesting against Operation Blue Star (later in 2007 or so, he accepted Padma Vibhushan).
I expected a gr8 person like him to be more patriotic than behaving like a religious thug!
love him, respect him, hate him?? how does it matter? he was above all this. he was himself. very sharp, acerbic, humourous, slapstick. and you could never question his knowledge or wisdom. he was no phoney. and he wrote well. he gripped you with his words. his sentences were never long. and you swam with him. his story. his idea. a true patriot. never let religion distort an idea of his thought or word. true to his ideals. and his fellow countrymen. and beyond. he will be missed by all who knew him and those who did not. my salute, SIr.
It is true that there is the sensitive and scholarly side of Khushwant Singh. His novels and writings about Partition and communal harmony show that he was sensitive. His two volumes of Sikh history are works of great scholarship.
He was a typical Sardar full of humour,energy & guts.No doubt he was annoying many in the process of making his candid remarks.I was an ardent reader & admirer of Illustrated weekly of India during my student days.To me he was a hero those days because I liked his humours & guts. May his departed soul rest in peace.