Jaswant Singh Kanwal

Jaswant Singh Kanwal (27 June 1919 – 1 February 2020) was an Indian novelist, short story writer and essayist of the Punjabi language. He was born in the village of Dhudike, Moga District, Punjab, India. As a young teenager he left school and went to Malaya. It was there that he first got interested in literature. He returned to Dhudike after a few years and has lived there ever since. He was awarded the Punjabi Sahit Shiromani Award in the year 2007. He published several books. His novels usually have a rustic feel and depict the rural life of Punjab very vividly. His writings generally question firmly held social customs and beliefs. He has left leanings and many of his most popular novels champion the cause of socially relevant issues like social and gender equality. He is also known to take tough political stands in his newspaper essays. Later on, he became a supporter of the Khalistan movement.