Sant Singh Sekhon

Sant Singh Sekhon (1908–1997) was an Indian playwright and fiction writer associated with Punjabi literature. He is part of the generation of Indian authors who mark the transition of India into an independent nation, scarred by the tragedies of partition. Sekhon was born in Lyallpur, Punjab, British India (present-day Pakistan), and grew up in his father's village in Dakha, near Ludhiana. His father was an idealist but introverted while his mother was more practical and religious, practicing Sikh Singh Sabha. There was considerable marital discord in the family which colours many of his stories. Sekhon eventually graduated with master's degrees in Economics and also in English. In the 1930s, he started writing in English, and after some initial publications including some in shared publications with W.H. Auden and Stephen Spender. But given the greater audience in Punjabi, he shifted to Punjabi, and initially made a mark as a playwright. Along with many South-Asian littérateurs of his generation (Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Harivansh Rai Bachchan, Buddhadev Bose), he taught English but wrote in an Indian language.