He has established himself as a distinguished writer of social realism with the publication of his first novel, Train to Pakistan. His main concern is the man and the reality. Khushwant Singh, like other Indian novelists, explores social, political realities of contemporary Indian life. Different Indian English novelists have treated different aspects of social life.
Indian novelists show a passionate awareness of life in India – the social awakening and protest, the poverty and hunger of the peasants, various dimensions of the struggle for independence the tragedy of partition, social and political changes along with inner life of the sensitive, suffering individuals. Realism which refers to both the content and technique of literary creation has been evident in literature from its very beginning. The term ‘realism’ means (1) a theory of writing in which the familiar ordinary aspects of life are depicted in a matter of fact, straight forward manner designed to reflect life as it actually is, ( 2) treatment of subject – matter in a way that presents careful descriptions of every day life, often the lives of so-called middle or lower-middle classes. It omits nothing that is ugly and painful and idealizes nothing. Realism shows real life, facts in a true way. Realism is a remarkable feature of Indian English novel in which Indian sensibility is expressed through a foreign language.
He is a product of western education and culture but he is at heart a Sikh and an Indian. His intimate knowledge of rural and urban India life is an out come of his minute observation of life. He has a sensitive understanding of the problems of contemporary Indian society. He is very keen to explore the realities of life. He is a sensitive artist who has used realism so as to present his humanistic vision of life. He has five novels to his credit besides a large number of works on other subjects. He is not only a novelist but also a short story writer, a columnist, a journalist, an editor. Khushwant Singh is one of the major Indian English novelists of our times. Keywords: social realism in indian fiction in english