From Modi to SRK: Twitter pays tribute to legendary author, journalist Khushwant Singh

Singh gave meaning to the word ‘satire’ and left behind a legacy of memorable books and anecdotes. Though he professed an interest in 'sex, scotch and scholarship', Singh belonged to a generation of enormously influential print journalists.

“Morality is a matter of money. Poor people cannot afford to have morals. So they have religion,” noted author and journalist Khushwant Singh, who died at 99 on Thursday, once wrote.

Singh gave meaning to the word ‘satire’ and left behind a legacy of memorable books and anecdotes. Though he professed an interest in 'sex, scotch and scholarship', Singh belonged to a generation of enormously influential print journalists.

As news of his death broke on Thursday, Twitter was swept with a wave of shock and despair. While all wished the iconic author, who was the editor of Hindustan Times from 1980 to 1983, rest in peace, others reminisced about the time they spent reading Singh's works.

There were also those who chose to salute the man in his signature way — with humour. "Khushwant Singh, you don't need an RIP. I don't see you ever seeking rest, or peace. Enjoy." tweeted @rameshsrivats. Another user, @doctoratlarge, tweeted, "You can joke on Khushwant Singh's death — he was too good a sport to mind it".

We bring to you a few Twitter tributes paid to the man:

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh

Amitav Ghosh, Author

Shah Rukh Khan, Actor

Narendra Modi, Politician

Shobhaa De, Socialite

Vir Das, Stand-up comedian

Neha Dhupia, Actress

Sanjay Jha, Congress spokesperson

Siddhartha Basu, Producer-Director

Kapil Sharma, Stand-up comedian

Ramachandra Guha, Writer

Divya Dutta, Actress

Pooja Bhatt, Actress

Kiran Bedi, Former cop, Politician

Harsha Bhogle, Former Cricketer

Shashi Tharoor, Politician

Madhur Bhandarkar, Director

Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Politician

Vijay Goel, Politician

Vasundhara Raje, Politician