Dalip Kaur Tiwana was born on 4 May 1935 in the village of Rabbon in the Ludhiana district of Punjab in a well-to-do land-owning family in British India. She was educated at Patiala, where her uncle, Sardar Sahib Tara Singh Sidhu was Inspector General of Prisons. She had a distinguished academic career. She earned first class honors in the pursuit of her M.A., and then received a PhD degree from the Panjab University, Chandigarh.

In 1963, she joined the Punjabi University, Patiala as a lecturer and then went on to become professor and head of the department of Punjabi, and dean, faculty of languages. She was also a UGC National Lecturer for a year. She often lectured in England, United States, and Canada where she also received awards for her contributions to the literature.

She was married to sociologist and poet and professor Bhupinder Singh and has a son Dr Simranjit Singh, who is an assistant professor of electronics engineering at Punjabi University. Dr. Tiwana lived with her family on the campus of Punjabi University, Patiala, where she was life fellow and writer-in-residence.

On 14 October 2015, she renounced her Padma Shri award (the highest honor for an Indian writer bestowed by the country) against increasing ‘intolerance’ in the country. She received this award in 2004 for her contribution to literature and education.

Born: 4 May 1935 Rabbon, Ludhiana District, Punjab, British India
Died: 31 January 2020 (aged 84)
Spouse: Bhupinder Singh
Occupation: novelist, short-story writer
Genre: novel, short-story