An eminent writer, he had his first short story published in 1957. His creative works span a variety of genres – novels, short story collections, dramas, prose and books for children. Besides several literary and academic publications he has written several articles for journals and newspapers on serious cultural, social, political and economic problems of Punjab and Indian society. He has also translated a number of books from English and Hindi into Punjabi and from Punjabi into these languages. He has been honoured with several awards including the Padma Shri, Bharatiya Jnanpith Award, Shiromani Sahitkar Award, Sahitya Akademi Award, Punjabi Sahitya Akademi Award and many more.