Born Harcharan Chawla, on November 3, 1925 in Daud Khel (Mianwali District, Pakistan). He wrote under the pen-name Harcharan Chawla ‘Ikhtiyar’. His father's name was Kewal Ram. He passed BA from Punjab University. Chawla used to stay in different places. From Mianwali to Multan, Rawalpindi, Delhi, Mumbai and even reached Germany via Frankfurt and finally settled there. Later, he Appointed consultant to an important library in Norway, a post he was associated till he passed away.

Primarily a fiction writer and novelist, Harcharan Chawla’s writings have been published in prestigious magazines in the country and abroad. Later, he turned his attention to novel writing and wrote many novels. He recorded the memoirs of his life in a book called "Album".
He traveled to a large part of the world, so his meditative horizons continued to expand. Which is reflected in his fictions and novels. His important works include:

Darendey (novel 1978), aks aaiine ke (short-stories 1975), ret samandar aur jhaag (short-stories 1980), chairag ke zakham (novel 1980), bhataktay hue log (novel 1984), dil dimagh aur duniya (short-stories 1992), gireban jhoot boltaa hai (short-stories 1996), darya aur kinare (short-stories 1995), tum ko dekhen (safar nama 1992), album (Memoirs 1990)
Harcharan Chawla has been writing fiction since 1948. But after settling in Norway, he produced a significantly increased number of works. Although all his writings are well-appreciated, ‘GhoDe Ka Karb’ has managed to stand out among all. In it, Chawla depicts that even today, labor is almost in vain, and that discrimination is created on the same basis. Here the horse is a symbol of hard work. For people who live abroad in search of jobs, this situation becomes even more serious. There are many such characters who portray compulsion. Like "Aate Jaate Mausamon Ka Sach", "Dosa" etc. In all of them, one or another intellectual element has been raised. One of his famous short-stories "Ret samandar aur jhaag" shows the dullness of life and also the condition of relationships, also a reflection of material conditions. Similarly, his other fictions like "Dhai Akshar", "Qafas", "Sanpn Ka JoDa", "Angara" etc. are important fictions.

Chawla has also written novels, but the themes of his novels can be found are scattered in the different short stories written by him. Yet one of the key things in his novels is different characters depicting the tumult of the times probing for peace and tranquility in that state.
His autobiographical account ‘Album’ is also an import piece of work. It is, in fact, a recollection of his memories, from childhood innocence to love and war. It also covers his fiction and other aspects.
He died on December 6, 2001 in Oslo, Norway.