 In July 2015, Sinha was awarded an honorary Doctorate in Literature by the University of Brighton for "his major contribution to literature and demonstrating the power of words in changing people’s lives".Sinha is the son of an officer in the Indian Navy and an English writer.He was educated at Mayo College, Ajmer, Rajasthan in India; Oakham School, Rutland, England and Pembroke College, Cambridge in England, where he studied English literature.