Malik was born, and grew up, in Srinagar, Kashmir. He was interested in drawing from early childhood and was taught by his father. In 2003, at the age of 14, he joined Greater Kashmir, the region’s largest circulated English daily as its Political Cartoonist; he has since been commenting on daily political and social events in Kashmir, such as human rights violations, environmental and cultural issues and global politics.

He started making graphic novels in 2005 and documented stories such as ‘encounter killings’, the experience of being a Kashmiri in India, Internet crackdowns and the 2010 mass uprising in the valley. His works include Terrorism of Peace, Identity Card, FaceBooked and Endangered Species.

He has been mentored by Fayaz Kaloo (Editor-in-Chief of Greater Kashmir), Basharat Peer (author) and Showket Kathjoo (artist). He cites his inspirations as Art Spiegelman (comic artist and editor), Saadat Hassan Manto (short-story writer) and Tibet Bakal (Kashmir maestro santoor player and cultural leader).

He studied Fine Art at the Institute of Music and Fine Art in Srinagar, and is currently pursuing an MA in Image and Communication at Goldsmiths, University of London on a 2011 Inlaks Scholarship.

He is using his artwork to review lost Kashmiri cultural heritage, such as its storytelling tradition and school of miniature art. Mallul Meeras (Precious Heritage) is a project aimed at resurrecting the artists’ community in Kashmir.

See kashmirblackandwhite.com for more information.