Majid Maqbool, Author at INVERSE JOURNAL

The Books That Shaped Our Year (2020) – Curated by Majid Maqbool

December 31, 2020 | Books

With the end of the year here, Majid Maqbool presents a curated list of books read by Kashmir’s writers, poets, academics, journalists, and some of our Kashmiri and international contributors who have supported us from the beginning. Their comments and reflections on their particular selection along with the book covers and relevant links are included (with inputs from Amjad Majid). Each book is hyperlinked back to the original publisher or a relevant resource. As we look towards the future, Inverse Journal ends this year’s tumultuous publishing cycle with this piece published in the last hour of 2020.

10 Must-Read Essays on Kashmir by Gautam Navlakha — curated by Majid Maqbool

April 17, 2020 | Non-Fiction

Majid Maqbool curates a list of 10 must-read essays on Kashmir by Gautam Navlakha, taken from a larger body of work that spans decades of Gautam’s engagement with Kashmir. The curated list includes a general introduction by Majid and a summary and preview for each of the pieces linking back to the original sources where these writings were published. Inverse Journal has also provided relevant links (at the end of this curated list) directly embedded from Indian and international organizations in view of recent events pertaining to Gautam Navlakha’s detention at this vulnerable time during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Remembering Kamil — by Majid Maqbool

February 25, 2020 | Books

A prolific and multidimensional writer, Amin Kamil proved to be one of the defining littérateurs of Kashmiri language.

20 Must-Read Pieces on Six Months of Kashmir Lockdown — Curated by Majid Maqbool

February 7, 2020 | Kashmir 2019 Siege

Majid Maqbool curates a list of 20 must-read pieces on six months of the Kashmir lockdown. Readers and members of the Kashmiri press are welcome to send us their own suggested readings using the form at the end of this curated list.

Walk On: A Letter to Young Kashmiris — by Majid Maqbool

April 22, 2019 | Acquaintance

Journalist, editor and writer Majid Maqbool addresses the youth of Kashmir in this timely letter about the multiple ways in which they can create their own platforms and rely on alternative as well as indigenous media to amplify their voices while telling their own stories. The letter problematizes how Kashmiri youth are, and can be, misrepresented, with their words being misused and misconstrued by vested interests. The letter unfolds an inspirational and highly motivating core message: to be the author of your own stories, the narrator of your own tales and teller of your own truths, by seeking the appropriate platforms to do so. With a positive and uplifting tone, the epistolar piece provides informed suggestions, insights and tips by an experienced media professional about the ways young people in Kashmir can reclaim their agency and the proprietorship of their portrayals, their self-expression and their messages to the larger world.

The Guest — by Majid Maqbool

February 4, 2019 | Non-Fiction

Majid Maqbool recalls a night in the Kashmiri 90s when a band of unexpected visitors come knocking at the door. The account told from the perspective of an adolescent narrator recounts a story that is far too familiar to the Kashmiri population that has seen war and conflict at their doorsteps. However, such stories many times remain unwritten and have been transmitted more often through word of mouth and in many a conversation. The writer here successfully captures one such story and narrates it through the written word, introducing elements of storytelling and memory-making that are not habitually put into practice around such topics given the air of trauma, fear and censorship that keeps Kashmiris from recalling their own experience of Kashmir, particularly since the early 90s.