Shariq Bashir : An aspiring author of "Suicide Is Not An Option" is inspiring others as well

Shariq Bashir from the remote hamlet of Cheki Haji in South Kashmir’s Shopian district has penned down two books. One is about women rights and the other talks about rising in the graph of suicides in the Valley.

Shariq Bashir started to jot down his ideas in a diary. Gradually the selected stories took shape of two beautiful books. He is currently working on his third book.

 the 20-year-old author says he started writing at the age of 15 when he was in 10th standard. “I have completed two books- ‘Islam and The Modern World’ and ‘Suicide Is Not An Option’. While work is under process for my third book,” he says. 

“Earlier I used to write articles and then I concentrated on my book ‘Islam and The Modern World’ in which I have mainly focused on the rights of women because despite living in the modern society, many women are not being treated equally yet.”

My second book, ‘Suicide Is Not An Option, he says, has been written in response to the rise in suicide cases in Kashmir valley.

“In this book, I have tried to encourage the youth not to take any bad step as life is precious and ups and downs are just part of it,” he says.

Speaking about his experience, the author of two books says, “When the lockdown was announced, schools were shut for physical classes.

“As I was at home, I had a lot of time to spare. The lockdown provided me ample time to delve into each routine moment, which I couldn’t have done if I were to go institute for physical classes.”

“This provided me time to think and ponder over my thoughts, which helped in writing the books.”

His books are also available on many online platforms including ‘Flipkart’ and as is witnessing a good response.