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Malik was born into a Sabharwal Khatri family; the surname Malik is used by many Kukhrans.

Malik graduated from the Amar Singh College in Srinagar, Kashmir in 1945. From 1947-48, he was a personal assistant to Jawaharlal Nehru. During the 1950s, Malik studied Renaissance art in Florence, French at the Sorbonne, and attended lectures at Columbia University.

From 1960-72, Malik was art critic for The Hindustan Times. During roughly the same period, he was literary editor of "Thoughts," an Indian journal of the arts. In 1973-74, Malik was curator for "The Human Condition," an exhibition of contemporary Indian art that traveled to Bulgaria, Poland, Belgium, and Yugoslavia. From 1978-2000, Malik was art critic for The Times of India.

Malik has published ten volumes of poetry, including "The Lake Surface and Other Poems", "Storm Warning," and "Between Nobodies and Stars." He has also edited six anthologies of English translations of Indian poetry, and is a frequent lecturer and seminar participant. He co-founded the Poetry Society of India and is currently president of the Poetry Club of India.

Malik was awarded the Padma Shri for literature in 1991. He is the brother of arts scholar Kapila Vatsyayan. He is also related to the brothers Balraj Sahni and Bhisham Sahni who were from Bhera now in Pakistani Punjab.