Rakhshanda Jalil (born 20 July 1963) is an Indian writer, critic and literary historian. She is known for her book on Delhi's lesser-known monuments called Invisible City: The hidden Monuments of India and a well-received collection of short stories, called Release & Other Stories (HarperCollins, 2011). Her PhD on the Progressive Writers' Movement as Reflected in Urdu Literature has been published by Oxford University Press as Liking Progress, Loving Change (2014). Jalil runs an organization called Hindustani Awaaz, devoted to the popularization of Hindi-Urdu literature and culture. Career Jalil graduated from Miranda house, Delhi University in 1986. She started her career as a lecturer in Khalsa College. After that she worked at Aligarh Muslim University as lecturer (1987), editorial assistant at Tata McGraw-Hill Book Publishing Company (1987–89), sub-editor in the Publications Division of the India International Centre (1989–90), assistant editor in the Publications Division of the India International Center (1990 – March 1995). She later joined Jamia Millia Islamia and worked there as director of the outreach programme. She co-edited a quarterly journal called Third Frame: Literature, Culture and Society, published and distributed by Cambridge University Press from 2007 to 2009. She was senior associate fellow at the Council of Social Development, New Delhi, and associate editor of Social Change, the journal brought out by CSD (Jan 2011-Jan 2012). Contribution to Urdu literature She has edited four collections of short stories: Urdu Stories (Srishti, 2002), a selection by Pakistani women writers called Neither Night Nor Day (HarperCollins, 2007), New Urdu Writings: From India & Pakistan (Westland, 2013), and Pigeons of the Domes: Stories of Communalism (Niyogi, 2015); a collection of essays on the little known monuments of Delhi, called Invisible City (Niyogi, 2008, revised third edition 2011); two co-authored books, Partners in Freedom: Jamia Millia Islamia (Niyogi, 2006) and Journey to a Holy Land: A Pilgrim’s Diary (OUP, 2009). She was co-editor of Third Frame, a journal devoted to literature, culture and society brought out by the Cambridge University Press. She has edited and introduced a volume of essays entitled Qurratulain Hyder and the River of Fire: The Meaning, Scope and Significance of her Legacy (Aakar, 2010; and Oxford University Press, Karachi, 2010). She has published nine works of translations: Premchand's short stories entitled The Temple and the Mosque (HarperCollins, 1992; revised and enlarged 2011); a collection of satirical writing in Hindi by Asghar Wajahat entitled Lies: Half Told (Srishti,