2009 topper quits IAS in protest over J&K killings

Srinagar: Shah Faesal who announced his decision to quit as an IAS officer on Wednesday was the first Kashmiri and third Indian Muslim to top the civil services examination.

After qualifying the prestigious Civil Services examination in his maiden attempt in 2009-the achievement of an orphaned Kashmiri youth from a middleclass family widely celebrated across the restive State and beyond — he was allotted the Jammu Kashmir cadre and served in various capacities, including Director Education, Deputy Commissioner and Managing Director of the Power Development Corporation.

He had on being declared the IAS topper said that the Kashmiri youth were “caught in self-created confines of perceptions” and that “I’ve broken those myths and perception”. He had also said, “Our participation in the (Civil Services) exam is miserable as we often say it is no fun. We are not going to be allowed to thrive.” His achievement had inspired many young Kashmiris to join the civil services.

But the outspoken officer courted many controversies while serving in his native State. In July last year, the Centre had asked the J&K government to initiate action against him for violating the service rules through a series of tweets including one against “rape-culture” in India. “Population+patriarchy +illiteracy +alcohol +porn+ technology+anarchy = rapistan,” Mr Faesal had tweeted, drawing the ire of the Department of Personnel and Training (DoP&T). It had said that his twitter handle carries “contents prima-face in contravention of the extant provisions of the All India Service (Conduct Rules) 1968 and All Indian Services (Discipline and Appeal) Rules 1969”. He was accused of having failed to maintain absolute honesty and integrity in discharge of his official duty and thus acted in a manner unbecoming of a public servant.

While making the letter public through a tweet Mr. Faesal wrote on micro-blogging site, “Love letter from my boss for my sarcastic tweet against rape-culture in South Asia. The Irony here is that service rules with a colonial spirit are invoked in a democratic India to stifle the freedom of conscience.  I’m sharing this to underscore the need for a rule.”

On another occasion, he had while tweeting a link of a newspaper story about the arrest of an alleged porn addict in Gujarat accused of raping a 46-year-old mother wrote on his twitter handle @shahfaesal “Difference between theory and practice”.  

Mr. Faesal had courted another controversy when he compared Article 35A of the Constitution to a marriage deed between India and Jammu and Kashmir, saying if the constitutional provision granting  special rights and privileges to permanent residents of the State was scrapped, the marriage will be annulled.

“I would compare Article 35A to a marriage-deed/nikahnama. You repeal it and the relationship is over. Nothing will remain to be discussed afterwards,” he had tweeted. He had said the accession of Jammu and Kashmir to India took place before the Constitution had come into force. He, however, also said continuing the special constitutional provisions with respect to the state did not pose any threat to the sovereignty and integrity of the country.

“Let’s not confuse the issue. Sovereignty and integrity of India can’t be challenged. Not at all. But the Constitution has kept some special provisions for J&K state. It’s a unique arrangement. It isn’t a threat to India’s integrity at all,” he had said.

On an earlier occasion, he had threatened to quit his government job if mainstream media of the country does not stop dragging him into its ‘ridiculous debate’ surrounding the happenings in the Valley.

After being referred to as ‘a new role model and an icon for Kashmiri youth’ ever since his qualifying the civil service examination, Mr. Faesal was being repeatedly weighed against Burhan Muzaffar Wani, the new-age poster boy of militancy, whose killing on July 8, 2016 had pushed the Valley into a new and deadly phase of protests and turbulence, during TV debates.

But Mr. Faesal took a strong exception to him being made part of what he alleged was ‘propagandastic and provocative’ coverage of the unrest in the Valley. “By juxtaposing my photos with the images of a slain militant commander, a section of national media has once again fallen back upon its conventional savagery that cashes on falsehoods, divides people and creates more hatred,” he had written on his Facebook timeline.

He had said, “At a moment when Kashmir is mourning its dead, the propaganda and provocation being dished out from red and blue newsrooms is breeding more alienation and anger in Kashmir than what Indian state can manage.”

He had also said, “Personal vulnerability apart, the very fact of becoming a part of a ridiculous debate is something which has disturbed me very much”. He had asked, “Have I joined IAS to do a job or to become a part of your sadistic propaganda machine?” and then said, “In fact, when I qualified this exam I never thought of spending my whole life scratching the desk and if this nonsense around me continues, I might prefer to resign sooner than later.”

Mr. Faesal’s father Gulam Rasool Shah was slain by unidentified assailants at Sogam, his native village in frontier Kupwara district, in 2002. The incident was blamed on separatist militants by the authorities but never substantiated nor were the killers brought to justice.

The murder of the young schoolteacher shattered his family as were many others in Jammu and Kashmir destined in the upshot of such gory acts committed every now and then after the outbreak of violence in 1989-90. But his wife and Faesal’s mother Ms. Mubeena, also a schoolteacher, did not give up hope. She took great pains towards the upbringing of her offspring-two sons and a daughter.

Mr. Faesal (born 1983) after passing the matriculation examination from a local school relocated to Srinagar where his uncle, a government employee, admitted him to Tyndale Biscoe School. After passing both XI and XII class examinations from the prestigious Christian missionary school with distinction, Mr. Faesal also qualified in the MBBS entrance examination.

He did his MBBS with excellence from the Jhelum Valley Medical College in Srinagar and completed the mandatory internship at the Srinagar Government Medical College. It was during this period that he also prepared for the Civil Service examination.