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Shah Faesal

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Shah Faesal
Shah Faisal with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
Deputy secretary in ministry of culture
Incumbent
Assumed office
11 August 2022
Chairman of Jammu & Kashmir People's Movement
In office
21 March 2019[1] – 9 August 2020
Preceded byposition established
Succeeded byJavaid Mustafa Mir
Managing Director (J&K State Power Development Corporation)
In office
18 October 2016 – 9 January 2019
Preceded byKifayat Rizvi[2]
Succeeded byHirdesh Kumar[3]
Director School Education (Kashmir)
In office
22 August 2015 – 18 October 2016
Preceded byShowkat Ahmad Beigh
Succeeded byAjaz Ahmad Bhat
Deputy Commissioner (Bandipora)
In office
8 February 2014 – 22 August 2015
Preceded byMohammad Yousuf Zargar
Succeeded bySajad Hussain Ganai
Assistant Commissioner, Revenue (Pulwama)
In office
16 August 2012 – 8 February 2014
Preceded byNasir Ahmad Lone
Succeeded bySyed Sajad Qadiri[4]
Personal details
Born (1983-05-17) 17 May 1983 (age 41)
Sogam Lolab, Kupwara, Jammu and Kashmir[5]
NationalityIndian
SpouseIram Rashid
Children1
Parent(s)Ghulam Rasool Shah
Mubeena Shah
Residence(s)Jammu and Kashmir
Alma mater
ProfessionBureaucrat, Doctor,

Shah Faesal (born 17 May 1983) is an Indian bureaucrat currently posted as Deputy Secretary in the Ministry of Culture (India)[6][7] In 2010, Faesal secured Rank 1 and became the first Kashmiri to top the Indian Civil Services Examination.[8][9][10] He tendered his resignation from the Indian bureaucracy in protest on 9 January 2019, citing "unabated killings" in Kashmir among other things, which, reportedly, was "never accepted" by the central government and he even withdrew the same later.[11][12][13]

On 4 February 2019, Shah Faesal began his momentary political life by giving a public speech in his hometown of Kupwara.[14][15] Shortly after, on 16 March 2019, he announced his own political party, the Jammu and Kashmir People's Movement (JKPM).[16] He left politics on 10 August 2020 and quit the JKPM.[1]

He was reinstated in the Indian Administrative Service in April 2022 by the Modi government.[17] In August 2022, he was posted as Deputy Secretary in Union Ministry for Tourism.[18][13]

Early life and education

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Faesal Shah was born in the Sogam area of Lolab Valley, located in Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir. His father, Ghulam Rasool Shah, was a teacher who was killed by militants in 2002.[19][20][21] Shah Faesal was 19 at the time.[8] Not only was his father a teacher, but his mother, Mubeena Shah, as well as grandfather were teachers.[10]

He is a 2008 batch graduate of the Jhelum Valley Medical College.[22] He holds an MBBS degree from Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), Srinagar as well as has a master's degree in Urdu.[23][24] He finished MBBS at 26 and left IAS at 35. In 2018, he was a recipient of the Fulbright-Fellowship at Harvard Kennedy School.[25]

Bureaucrat career

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Before cracking Civil Service exam, Faesal was the gold medalist at Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), Srinagar, where he studied medicine.[26] In 2009, he became the first Kashmiri to get first place in the UPSC civil services exam, which he also cleared on his first attempt. He was also the first candidate from Kashmir in several years to be selected to the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) through open merit.[8] He was the fourth Muslim (after Independence) to top the civil service exam.[27]

On 16 August 2012, Faisal was appointed as the assistant commissioner, revenue, of Pulwama district.[28] He was transferred to the deputy commissioner of Bandipora district on 8 February 2014.[29] He was transferred to the position of Director School Education, Kashmir, on 22 August 2015, replacing Showkat Ahmad Beigh. Sajad Hussain Ganai replaced him as deputy commissioner of Bandipora.[30] Faesal on 26 March 2016 was temporarily given the additional charge of the vice-chairman of J&K Lakes and Waterways Development Authority while Sarmad Hafeez had been sent to Hyderabad for the IAS Induction Training Programme.[31]

During his stint as director of school education, he faced a months-long shutdown of schools during the 2016 Kashmir unrest, causing him to sarcastically post on Facebook that he needed a job, which invited varied comments.[32] Ajaz Ahmad Bhat took over the charge from him on 18 October 2016, after he had been transferred to J&K State Power Development Corporation and made its managing director.[33] He was transferred from his post to that of an administrative secretary to the state tourism department in May 2018, however, was later asked to remain on his current post.[34]

Faesal also received the Fulbright-Nehru Masters's Fellowship in May 2018 to study at the Harvard Kennedy School.[35] He tendered his resignation from the IAS on 9 January 2019 citing "unabated killings" in Kashmir among other things, through a Facebook post.[11] He was also generally disillusioned with his role as a bureaucrat, which included jailing people and imposing curfews.[10]

In April 2022, he presented an application for withdrawing his resignation & was reinstated in the service,[17] and in August 2022, he was posted as Deputy Secretary in Union Ministry for Tourism.[18][13]

Political career

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On 4 February 2019, Faesal Shah began his political life by giving a public speech in his hometown of Kupwara.[14][15] During this speech he compared his experience in the IAS with feeling like having "spent the last 10 years in a jail."[36] On 25 February 2019, he announced during a live debate on NDTV that he is launching his own political party and has already applied to the Election Commission regarding this.[37] On 16 March 2019, he announced through Facebook that he would be launching his own political party on 17 March, the Jammu & Kashmir Peoples' Movement (JKPM), at a football ground in Rajbagh area, Srinagar.[38]

Faesal formed the JKPM on 21 March and stated it would provide a political platform to the youth as well as veteran politicians with a clean image.[1] He later announced that it will not contest the 2019 Indian general election to focus more on outreach, and encouraged people to vote for the right politicians. He also said the party would focus on safeguarding Article 370 and Article 35A of the Constitution of India.[39] On 18 June, he and Engineer Rashid announced that their parties, JKPM and Awami Ittehad Party, will be entering into a political alliance called Peoples United Front. The main points of its agenda were the resolution of the Kashmir dispute based on the wishes of Kashmiris, peaceful relations between India and Pakistan, protecting the state's special status, return of Kashmiri Pandits and release of all politicians from detention.[40]

Faesal was one of the political leaders detained after the revocation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir. As he tried to take a flight to Turkey on 14 August 2019, he was stopped and later taken into preventive detention.[41] He was first kept at the Centaur Hotel in Srinagar and then shifted to the MLA hostel where he spent the next six months.[42]

Faesal later in August filed a habeas corpus plea before the Delhi High Court, stating that he was going to the United States to complete his studies, but had been illegally detailed. The government of the union territory stated that he had no student visa, and upon being brought to Srinagar Airport, provoked the people to protest against India. It additionally claimed that he had refused to guarantee that he won't create any such situation again if released.[43] The plea was withdrawn by his wife after she met him in September 2019.[44]

He was booked under the Public Safety Act in February 2020, being accused of subtly advocating separatism.[41] The detention under PSA was extended by three months on 13 May.[45] On 3 June, PSA against Faesal was revoked[46] and he was released after a detention of 10 months.[47] He was, however, put under house arrest on the very next day.[41]

Faesal has also written for the Greater Kashmir newspaper and was a part of Jammu & Kashmir's Right to Information movement along with Dr. Raja Muzaffar Bhat.[48]

JKPM announced on 10 August 2020 that Faisal had told them he couldn't remain in politics any longer and asked to be relieved from being a member of the party, which they acceded to. Chairman Javaid Mustafa Mir was chosen as his replacement.

Controversies

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Faesal Shah wrote bold social media posts even as a bureaucrat.[49] In July 2018, when he was a civil servant, he had posted a tweet, writing:

"Population +patriarchy +illiteracy +alcohol +porn +technology +anarchy = rapistan".[50]

People had said his tweet was in relation to India, but he had later clarified it was not.[51] However disciplinary action was taken by the Jammu and Kashmir government as well as the central government's Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions and the inquiry was still going on before his resignation.[11][12]

During the 2016 Kashmir unrest, Faesal had urged the national media not to use his pictures for drawing a comparison with Burhan Wani, a Kashmiri militant and commander of Hizbul Mujahideen. During this episode he had threatened to resign through a Facebook post if such primetime propaganda did not stop.[52][53] In 2019, Hizbul Mujahideen circulated a poster warning people about Shah Faesal.[54]

In February 2019, the Ministry of Home Affairs withdrew the security cover of 155 people in Jammu and Kashmir, and this included Shah Faesal, who had until then had been provided security as a bureaucrat.[55][56]

On 14 August 2019 he was detained while flying out of IGI Airport to Turkey and sent back to Kashmir.[57]

Views

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Apart from the Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan, Shah Faesal has also named Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal as a role model.[58][59] Mani Shankar Aiyar, another Indian bureaucrat turned politician who went on to become a Union Minister, wrote an article on Shah Faesal called "Kashmir's Arvind Kejriwal".[10]

On 3 March 2019, Shah Faesal recommended the Nobel Peace Prize for Imran Khan for "saving South Asia from a nuclear catastrophe."[60]

Faesal, during a talk in New Delhi in February 2019 at the India International Center, said that Kashmir is like a "High Altitude Graveyard".[61] He has suggested ways forward including "humanising the discourse" and advising people not to see the Kashmir issue as a mere "law and order problem".[62]

On 5 March 2021, taking to Twitter, Faesal wrote, "Friends let’s sort it out for once. I have always been pro-India. But now I am single-mindedly, shamelessly, helplessly and unapologetically pro-India. I stick to my side. It is a long story and I have to tell this story one day. But this is how it is going to be. Peace."[63]

Personal life

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Shah Faesal is married to Iram Rashid, an officer of KAS, and has a son named Jami Faesal.[64]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "16 Months On, J&K Bureaucrat-Turned-Politician Shah Faesal Quits Politics". NDTV. 10 August 2020. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  2. ^ "Cabinet orders reshuffle of bureaucrats". The Tribune. 16 October 2016. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  3. ^ Khatju, Junaid (19 January 2019). "JKSPDCL facing hardships without MD". Rising Kashmir. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  4. ^ "Shuffle in middle..." (PDF). Greater Kashmir. 18 February 2014. p. 10. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  5. ^ "Srinagar doc becomes first Kashmiri to top IAS". DNA. 7 May 2010.
  6. ^ "IAS officer Shah Faesal posted to Union Culture Ministry". The Hindu. 1 September 2022. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  7. ^ "IAS officer Shah Faesal appointed deputy secretary in ministry of culture". Hindustan Times. 31 August 2022. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  8. ^ a b c Sarkar, Urvashi (7 May 2010). "Shah Faesal is first Kashmiri to top civil services exam". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 12 April 2019. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  9. ^ Sharma, Suruchi (14 February 2011). "They find me glamourous [sic]: Shah Faesal". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 11 March 2019. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  10. ^ a b c d Aiyar, Mani Shankar (23 February 2019). "Kashmir's Arvind Kejriwal". The Week. Archived from the original on 8 March 2019. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
  11. ^ a b c "IAS officer Shah Faesal resigns from services to 'protest killings' in Kashmir". The Times of India. 9 January 2019. Archived from the original on 12 January 2019. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  12. ^ a b Ashiq, Peerzada (19 January 2019). "Who is Shah Faesal?". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 25 March 2019. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  13. ^ a b c "Shah Faesal returns to bureaucracy, appointed deputy secretary in Ministry of Culture". The Indian Express. 13 August 2022. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
  14. ^ a b "Shah Faesal begins political journey". The Tribune. Tribune News Service. 5 February 2019. Archived from the original on 7 March 2019. Retrieved 6 March 2019.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  15. ^ a b Gangai, Naseer (4 February 2019). "Kashmir Is A Political Issue, Can Be Resolved Through Dialogue: Shah Faesal In His First Public Rally". Outlook India. Archived from the original on 6 March 2019. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  16. ^ "Shah Faesal to announce party's name this week". The Tribune. 10 March 2019. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
  17. ^ a b "Reinstated in IAS, Shah Faesal says: 'Idealism let me down'". The Indian Express. 28 April 2022. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
  18. ^ a b "New Post For Kashmir's Shah Faesal, Back To Civil Service After Politics". NDTV.com. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
  19. ^ "Kashmir's new all-India elite". The Hindu. 2 June 2012. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  20. ^ "Shah Faisal's feat draws accolades from PM Manmohan Singh". Daily News and Analysis. Press Trust of India. 7 June 2010. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  21. ^ "Waited for bombs to crash through our roofs: Shah Faesal's heartbreaking account of Kashmir panic". India Today. 2 March 2019. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
  22. ^ "Shah Faisal: UPSC Civil Services Exam 2010 Topper". UPSC Topper. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  23. ^ "Supremo". Supremo. 17 May 1983. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
  24. ^ "IAS officer Shah Faesal resigns from services to 'protest killings' in Kashmir". The Times of India. 9 January 2019.
  25. ^ "Fulbright Scholars Prepare to Depart for the U.S." U.S. Embassy & Consulates in India. 24 May 2018. Archived from the original on 1 October 2018. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  26. ^ "The Weekend Leader – Positive Stories from Around India of Unsung Heroes, Change Makers, Entrepreneurs, Startups, Innovators, Green Warriors". www.theweekendleader.com. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  27. ^ "Interview with Shah Faisal, UPSC Topper 2010". iUPSC.com. Ritika Chopra, HT. Retrieved 6 March 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  28. ^ "4 IAS officers among 19 transferred". Daily Excelsior. 17 August 2012. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  29. ^ "23 IAS, IPS, IFS Officers Among 55 Transferred in J&K". Greater Kashmir. 8 February 2014. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  30. ^ "Govt orders transfers in administration". Greater Kashmir. 22 August 2015. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  31. ^ "Dheeraj gets charge of PDC; Shah Faesal gets LAWDA". Greater Kashmir. 27 March 2016. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  32. ^ "Kashmir School Education Director's FB post draws sharp reaction". Deccan Chronicle. 8 October 2016. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  33. ^ "Ajaz takes over as Director School Education". Greater Kashmir. 18 October 2016. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  34. ^ "Shah Faesal to continue as MD J&K State Power Dev Corpn". Rising Kashmir. 9 May 2018. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  35. ^ Qadri, Azhar (10 January 2019). "IAS topper Faesal lit hope in many, ruffled some feathers too". The Tribune. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  36. ^ Ehsan, Mir (5 February 2019). "Spent the last 10 years in a jail, says ex-IAS officer Shah Faesal about his tenure". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  37. ^ "Ex-IAS Officer Shah Faesal Announces He's Forming a New Party". The Quint. 26 February 2019. Archived from the original on 26 February 2019. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  38. ^ Ashiq, Peerzada (16 March 2019). "Former IAS officer Shah Faesal to launch political party". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  39. ^ "Ex-IAS officer Shah Faesal's party not to contest Lok Sabha elections, urges people to vote". Hindustan Times. 23 March 2019. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  40. ^ "Jammu And Kashmir Gets First Pre-Poll Alliance In Run-Up To Assembly Polls". Press Trust of India. NDTV. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  41. ^ a b c Naqushbandi, Ubeer (4 June 2020). "Day after his release, Shah Faesal put under house arrest". Greater Kashmir. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  42. ^ Ehsan, Mir (15 February 2020). "J-K leader Shah Faesal booked under Public Safety Act". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
  43. ^ "Faesal detained after he 'instigated' people against country in his address: J&K govt tells HC". Press Trust of India. Times of India. 27 August 2019. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  44. ^ Mathur, Aneesha (12 September 2019). "Shah Faesal withdraws plea from Delhi HC challenging his detention". India Today. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  45. ^ "Shah Faesal's detention extended by 3 months under PSA". The Print. 14 May 2020. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  46. ^ "J&K Leader Shah Faesal To Be Released, Stringent Public Safety Act Revoked". NDTV. 3 June 2020. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  47. ^ Ashiq, Peerzada (3 June 2020). "Shah Faesal, two PDP leaders released". The Hindu. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  48. ^ Bhat, Saima (4 March 2020). "Curious Case of Shah Faesal". Kashmir Life. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  49. ^ Iqbal, Naveed (12 February 2019). "Jammu and Kashmir: With selfies, call for 'change', Shah Faesal takes first steps". The Indian Express. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
  50. ^ "J&K Govt Initiates Disciplinary Action Against 2010". Outlook India. 11 July 2018. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
  51. ^ Raina, Muzaffar (10 January 2019). "IAS officer Shah Faesal quits, citing intolerance". The Telegraph. Kolkota. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
  52. ^ "Spare Me: Kashmir IAS Topper Shah Faesal Threatens To Resign". NDTV. IANS. 16 July 2016. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
  53. ^ "Don't compare me with Burhan Wani: Kashmiri IAS officer to media". Deccan Chronicle. 16 July 2016. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
  54. ^ "Hizbul Mujahideen cautions people about Shah Faesal". Daily News and Analysis (DNA). 30 January 2019. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
  55. ^ "Govt Withdraws Security To 18 Separatist Leaders, 155 Politicians Including Shah Faesal in J&K". Outlook India. 20 February 2019. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
  56. ^ "Shah Faesal's security clearance withdrawn by J&K administration". Daily News and Analysis (DNA). PTI. 12 February 2019. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
  57. ^ "Former IAS officer Shah Faesal detained at Delhi airport, placed under house arrest in Kashmir". 14 August 2019.
  58. ^ "I'm deeply inspired by Imran Khan: Faesal Rasool Shah". The Times of India. 11 January 2019. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
  59. ^ "Imran Khan, Kejriwal inspired me to join politics, says Shah Faesal". India Today. Press Trust of India. 11 January 2019. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
  60. ^ "Ex-IAS officer Faesal Rasool Shah recommends Nobel Peace Prize for Imran Khan, draws flak". The New Indian Express. 3 March 2019. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  61. ^ "Kashmir is More Like High Altitude Graveyard, Says Faesal Rasool Shah After Pulwama Terror Strike Claims 40". News18. 15 February 2019. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
  62. ^ Singh, Ravi S (15 February 2019). "Trust deficit among Kashmiri youth towards Indian state: Shah Faesal". The Tribune. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
  63. ^ Staff, J. K. R. (6 March 2021). ""Shamelessly, helplessly and unapologetically pro-India.": Kashmiri IAS topper Shah Faesal leaves netizens confused with fresh social media post". Janta Ka Reporter 2.0. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  64. ^ "Petition in HC seeks release of Shah Faesal". The Hindu. 23 February 2019. Retrieved 11 August 2020.

Bibliography

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