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Shah Faesal: From sensation in 2010 to ‘politician’ in 2019

Shah Faesal was a phenomenon in 2010 when every Kashmiri looked up to him for inspiration.

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Arun Joshi

Shah Faesal was a phenomenon in 2010 when every Kashmiri looked up to him for inspiration. The young man had propelled the Valley into the national consciousness as a place where good things too happen. That marvel has crash-landed into the mundane world of politics.

It is a steep decline from the sublime to ridiculous This decline is not because the IAS topper of 2009, who had become a household name in 2010 for his stupendous and inspiring success, has decided to join politics. It is his personal decision, and there should be no quarrel with that but two points are quite mysterious, if not outright intriguing, about his proposal to traverse the political terrain of Kashmir. It is unclear as to where does he stand: on the side of the militants who killed his father and forced his family to run from Lolab, Kupwara, to Srinagar for safety and security. The militants are also responsible for many atrocities that have inflicted untold pain to thousands of people. Worse, what they have done is to create a situation where militancy, conferred with a dignified term of resistance, made the country respond with equally ruthless counter-terrorism operations. The familiarity of the armed forces to the soil of Kashmir has brought in many unexpected changes on the landscape, and today all Kashmiris are living a split life — their love for what they believe is “a pious revolution” and desperate search for a peaceful and stable life for themselves and their children.

The would-be politician in Faesal has looked at one side of the problem, thus making it clear as to whose side he stands, when he said he had decided to quit the IAS job to protest the “unabated killings” of Kashmiris and the failure of the Union government to reach out to Kashmiris. It has all the ring of half-truth because he is silent on the killing of civilians, policemen in their homes and the worst human crimes of slitting of throats by militants. This makes his political plans selective, ignoring the other side completely.

Second, he made observations about the instances that have plagued the country in the recent years, highlighting the Muslim victimisation. That is a squinted view. What he said here is quite impossible in many parts of the world. India has that tolerance and it gives the freedom of speech and expression that he said was being suppressed in the country.

In 2010, Faesal made youth in Kashmir compete and excel. But now, he has created doubt in their minds that if politics is the final destination, why route it through the IAS and leave your own people disillusioned.

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