Dr Faisal would have no room in NC’s autonomy, PDP’s ‘self-rule’

Omar, Mehbooba should learn a lesson of silence from Geelani, Mirwaiz

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, May 7: Kashmiris, identifying themselves with a positive transformation in this piece of the world, have every reason to be ecstatic over Dr Shah Faisal’s historic achievement of becoming this state’s first topper in Indian Civil Services examination in the last over 60 years of Independent India. Everybody, from intelligentsia to an ordinary Kashmiri, seems to be justifiably thrilled. Valley’s separatist leadership has reasons to its silence: Faisal’s father, Ghulam Rasool Shah, who was gunned down by the armed Messiahs of our pro-Azadi leaders in July 2002, was buried without a word of condemnation from politicians. Secondly, praising Faisal’s accomplishment would obviously run the risk of romanticizing the infidelity of Kashmir’s integration with the ‘occupational India’.

After abusing the Indian Civil Services---particularly Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and Indian Police Service (IPS) --- in a competition of over 10 years, both the mainstream majors, namely National Conference (NC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), have suddenly begun to outclass each other in showering praises on Dr Faisal for doing his home state proud by standing first in order of merit among hundreds of thousands of the candidates of this country, whose population is over 1,000 million. Since Thursday afternoon, greetings have been exuberantly pouring in from all men and women of consequence in Dr Farooq Abdullah’s NC and Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s PDP.

Rulers and ex-rulers, who had not the courtesy of allotting a government accommodation to Shah’s destitute family in the wake of its migration from Sogam village of Kupwara to Srinagar, have been shamelessly shooting off greetings and statements of praise on the woman who has given the history’s most befitting reply to the killers of her husband. Shah, according to his neighbours in Lolab valley, was neither an “Indian agent” nor an informant of Police or security forces. Forgetting a fellow villager’s beheading on the premises of Jamia Masjid of Sogam few months back, he had done the mistake of resisting a foreign militant’s “hand shake” with a girl of his neighbourhood. He was eliminated within a day.

Then Chief Minister Dr Farooq Abdullah’s Minister of State for Home and Law, Mushtaq Ahmed Lone, who lived at a stone’s throw from Shah’s house, chose to be a mute spectator to both of his neighbours’ slayings. He became famous for his trademark abusing of “renegades” (Kashmiri militants shifting their loyalties to Police and armed forces) but still failed to get militants’ support of silence to his election campaign. In two month’s of Shah’s killings, Lone was gunned down alongwith his armed guard in full view of his Police and CRPF protection and over a thousand of his audiences at an election rally at Tikkipora village. His brother, Mohiuddin, was not spared either. In the next three months, he met the NC leader’s fate outside his residence in Sogam.

Shah’s wife, Mubeena, who teaches Kashmiri at a high school, came over the tribulation in utter helplessness. She raised both of her sons--- Faisal and Shahnawaz--- as doctors. Her daughter got a job in Education Department. Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad’s as well as Saif-ud-din Soz’s congratulations to Faisal and his mother are understandable in the sense that both believe in the state’s undiluted integration with the rest of the country. Governor N N Vohra’s appreciation of Faisal’s feat and a public invitation to him and his mother also deserves respect. But, one fails to understand what precisely has thrilled leaders of the ruling NC and opposition PDP who have been both avowed detractors of central Civil Services in Jammu & Kashmir.

Getting thrilled over Faisal’s historic achievement in a civil services competition has got to be patently different from the street excitement over Qazi Tauqeer’s distinction in a countrywide singing competition on television. Faisal is obviously going to join IAS---a central administrative service which has no room either in NC’s “greater autonomy” or in PDP’s “self-rule”. Unlike NC, PDP can celebrate Faisal’s success with one-odd firecracker after Muzaffar Hussain Baig’s recent statement in which the legal luminary suggested a marginal provision for IAS and IPS in Jammu & Kashmir.

To simplify, a couple of the sons of soil like Dr Faisal could be accommodated in the state government if PDP one day succeeded to get “self rule” from New Delhi. All 26 sons of soil, who are currently in IAS, would have to be disowned and thrown out to the Centre if New Delhi ever granted “greater autonomy” to this state of special constitutional status. Fate of those in IPS and the separately managed Indian Forest Service would have to be no different. Yes, all the brilliant members of the IAS, IPS and IFS club, preserving laminated originals of their Permanent Resident Certificates (PRCs), would be entitled to owning immovable properties in their state of domicile.

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