'Idealism Let Me Down, Setbacks Make Us Stronger': Shah Faesal Reinstated in IAS

Faesal, in August 2020, had stepped down from the position of president of Jammu and Kashmir People’s Movement.

File image of bureaucrat-turned-politician Shah Faesal.

(Photo: The Quint)

The government has accepted Kashmiri IAS officer Shah Faesal’s application for withdrawing his resignation and reinstated him in the civil services, Home Ministry officials told news agency PTI on Thursday, 28 April.

On Wednesday, Faesal hinted on Twitter that he was rejoining the civil services. This comes nearly two years after bureaucrat-turned-politician Shah Faesal, in August 2020, stepped down from the position of president of Jammu and Kashmir People’s Movement (JKPM).

"8 months of my life (Jan 2019-Aug 2019) created so much baggage that I was almost finished. While chasing a chimera, I lost almost everything that I had built over the years. Job. Friends. Reputation. Public goodwill. But I never lost hope. My idealism had let me down," he wrote on Twitter on Wednesday.

"But I had faith in myself. That I would undo the mistakes I had made. That life would give me another chance. A part of me is exhausted with the memory of those 8 months and wants to erase that legacy. Much of it is already gone. Time will mop off the rest In believe."

Shah Faesal

"Just thought of sharing that life is beautiful. It is always worth giving ourselves another chance. Setbacks make us stronger. And there is an amazing world beyond the shadows of the past. I turn 39 next month. And I'm really excited to start all over again," Faesal continued.

From IAS to Politics: A Glimpse at Faesal's Trajectory

In January 2019, Faesal had announced his resignation from the civil services, and held a press conference in which he declared his reasons for doing so:

“This resignation is a small act of defiance to remind the central government of its responsibility towards the people of Jammu and Kashmir," he had stated.

“The constitutional arrangement, which exists between J&K and Union of India under Article 370 and 35A, has been constantly invoked for electoral gains in the rest of the country. I’m appalled by the failure of the government to facilitate the homecoming of Kashmiri Pandits to the Valley and lack of initiative to bring peace to the lives of border residents of the state.”

Shah Faesal, January 2019

In March 2019, Faesal founded the Jammu and Kashmir People’s Movement.

On 5 August 2019, however, J&K’s special status was revoked with the abrogation of Article 370. Within days, Faesal was picked up from the Delhi airport and put under detention, placing a firm lid on all his political activity.

Days after his release from nearly a year-long detention in August 2020, Faesal announced his decision to step down from politics.