Shah Faisal became the first Kashmiri to stand first in the Civil Services Main Exams

 Shah Faisal's relatives hug each other and celebrate the occasion. Photo courtesy : The Hindu

01 - 001 - 025085 - SHAH FAISAL
02 - 055 - 080334 - MOHAMMED YUSUF QURESHI
03 - 074 - 271879 - MOHD SHAHID ALAM
04 - 080 - 275973 - YUNUS
05 - 118 - 095813 - AHMED IQBAL
06 - 124 - 044701 - RAYEES MOHAMMAD BHAT
07 - 135 - 272377 - MD SADIQUE ALAM
08 - 144 - 124046 - ABID KHAN
09 - 209 - 090920 - ABU IMRAN
10 - 249 - 093001 - ASHIQUZZAMAN
11 - 256 - 340881 - SHOWKAT AHMAD PARRAY
12 - 28 - 161562 - TAMANNA ALAM
13 - 325 - 034418 - ANSARI SUHAIL M SHAFI
14 - 331 - 082815 - MOHAMMED YUSUF QURESHI
15 - 341 - 079028 - SEEMA DHANKER
16 - 36  - 005619 - MIR UMAIR NABI
17 - 40  - 011141 - DANISH ASHRAF
18 - 45  - 009107 - FARAZ AHMED QURESHI
19 - 556 - 042017 - RIZVI SARAH AFZAL AHMED
20 - 569 - 026098 - AHMED MUYEEN FAROOQI
21 - 608 - 007497 - DAULAT KUMAR
22 - 610 - 025085 - K ASIF HAFEEZ
23 - 741 - 109040 - RIZWAN AHMED

http://www.upsc.gov.in/

This is the list of Muslim Canditates who have passed with flying colours in the written part of Civil Services (Main) Examination, 2008 held by the Union Public Service Commission in October-November, 2008 and the interviews for Personality Test held in March-April, 2009, and who have been recommended for appointment to Indian Administrative Service, Indian Foreign Service, Indian Police Service and Central Services, Group ‘A’ and Group ‘B’. A total number of 875 candidates have been recommended for appointment including 399 General (including 21 Physically Challenged candidates), 273 Other Backward Classes(including 09 Physically Challenged candidates), 127 Scheduled Castes and 76 Scheduled Tribes candidates.
First of all let me congratulate them.

Hats off to Brother Doctor Shah Faisal who stands first among the successful canditates. All other twenty two brothers and sisters deserve congratulations.

Next, the details. The total number of canditates passed this year is 875. The total number of Muslim canditates is 23. ie 2.63%

Last year it was 4.04% The percentage of successful Muslim canditates continues to hover around 3% to 5% for the past 20 years.

Whenever the UPSC results are announced I analyse and scan the list to find out the Muslim names. I have been doing it for the past seventeen years. It never reached the three digits. It never reached fifty. I always end up frustrated, disappointed and disheartened.

Questions, piercing, penetrating, intimidating questions used to boggle my mind. They used to rob my peace of mind. To be honest, I could not find answers. I had shared the questions last year. You can read them here Now I think I have got the answers. It is Shah Faisal.

 Dr Shah Faisal beaming with joy. Photo courtesy : The Hindu

Dr Shah Faisal has made the big difference this year. Hats off to this young doctor who seems to be clear headed and self motivated. This is the first time a Kashmiri has topped the list. Some seventeen years back Abubacker Siddique of Tamil Nadu secured second rank. Two years back a Muslim girl stood among the top ten.

A couple of years back Moulvi Waseemur Rahman created history when he became the first Moulvi to join the IAS, IPS brigade. Read success stories of Muslim aspirants here and here

Read Sufiyah Farooqui tops the Muslim list!
Read  A poem, a girl and a success story
Read UPSC, Muslims and Jains

UPDATES:

"Faisal has made every Kashmiri proud with his hard work and dedication."


He comes from a remote village in Kupwara district of strife-torn Kashmir and studied in a village school. Eight years ago, his father was gunned down by militants. But Dr Shah Faisal, a 26-year-old MBBS, has fought the odds and won. On Thursday, Faisal became the first Kashmiri ever to top the civil services exam.

"I don't have words to express how I feel, I am not able to speak. I just wish I was with my family. I am just waiting to hug my mother," Faisal, who came to the capital before the results to "get away from the stress of waiting", told TOI.

''I miss my father most today. He used to dote on me and taught me English and maths when I studied in school," he says.

In Srinagar, his mother Mubeena Begum, thrilled beyond words, says, "Faisal has made every Kashmiri proud with his hard work and dedication."

Faisal, who did his MBBS from Srinagar's Sher-i-Kashmir Medical College, says he was confident of qualifying but never imagined he would be right on top. Among his inspirations, Faisal counts an IPS officer from his state. "I was inspired by one Abdul Gani Mir of my area in Kupwara, who passed his IPS in 1994. I have been in touch with him since 2007, when I thought of sitting for the civil services exams," he says. Gani is currently DIG, CID in Jammu and Kashmir Police.

Faisal's younger brother Shah Nawaz is also a doctor while his younger sister Talat Shah is a library assistant.

Read the full text of interview given by Shah Faisal in TOI :  "Faisal has made every Kashmiri proud with his hard work and dedication."

The phones have not stopped ringing!

The Kashmir Valley erupted in a spontaneous celebration on Thursday after the news.

Seen as recognition of the Kashmiri talent, Faisal is the first Kashmiri Muslim to top the All India Services.

As Faesal was in Delhi, his temporary residence in Srinagar and ancestral home in Sogam village suddenly found themselves thrust in the limelight.“We never imagined that Faisal would achieve such a thing. The phones have not stopped ringing,” said family friend Abdul Majid Pir.

Faisal's mother Mubeena, a government school teacher, is overwhelmed. After the death of Faisal's father, a respected teacher in the area, the family, including a sister and a brother, shifted to Srinagar. “He was disturbed, but he went ahead and was selected,” said Mubeena, tears of joy sparkling in her eyes. “I did not put any restrictions on him and whatever he wanted to do, he went ahead and did it,” said the proud mother.

However, the incident did not affect Faesal's resolve to achieve his goal. People from all walks of life visited Faesal's home to congratulate his family for a feat that has “made every Kashmiri proud.”

In Sogam, people celebrated by bursting crackers.

The last Kashmiri to have qualified for the IAS was Asghar Hassan Samoon. Faesal has entered the elite services after a gap of 16 years. Two more Kashmiris qualified for the Civil Services this year, while one entered the IPS last year.

Read the full report in The Hindu here 

I have chosen the Indian Administrative Service already

Transforming a hurdle into a moment of opportunity, Dr. Shah Faisal coped with personal tragedy to become the first from the Kashmiri province to top the Union Public Service Commission 2009 examinations.

The untimely death of his father in 2002 days before his Pre-Medical Test did not deter Dr. Faesal from clearing the test or from becoming the first candidate from Kashmir in several years to be selected to the Indian Administrative Service through open merit.

Dr.Faisal who turns 27 on May 17 was only 19 when he lost his father.

As friends, well-wishers and the media on Thursday thronged the Hamdard Study Circle premises here where the doctor took coaching for the Civil Services examination, Dr. Faisal said: “I had only two choices — to be bogged down or to stand up and face the challenge.”

A festive atmosphere prevailed as Dr. Faisal, attired in brown formals, articulated himself in well thought out and measured words, surrounded by people eager to shake hands with him and feed him sweets.

Asked why he chose not to pursue medicine, he said: “I felt that I could not have made a change by being at a hospital and wanted to work with the government.” Appearing resolved about which service he wanted to get into, Dr. Faisal said: “I have chosen the Indian Administrative Service already.”

He would like to serve from Kashmir, as he was familiar with the environment and had a vision for it. However, he would not mind serving in any part of the country.

To read the full report in The Hindu  Faisal becomes first Kashmiri to top UPSC list

I hope I have inspired more Kashmiris to sit for civils interview of Shah Faesal to Hindustan Times.

The achievement of Dr Shah Faesal could be understood by the following facts:

 Total number of canditates applied for UPSC this year : 4,09,110

The number of canditates sat for preliminary examination : 1,93,091

Number of persons qualified for the main written test : 12,026

Number of canditates shortlisted for personality test : 2,432

Number of persons qualified for appointment of IAS, IPS, IFS and other services : 875 (680 men and 125 women)

Thus Dr Shah Faesal could be definitely called as what they say in Tamil லட்சத்தில் ஒருவன்! or in Urdu 'Lakhon main Ek!'

Shah Faisal with Dr Syed Hamid.

Read Two circles.net report and Listen Shah Faisal too! Here.

Shah Faisal on Civil Services : "Make it a mission and never take it as a job"

All India topper at UPSC civil services exam Dr Shah Faisal said that the Muslims in India should not worry about what others say of them. Instead, they should work on their own for the upliftment of the community.

 

"There is no reason to get upset if someone doubts your Indianness because you are a Muslim. There is no need for a certificate from anybody that you are an Indian", Faisal, who hails from Kashmir, said at a felicitation function held at Anujman Islam in Mumbai last night.

 

The function was organized by the Federation of Minorities and supported by host of other Muslim NGOs. Faisal, who did his MBBS from Srinagars Sher-i-Kashmir Medical College is the first Kashmiri to top this examination. "Practise any religion in your home or society but outside, do not ever forget that you are an Indian and learn to respect people from other religions," he added.

 

He also reiterated his appeal to Muslim students to chose Civil Services as mission. "Muslim candidates should opt for civil services not as a job but as a mission",

 

Encouraging the gathering to accept the challenges, he said that Muslims instead of waiting for anyone, should work for their empowerment themselves. "No one will come to help you. It is you who need to stand up for the upliftment of the community", Faisal said. "In pursuit of your goal, you will find people who will trouble you because you belong to a particular religion, caste, region but if you have the capability, then nobody can stop you from overcoming these hurdles and reach your goal", Faisal added.

 

He attributed his success to the provision of equality for all enshrined in the Indian constitution. "Indian constitution provides for giving equal rights to everyone irrespective of caste, religion, region and my success in the UPSC exam is a result of that,"

Stating that there was no better country than India, Faisal said, "We create controversies over pity things like caste, religion, region and language."      

From a report in Ummid.com More Here

"Nothing can match the post of a district collector", says M Abubacker Siddique

"I've broken the jinx" exulted Shah Faesal. One of the main reasons for this jinx is that Muslims do not appear in sufficient numbers for these examinations. Explaining why, Dr Syed Hamid says: “Apart from the small middle class, most other Muslims live in bastis where the din and dust would never let a student study in equanimity. Segregation has become so acute that I don’t see things changing very soon.”

But not everyone believes there is reason to despair. M. Abubacker Siddique, for one, is a delighted man today. Back in 1994, this HSC alumnus achieved the brilliant feat of securing the 2nd rank in the UPSC examinations, setting a record that has only now been broken by Faesal. The IAS officer, who is now the private secretary to Union home minister P. Chidambaram, says, “Finally someone has broken the record!” Giving a glimpse of the strong bonds that exist between the institute and its alumni, he says, “I still go back to HSC, and I was on a mock board that interviewed Shah Faesal. Faesal and I, we are the absolute evidence to show that the system is fair.”

As Siddique sees it, low recruitment of Muslims into the civil services is a matter of perception: “Any community needs to know that there is a good chance of getting through and doing well. Once you can see that happen, your numbers will start rising.” Creating more Siddiques and Faesals is clearly vital to changing perceptions, and in order to do so, Siddique says, HSC needs to widen the pool. He says that it should actually move away from the rigorous process of putting applicants through tests and introduce a canvassing system to find bright students and motivate them into giving the UPSC exams a shot. In order to do so, Siddique believes, what needs to be stressed is not the power echelons of New Delhi, but the power they will have to change things at the grassroots. “As an IAS officer, no post can give you more satisfaction than that of a district collector. You get to see things as they happen, and you get to intervene. Nothing can match that.”

From an article by Shreevatsa Nivetia on Hamdard Study Circle in Outlook. More than 165 Muslims have made it to Civil services through Hamdard Study Circle.

To Read More click here.