>> Faesal becomes first Kashmiri to top UPSC examinations

Shah Faesal

SRINAGAR: It was a battle against all odds for 26-year-old Shah Faesal after his father was killed by militants in 2001, but this student of medicine overcame the trauma to become the first Kashmiri to top the Civil Service examinations.

Celebrations erupted in his native Sogam in the Lolab valley as the news reached the residents. Faesal's mother Mubeena, a school teacher, ensured that her children were able to continue their education after their father Ghulam Rasool Shah, also a teacher, was killed by militants in Kupwara in 2001.

Faesal, an MBBS degree-holder who topped the prestigious examination in his maiden attempt, said it was a dream come true and a proud moment for his family. “My father was a great inspiration. He was a great teacher. I gathered courage, and ultimately it is the efforts I put in that paid results,” Faesal, who is in Delhi, told PTI.

His brother Shahnawaz Shah is also a doctor. Faesal studied in the high school at Sogam and the Bisco Higher Secondary School, Srinagar. He got his medical degree from the Government Medical College, Srinagar.

Faesal topped the list of 875 candidates, who qualified in the Civil Service Examinations, 2009. — PTI