As many as 14 students from Jammu and Kashmir have cleared the coveted Union Public Service (UPSC) examinations this year, taking the tally of successful students to nearly five-dozen since Shah Faisel from the valley made history by topping the UPSC list in 2009.
Faisel’s success has inspired an increasing number of students from J&K to appear in the civil services examination, thus becoming a part of the national mainstream. J&K Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and Governor N.N. Vohra have congratulated this year’ successful students, including a girl, Bisma Qazi, and appreciated their hard work.
25-year-old Bisma Qazi, who is from a middle class family in Rambagh on the outskirts of Srinagar, has secured the 115th rank in the UPSC examinations. She is hopeful that she would get into the IAS cadre. She cleared the civil services examination in her second attempt. She attributed her success to encouragement from her parents. She said that the violence of 2016 was a real challenge for her as she could not get any literature or newspaper for months. She kept herself abreast with the latest happenings by watching television channels, especially Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha TV.
Many students said that they faced similar difficulties. However, they also clearly distanced themselves from slain Hizbul Mujahideen commander, terrorist Burhan Wani and militancy in Kashmir in general. “All this is because of my hard work. I have my own dreams and my own goals to serve society. Please keep us away from the politics of Kashmir,” Bisma Qazi told this reporter.
Many Kashmiri students in the past few years have migrated outside J&K to study in various educational institutions and have excelled from there. “The sliding situation has proved a blessing for many students in Kashmir. Most of them outside J&K have grown intellectually and academically,” said Dr Sabeha Mufti, a senior professor at the University of Kashmir. He said that most academicians in Kashmir believe that in a decade’s time, Kashmiri students will dominate most competitive examinations including the civil services.
Among the other successful candidates this time are Bilal Mohiuddin Bhat of Handwara, who came tenth in the merit list; Fakruddin (ranked 85); Suhail (125); Saqib (472); Inayat Khaliq (605); Anayat Choudhary (808); Sahil Dhingra (917).