Ex-IAS officer Faesal invites flak for 'no Eid' tweet

While the J&K residents celebrated Eid with thousands offering prayers at mosques, Faesal tweeted: "There is no Eid. Kashmiris across the world are mourning the illegal annexation of their land. There shall be no Eid till everything that has been stolen and snatched since 1947 is returned."

"No Eid till the last bit of insult is avenged and undone," he posted and has invited strong criticism on social media.

Faesal, who topped the civil services examination conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) and inspired Kashmiri youth to aspire for the Indian Administrative Service, has been vocal on Facebook and Twitter in his criticism of the government move to revoke special status for Kashmir.

Karlapu Kiran Kumar, who appeared in the UPSC examination same year as Faesal, tweeted: "We both wrote the UPSC same year. He got the first rank. I was at rank 370. He got the IAS. I got the Indian Revenue Service (C&CE). And now, I'm here in Mumbai serving the nation that has given me this opportunity. And he..."

Lt Gen (rtd) Satish Dua tweeted: "Sad to see such sentiment from those who could be the new hope for 'A New Kashmir'. Hoping a new breed of leaders will meet the aspirations of Kashmiri people, letting reality speak rather than rhetoric. Please reinvent @shahfaesal & others, don't fall for past templates of leadership."

Another former army officer tweeted: "Mr Faesal, by encouraging bloodbath & violence you have shown your separatist colours. Whose command are you taking over -- Hurriyat or HM (Hizbul Mujehideen)? Eid will be celebrated in Kashmir with full spirit."

Faesal's tweets are surprising considering he was in Delhi on Sunday at the time of posting the tweet, according to a journalist.

On August 7, after revocation of Article 370 that gave special status to J&K, Faesal posted on Facebook: "Kashmir is experiencing an unprecedented lockdown. Its entire eight million population has been incarcerated like never before."

Faesal, who quit the IAS in January 2019 citing "unabated killings" in Kashmir, tweeted last Tuesday: "Unprecedented horror in Kashmir. Everyone is heartbroken. A sense of defeat written on every face. Fall."

"From citizens to subjects. History has taken a catastrophic turn for all of us. People are numb. A people whose land, identity, history, was stolen, in broad day light." wrote Faesal.

The former IAS topper had launched his political outfit -- J&K Peoples' Movement (JKPM) -- in Srinagar in March, promising a youth-oriented politics and to become a voice to help bridge the gap between the state and the Centre, and India and Pakistan. However, it has failed to make a mark.