Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Shah Faesal has shared a personal account of his struggles and eventual revival in public service.
In a message posted on social media, Faesal as per news agency Kashmir Indepth News Service (KINS) recalled a phase when he felt professionally sidelined and personally isolated. “A time came in my life when I found myself at the bottom of a ditch, professionally and personally. My qualifications still mattered on paper, but the world had moved on. Friends had vanished, recognition had faded, and the future felt sealed shut,” he wrote.
Despite losing hope, he said he resolved to make one last attempt to return to public service, though he feared his identity might be held against him. “Would I be judged for being a Kashmiri, being a Muslim” he asked candidly.
Faesal further wrote: “The opening came sooner than I imagined. A true visionary recognized the worth in my modest beginnings and the struggles that had shaped me. He seemed to read the intent behind my journey, he forgave, the way a priest- king might, measuring not pedigree but purpose. It was a quiet gesture that restored my dignity,” he stated.
While promising to narrate the full story one day, he used the occasion of the Prime Minister’s birthday to publicly express his gratitude. “Many happy returns of the day to the man who transformed a billion lives – Hon’ble Prime Minister of India @narendramodi ,” he concluded.(KINS)
