A Kashmiri Muslim has topped the prestigious civil services examinations. Physician Shah Faesal stood first among 875 candidates who qualified for the prestigious Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) examinations.
Hamid now is secretary of the New Delhi-based Hamdard Education Society, which runs the Hamdard Study Circle. It was there that Faesal received his coaching.
“The Hamdard Study Circle has been in operation since 1991, and we have had many successes in the past. More than 220 students have qualified from our institute. The best result was when one of our students secured fourth place at the All-India level,” he said.
Indians in the Gulf were also excited. “It is a great moment for all of us. Faesal’s phenomenal success and of other Indian Muslims will sow the seeds of inspiration in our community,” said Zishan Ali Khan, the Dubai-based regional manager for a UK-based oil and gas company.
A total of 875 candidates — 680 men and 195 women — were recommended for appointment to Indian Administrative Service, Indian Foreign Service, Indian Police Service and other central services. Besides Faesal, there are 20 Muslims on the list of 875 successful candidates.
Among them are Mohammed Y. Safeerullah, Mohammed Shahid Alam, Rayees Mohammed Bhat, Muhammad Siddique Alam, Abid Khan, Abu Imran, Ashiquzzaman, Tamanna Alam, Mohammed Yusuf Qureshi, Mir Umair Nabi, Danish Ashraf, K. Asif Hafeez and Rizwan Ahmed.
A total of 409,110 students applied to take the test in 2009. Of those 193,091 appeared for the preliminary examination. Only 12,026 of them qualified for the written test, and then only 2,432 of them were short-listed for the all-important personality test, which was conducted in March and April this year.
Prakash Rajpurohit, a bachelor of technology degree holder from the Indian Institute of Technology in Delhi, came second while Iva Sahay, a master’s in geography from Jawaharlal Nehru University, secured the third rank.
