Rakib Altaf
SRINAGAR, May 9: Remaining in news for separatist sentiment and stone pelting is nothing unusual for the youth of Sopore town in North Kashmir.
But now that stereotype seems to be breaking as the town has made a place in the Indian administration.
For the first time, two youth from Sopore- Qazi Muhammad Salman and Basheer Ahmed Bhat- have been selected in the coveted Indian Civil services exams this year.
Although born in Handwara, Qazi Muhammad Salman-who ranked 459th in the exam-has been brought up in the thick of militancy in Sopore.
Across Kashmir, an increasing number of youth are appearing in the Indian Civil Service after Shah Faisal, a Kupwara youth created ripples by topping the prestigious Indian Administrative Service examination in 2010.
‘NO CHANGE ON GROUND’
Qazi, however, denies that his becoming an Indian civil servant is reflective of the changing priorities of the youth in his hometown.
“Aspirations are the same everywhere. Everybody wants to serve people and yet have a respectable career,” he said adding, “It will be unfair to link my selection with changing priorities. It won’t radically change anything”.
Basheer Ahmed Bhat, who figured 434th on the selection list and hopes to join the Indian Railway service, refused to comment on the cause-and-effect of his selection because he did not want to get into “politics”.
But he said that his selection and the others who qualified were “definitely a good omen for the state.”
‘CHANCE TO HELP’
Bastion of hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Sopore has been on the forefront ever since militancy erupted in Kashmir in the early nineties. Sopore was explosive during the summer unrest of 2010 in which about 120 youth were killed in police and paramilitary firing.
The continuous violence in the town since 1989 resulted in town being ignored by successive governments in terms of economy, employment and infrastructure.
For Qazi a former software engineer, cracking the civil services exam means a chance to “work on the ground”, for his ‘marginalised’ land.
“I always wanted to help the marginalised section of the society. I was into computers but I felt there was no opportunity to be of any help,” Qazi said.
