Return of the prodigal: 'Separatist' Shah Faesal back in the service

Faesal's reinstatement in the IAS portends ill for the premier civil service and will impact the government's position in cases that might come up before the Central Administrative Tribunal and other

A day before he was detained at Delhi airport on August 14, 2019, trying to board a flight to Turkey, 'renegade' Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Shah Faesal tweeted that the only choice after the abrogation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) was to “either be a stooge or a separatist”.

A contrite Faesal who had resigned citing “unabated killings” in Kashmir on January 9, 2019, has re-joined the IAS three years later, meekly mumbling, “My idealism has let me down.” The government has embraced him despite his earlier description of his years in the IAS as