Shah Faesal, the first Indian Administrative Services (IAS) topper from the Kashmir valley and the Managing Director of the J&K Power Development Corporation, is facing centre and the state government's wrath for his tweets about the 'rape culture'.
Shah had posted a tweet that read, "Population + Patriarchy + Illiteracy + Alcohol + Porn + Technology + Anarchy = Rapistan". He had also replied to a tweet by posting a link to a news article about a porn addict raping his own mother.
Shah has now been served a notice by the Department of Personnel and Training, which has asked the State General Administration Department to initiate an inquiry against the bureaucrat.
Shah is currently in the United States, studying under a Fulbright scholarship and has taken a leave from his services.
The bureaucrat, in fact, went on to share the notice from the government on social media. He referred to the notice as a "love letter from my boss."
In another tweet, Shah said, "Love letter from my boss for my sarcastic tweet against rape-culture in South Asia. The Irony here is that service rules with a colonial spirit are invoked in a democratic India to stifle the freedom of conscience. I'm sharing this to underscore the need for a rule change."
The letter said that Shah has made several references which are contradictory to the provisions under Indian service rules.
It also stated that Shah has failed to maintain the absolute integrity and honesty in the discharge of the official duty and acted in a manner unbecoming of a public servant.
Love letter from my boss for my sarcastic tweet against rape-culture in South Asia.
The Irony here is that service rules with a colonial spirit are invoked in a democratic India to stifle the freedom of conscience.
I'm sharing this to underscore the need for a rule change— Shah Faesal (@shahfaesal) July 10, 2018
The former IAS topper has, however, decided to take the matter head-on and questioned the rules, which bar the public servants from criticizing the government policies.
While speaking to the Wire, he said the governments should realize that any public services officer has a right to speak up on moral and societal issues in a personal capacity, which have nothing to do with the official responsibilities.
He further said that he is keen on reopening the debate around "primitive service rules of the government employees", the Print reported.
However, this time Shah has found support on social media from various quarters.
Former Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah jumped to Shah's rescue and questioned the DoPT letter by tweeting, "Looks like DOPT is determined to chase @shahfaesal out of the civil services. The last line of this page is shocking & unacceptable where they question Faesal's "integrity & honesty". How is a sarcastic tweet dishonest? How does it make him corrupt?."
Shah's earlier social media posts have not gone down well, especially his reference to human rights violations in Kashmir.
