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Dr. Faesal Shah, the topper of the 2009 Civil Service Examination, was given a warm welcome at his hometown in Jammu and Kashmir. People from the neighbourhood as well as far-flung areas of the city gathered at his residence to welcome him amid drumbeats, flowers and garlands. The 26-year-old MBBS graduate, who topped the list of 875 successful candidates, expressed his delight at the hearty welcome, and said he is happy to have proved the myth of indiscrimination for Kashmiris in the Indian Civil Services to be a wrong conception. "There are many myths circulating in Kashmir . One of the myths is that we are getting discriminated; one of the myths is that we don't have exposure, we don't have talent; I think we will have to deal with inferiority complex that is inside us," said Dr. Faesal Shah. "I have proven today that a Kashmiri can do it in the first attempt and do it without coaching and he can do it from Srinagar only," he added. The locals lauded his success and termed it as the pride of Kashmir . "We have talent as shown by Faesal Saheb. He has made Kashmir proud. We lack exposure that is the only problem. Rest is okay," said Athar Sayed, a resident of Srinagar . Transforming a hurdle into an opportunity, Dr. Faesal Shah coped with personal tragedy to become the first from Kashmir to top the Union Public Service Commission 2009 examinations. The untimely death of his father in 2002 at the hands of "unidentified militants" days before his pre-medical test did not deter Dr. Faesal from clearing the examination or becoming the first candidate from Kashmir in several years to be selected to the Indian Administrative Service through open merit. Dr.Faesal was born in Sogam village of Jammu and Kashmir 's Kupwara District.

Civil Service Examination topper gets a warm welcome in J-K