Shah Faesal, the first Kashmiri to top the civil services, resigned after serving the Union government for nine years, to enter politics last week.


Faesal, who trained as a doctor, returned to India after a fellowship at Harvard University's Kennedy School last month.


In a telephone interview from Srinagar with Rediff.com's Archana Masih, Dr Faesal speaks about the urgent need to fill the political vacuum in Jammu and Kashmir, how the problem of stone pelters can be dealt with -- and why even though he worries for his life sometimes, he is not cynical, sceptical or pessimistic about Kashmir.  Do read