Srinagar: Kashmiri Pandits living in the narrow lanes of Jammu are celebrating. They are distributing sweets and have cooked Teher. Akshay Labroo has taken charge as Srinagar’s Deputy Commissioner. He is the first person from the minority Pandit community to become DC of the heart of Kashmir.
An IAS officer of the 2018 batch, Tripura cadre, Labroo has previously served as DC Budgam, Director Information DPR and Sub-Divisional Magistrate Srinagar. The transfers are seen as a major bureaucratic reshuffle in Kashmir executed by LG Manoj Sinha.
Labroo is all set to start. He has concluded his duties in Budgam, where he worked as DC. Colleagues who have worked closely with him describe him as an honest, dedicated, and no-nonsense officer.
“To the best of my knowledge, Akshay Labroo is the first Kashmiri Pandit to serve as DC Srinagar. Every IAS officer dreams of serving in their home state, and Srinagar is a prestigious posting,” said a senior IAS officer.
Prior to Labroo, another Kashmiri Pandit, KK Sidha, served as ADC Srinagar. He also held the post of DC Anantnag and is currently the Director of Archives, Archaeology, and Museums.
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A win for the community
Kashmiri Pandit WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook groups are flooded with photos of Labroo. Messages of congratulations are pouring in—many describing it as a personal victory for the entire community.
An Instagram page named KashmiriPanditskp posted Labroo’s photo with a track from the movie Dangal playing in the background. The comment section is brimming with congratulatory messages and declarations by “proud Kashmiri Pandits.”
“We are proud of you. This is great to see Pandit being appointed as a commissioner in Kashmir is a great achievement for you and for our community,” read a comment on Facebook by Hirday Nath Pandit.
Labroo’s appointment is deeply symbolic for a community that was forced to flee the Valley in the 1990s, when insurgency broke out and Kashmiri Pandits were targeted, killed, and maimed.
“There are hardly 300 Kashmiri Pandit families left in Kashmir, and now, a KP becoming a DC speaks volumes. For our community, it feels like we’ve come back home,” said 65-year-old Kashmiri Pandit Rakesh Bhat.
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A favourite of residents
For the residents of central Kashmir’s Budgam, the outgoing DC felt like a family member. Akshay Labroo is credited with several beautification and infrastructure upgrades in the district. He worked on light activation for night tournaments and oversaw the upgradation of the sports stadium. Labroo also closely monitored restoration works at the Charar-i-Shareef shrine and the Dia Nag Shiv temple.
A resident of Budgam, Moin Shafi Yawa, tweeted that the people of Budgam will miss Labroo’s presence:
“I will surely miss your mighty presence. The pains you take for people and the way you resolve their concerns is unmatchable. It’s without a doubt that no one can replace Akshay Labroo in his duties. Love you, sir.”
Another tweet by resident Amir Mushtaq, congratulating Labroo on his elevation, reads in Urdu: “We can never forget the hard work, dedication, and courage with which Labroo has worked in Budgam.”
And the residents of Srinagar are already welcoming their new DC. A Srinagar resident, Sahil, tweeted: “Welcome to our city, Srinagar. Looking forward to your positive change in our beloved city.”
In one of his interviews with Study IQ IAS, Labroo shared that he was working in the Defence Ministry when he decided to attempt the UPSC — and to his surprise, he cleared it in a single attempt. A graduate in Political Science from Ramjas College, Delhi University, Labroo comes from a family of government employees; his father also works in the public sector.
(Edited by Theres Sudeep)