Tina Dabi, the topper of 2015 civil services examination, and Jammu and Kashmir's Athar Aamir Ul Shafi Khan, who came second in the same exam, have married each other.
Dabi, 24, a Rajasthan-cadre officer who is now posted in Ajmer, tied the knot with Khan, 25, in south Kashmir's Pahalgam on Saturday. On the occasion, families and friends of the couple attended the wedding, reported NDTV. Their relationship had floored India a couple of years ago.
The report added that the Khan family hosted a reception in his hometown in Anantnag's Mattan on Sunday. A resident of Delhi, Dabi and Khan were allocated the IAS in 2016.
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The Times of India in 2016 reported that the two met at the department of personnel and training (DoPT) office in North Block for a felicitation function on May 11.
"We met in the morning and by evening Aamir was at my door. For him, it was love at first sight…But I thank Aamir every day for his perseverance. He is a wonderful person,” Dabi had told ToI.
Speaking about the criticism, Dabi told the newspaper: "As any freethinking independent woman, I am entitled to certain choices. I am very happy with my choice and so is Aamir. Our parents are happy too. But there will always be those elements, that small minority who will always pass negative comments about dating someone from another religion. It is just that 5%. The majority are very happy. You would have seen in my Facebook timeline that most of the comments are encouraging. In fact, I am overwhelmed by the support and congratulatory messages. I thought "yeh to achcha hai" (this is good.)"
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"There have been a lot of comments attributed to me falsely . Then there are comments that are anti-caste, targeting reservations, religion. It's as if I have commited a crime by falling in love with someone who is not the same religion or caste as me.Things do become offensive.I then wonder if I should be active on social media and confront such stuff. But then I tell myself that I don't have to prove anything to anyone," she said.
A graduate from Delhi's Lady Shri Ram College, Dabi topped the civil services exam securing 1,063 marks (52.49%) out of a total of 2,025--comprising 1,750 of main and 275 of interview.
Her husband, Khan, got 1,018 marks (50.27%) and third rank holder Jasmeet Singh Sandhu from Delhi secured 1,014 marks (50.07%). Khan was an Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS) officer, while Sandhu an Indian Revenue Service (customs and Central Excise) officer. Both were undergoing training before making it to the top.
(With PTI inputs)
