The 2015 IAS topper and the runner up, who caught nation’s imagination with their beautiful love story have finally tied the knot.
The IAS couple has chosen picturesque Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir for its destination wedding. While Dabi is from Delhi, Khan is from Jammu and Kashmir. Soon after the topping the prestigious UPSC exams, Dabi was hailed as the epitome of gender equality.Topping the list in her first attempt, Dabi graduated from the Lady Shri Ram College of Delhi University. Dabi has been followed by Athar Aamir Ul Shafi Khan of Anantnag district. During her interaction with the media, Dabi had said that ‘hard work, patience, focus, discipline and family support’ worked in her favour.
The beginning of love story
But it was the love story between Dabi and Khan that made the two a dream couple.
Many said that though Khan lost out to Dabi in the UPSC race, but at the end he won her heart.
‘Uske liye pehli nazar mein pyaar ho gaya (For him, it was love at first sight),’ Dabi had said about Khan soon after they announced their marriage plans. The two met during the 2016 felicitation ceremony in North Block’s DoPT office and by the evening he was knocking at her door.
Dabi had said that she was floored by his wit and charm, and added: “I thank Aamir every day for his perseverance. He is a wonderful person. We would be tying the knot very soon.”
However, the couple also faced some criticism from those who thought that they shouldn’t get married as they both belong to different religion.
‘I must admit that I get very disturbed when I read stuff about us. We have stopped googling our names and reading news about ourselves. I think it is a small price to pay for being in the public eye,’ Dabi had said during a media interaction in 2016.
According to media reports, “They had met at the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) office in North Block for a felicitation function on May 11, 2016”.
But the latest photos uploaded by Dabi on her Facebook page shows that ‘love conquers all.’
The couple solemnised their relationship in one of Jammu and Kashmir’s most famous tourist destinations – Pahalgam – on Saturday. After the culmination of the wedding ceremony, the couple, along with guests, visited Devepora Mattan, the ancestral village of Khan in south Kashmir’s Anantnag.The couple tied the knot at Pahalgam Club.
Their love story was splashed all across the newspaper front-pages and the social networking sites. Partly, it was because the ‘love jehad’ narrative was by being crafted by the right-wingers. The two were so keen to keep the people informed that they would
update their pictures on their walls so frequently that the story graduated from the routine page 3 to the front pages.
Khan is a resident of south Kashmir village of Devipora in Mattan and Dabi is from Delhi. Khan is a Muslim and Dabi is a Dalit.
After they concluded their training and they announced their future plans of living life together, the two decided against serving either J&K or Delhi. Both of were given Rajasthan cadre.
The almost three year old love affair has finally reached its logical conclusion as the two IAS officers have finally settled in life. The marriage took place in Pahalgam and there were well wishers, families and relatives. After the marriage, Tina has driven to her Mattan home to a traditional Kashmir reception.
There are not many details available about the destination wedding, right now.