Sangeeta Diwan | HENB | New Delhi | April 1, 2022:: A Hindu tribal Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Tina Dabi, whose first short-lived marriage to a fellow Muslim officer had grabbed national headlines, is getting married again. Ms. Dabi shared the news of her engagement through a picture on the photo-sharing app Instagram.
Ms. Dabi late last year divorced Athar Aamir Khan who she had married in 2018. The wedding made headlines and was attended by top politicians. But, Hindu right-wing groups objected to such marriage of a Hindu woman to a Muslim man out of a threat of a ‘Love Jihad’ ploy that would be an Islamic game of sex, enjoyment, and exploitation with non-Muslim girls. The predictions made then come to reality at present.
Tina Dabi topped the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) examination for civil services in 2015, the same year Athar Khan ranked second. Their romance and wedding were straight out of a movie script.
Ms. Dabi, a graduate of Delhi’s Lady Shri Ram College, was shot into the spotlight after she became the first Dalit to top the prestigious civil services exam, that too in the first attempt. Their wedding reception in Delhi was attended by Vice President Venkaiah Naidu, Union Ministers, and then Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan.
The interfaith wedding had generated headlines and a backlash on social media at a time the country was caught in a debate on communal discord and so-called “love jihad”, the phrase used by the rightwing to describe what they call a ruse by Muslim men to reel in Hindu women and force them to convert.
Many Hindu organizations wish a good turn for the marriage of Tina to Pradeep. But, at the same time, it may invite many criticisms for Tina if she fails to maintain a good relationship with Pradeep to sustain the marriage. Otherwise, Tina may be marked as a woman with the typical nature of a ‘marriage maniac’ to marry many persons to enjoy sex and end a relationship after getting it from them.
___Agency inputs.
