Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday congratulated 2015 IAS toppers Tina Dabi and Athar Aamir-ul-Shafi Khan on their wedding and hoped that the couple become an inspiration to all Indians "in this age of growing intolerance and communal hatred."
Congratulations Tina Dabi & Athar Amir-ul-Shafi, IAS toppers, batch of 2015, on your wedding!
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) April 10, 2018
May your love grow from strength to strength and may you be an inspiration to all Indians in this age of growing intolerance and communal hatred.
God bless you.https://t.co/PPCOHotMFW
"Congratulations Tina Dabi and Athar Amir-ul-Shafi, IAS toppers, batch of 2015, on your wedding!”
"May your love grow from strength to strength and may you be an inspiration to all Indians in this age of growing intolerance and communal hatred. God bless you," he tweeted.
When Dabi had first announced her relationship and engagement to Khan in 2016, rightwing Hindu groups denounced her decision and raised allegations of 'love jihad'. Gandhi's decision to congratulate the couple will be interpreted as having political overtones, given that sections of the BJP continue to raise the bogey of love jihad.
IAS officer Tina Dabi, who topped the UPSC's civil services examination in 2015, tied the knot with Khan, her Kashmiri batch-mate, who secured second rank in the prestigious examination that year.
The two young IAS officers got married at a ceremony in the picturesque Pahalgam town on Sunday and later hosted a reception in Anantnag.
Hailing from Delhi, Dabi, a graduate from the Lady Shri Ram College, became the first-ever dalit girl to top the UPSC exam. Khan hails from Devipora village in Mattan area of Anantnag.