UPSC 2015 toppers Tina Dabi and Athar Aamir Ul Shafi Khan, who ranked first and second respectively, tied the knot on Saturday, 7 April — turning their back on the hate directed their way for getting into an “inter-faith” marriage.
The wedding, reports NDTV, took place in south Kashmir’s Pahalgam, following which a reception was held by the groom’s family in his hometown, Anantnag's Mattan, on Sunday, 8 April.
The couple had earlier faced major flak from religious right-wing organisations and on social media largely, on account of a Dalit woman marrying a Kashmiri man.
Dabi and Khan have been dating since 2015, when the duo had reportedly met at the department of personnel and training office in Delhi, which they were both attending for the felicitation function.
Dabi came into news when she became the first person from the Dalit community to top the difficult civil services exam. As reported by NDTV, she cleared the exams in the first go and scored a little over 52 percent.
Khan, who pursued his higher education in Srinagar, had gotten admission into an IIT. However, he had not wished to take his seat because it was part of a different branch of engineering than the one he had opted for.
The couple’s wedding ceremony took place in Pahalgam club, Pahalgam on Saturday, reports NDTV. Family and friends from both the bride and groom’s side attended the event.
Speaking about the hate the couple had received on account them hailing from different faiths, Dabi had earlier told The Times of India:
It is as if I have committed 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.
(With inputs from NDTV)
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