Just a few days after 2015 IAS topper Tina Dabi made public her relationship with Athar Aamil-ul Shafi Khan – who came second in the coveted UPSC exam – the couple have found themselves at the receiving end of unwanted ire from the Hindu Mahasabha.
While social media was abuzz with congratulatory messages, the Hindu Mahasabha was not pleased, going on to dub the impending nuptial “love jihad”.
The national secretary of the Hindu Mahasabha, Munna Kumar Sharma, wrote to Dabi’s father, urging him to reconsider the match. He even went ahead to suggest that he should advise Athar to consider ghar wapsi, reported Janta Ka Reporter.
Dabi belongs to the Dalit community whereas Athar is a Muslim.
The Hindu Mahasabha’s take on the matter stands in sharp contrast to the support the couple is receiving on social media.
Tina Dabi reacted to the negative comments in a Facebook post:
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.
Love bloomed between the two young officers at the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) office in North Block, New Delhi. While it was “love at first sight” for Athar, Tina took some time to warm up to the idea.
The couple are planning to get engaged “very soon”.
(With inputs from Janta Ka Reporter)
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