Tina Dabi, an IAS officer, is back in the news after her reaction to a woman sarpanch's speech went viral. According to reports, the village head's fluent English astounded the civil servant at an event in Rajasthan's Barmer, where she was invited as a guest of honour. Ms Dabi was appointed as the District Collector of Barmer.
Sarpanch Sonu Kanwar, dressed in traditional Rajasthani attire, appeared on the dais and welcomed the Collector, as shown in the viral video.
"I am glad to be part of this day. First of all, I welcome our collector Tina ma'am. Being a woman, it's an honour to welcome Tina ma'am," she was heard saying at the function.
She went on to discuss water conservation. Her speech was followed by a burst of applause from the audience as well as Ms Dabi, whose exceptional language abilities astounded everyone. The video beautifully captured the sincere reaction of Dabi and the warm reception of Kanwar’s eloquent speech.
Ms Dabi initially made headlines in 2015 when she topped the Union Public Services Commission (UPSC) test on her first attempt. Her administrative adventure began in Ajmer, where she worked as an Assistant Collector. Her younger sister Ria Dabi also passed UPSC in 2020, with an all-India rank of 15.
Earlier this month, Tina Dabi, who was working as the Employment Guarantee Scheme (EGS) Commissioner in Jaipur, was appointed District Collector of Barmer. She had held the position of Jaisalmer District Collector. In the most recent restructuring, her husband, Pradeep Gawande, who was stationed in Bikaner, was sent to Jalore.