Viral: IAS Tina Dabi Taken Aback After Female Sarpanch Delivers Speech In Fluent English

IAS Tina Dabi was a guest of honour at a function in Barmer, where the village head’s fluency in English was applauded by both the bureaucrat and the audience. The video of the speech uploaded online went viral within minutes, attracting the attention of netizens, who too were overjoyed after seeing a sarpanch have such control over English vocabulary.

Barmer: A video of a female Sarpanch delivering her speech in fluent English during an event here attended by IAS officer Tina Dabi has gone viral. The sarpanch, Sonu Kanwar from Rajasthan, delivered her address diligently at the Jal Mahotsav event held in Barmer’s Jalipa village, leaving the bureaucrat astonished.

The audience too, applauded Kanwar for her impressive oratory skills and proficiency in the foreign language. Dressed in traditional Rajasthani attire with a ghoonghat (veil) over her face, Kanwar, while delivering her speech said, “I am very glad to be a part of this day. First of all, I welcome our collector, Tina ma’am. It is an honour.”

IAS Dabi was specifically impressed and went on to cheer for Kanwar when the latter highlighted the importance of water conversation in her speech. The video was shared by X user Kailash Singh Sodha and caught the attention of netizens within minutes of its upload.

Back in 2015, Dabi was in the limelight after passing the Union Public Services Commission (UPSC) exam on her first try. She started her career in administration as an Assistant Collector in Ajmer. In 2020, her younger sister Ria Dabi also succeeded in the UPSC, with an all-India rank of 15.

बाड़मेर में IAS टीना डाबी @dabi_tina के सामने जब राजपूती पोशाक और घूँघट में जालीपा महिला सरपंच सोनू कँवर ने जब अपना उद्बोधन अंग्रेज़ी से शुरू किया तो उपस्थित सब लोग चौंक गए और टीना डाबी के चेहरे की मुस्कान बयां कर रही है l..
जिला कलेक्टर खुद को ताली बजाने से नही रोक पाए pic.twitter.com/fLYuo0gqJo

— Kailash Singh Sodha (@KailashSodha_94) September 14, 2024

Earlier this month, Dabi, who was working as the Employment Guarantee Scheme (EGS) Commissioner in Jaipur, was appointed District Collector of Barmer. Earlier, she had held the position of Jaisalmer District Collector.

As part of the latest reshuffle, her husband, Pradeep Gawande, who was stationed in Bikaner, was transferred to Jalore, a district that is about 150 kilometres apart from Barmer and neighbouring. Dabi got hitched to IAS officer Pradeep Gawande in April 2022 after her previous marriage to fellow IAS officer Athar Aamir Khan ended in 2020.