Why is IAS officer Tina Dabi trending? All about her viral Republic Day video

Republic Day usually brings parades, speeches, and patriotic pride. But this year, a quiet moment from a district office in Rajasthan ended up stealing the internet’s attention.And at the centre of it all was IAS officer Tina Dabi, who is a well-known name in the administrative circles.If you’ve noticed her name trending and wondered why, it has everything to do with a short, unexpected clip that spread rapidly online.During the Republic Day flag unfurling ceremony at the Barmer District Collectorate, Tina Dabi unfurled the tricolour as scheduled. But right after that came a tiny slip that cameras caught instantly. As she stood to salute, she faced the wrong direction.For a brief second, she paused, clearly sensing something was off. A fellow officer nearby gently gestured, guiding her to turn the other way. She quickly corrected herself and carried on.That’s it. A few seconds. No speech, no controversy, just a human moment on a formal stage. But social media, as always, noticed.The 30-second clip soon began circulating across platforms, with users replaying the moment, slowing it down, and sharing it with captions ranging from amused to critical. On X, one post read, “UPSC Topper IAS Tina Dabi ji at the Republic Day flag hoisting ceremony at Barmer collectorate office,” and the video quickly gained traction.Reactions, unsurprisingly, were mixed.Some users laughed it off as an honest mistake. Others were far less forgiving. One comment joked about “forgetting the basics after studying 18 hours a day,” while another simply called it “shameless.”And just like that, a routine official ceremony turned into a trending topic.Tina Dabi, of course, is no stranger to public attention. Born in November 1993 in Madhya Pradesh, she moved to Delhi as a teenager and went on to create history by securing All India Rank 1 in the Civil Services Examination in 2015. Since then, her career and personal life have often made headlines.She was married to IAS officer Athar Aamir Khan in 2018, divorced in 2021, and later married IPS officer Pradeep Gawande. The couple now have a son.This time, though, it wasn’t an achievement or appointment that put her in the spotlight. It was a fleeting moment, caught on camera.A reminder, perhaps, that even the most accomplished officers are human after all.