The year was 1996, five years after liberalisation. The world was making its way to India, and so was Miss World. The international beauty pageant was brought to then Bangalore by Amitabh Bachchan’s ABCL. It did not go well. As The New York Times reported, “Strange bedfellows found themselves entwined in their mutual outrage— feminists who found such contests degrading to women and Hindu nationalists who saw the show as an invasion of western degeneracy”. Women’s groups held a mock pageant at a public park, awarding titles such as Miss Poverty and Miss Homeless. The protests became so severe that the swimsuit competition had to be moved to the Seychelles.
Twenty-seven years later, the Miss World pageant is once again being hosted by India this year. “It was not difficult to choose India,” says Julia Morley, chairman and CEO of the Miss World organisation. “It is a joy and thrill to be here.”
Bu hikaye THE WEEK India dergisinin July 16, 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
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Bu hikaye THE WEEK India dergisinin July 16, 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
William Dalrymple goes further back
Indian readers have long known William Dalrymple as the chronicler nonpareil of India in the early years of the British raj. His latest book, The Golden Road, is a striking departure, since it takes him to a period from about the third century BC to the 12th-13th centuries CE.
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