Not fair skinned & proud of it!
An article by the BBC[1] has questioned the organizers of India’s famous Miss India show, a contest that has, over the past 56 years, put India on the World Map by winning quite a few international crowns. We have won 2 Miss Universe Crowns and 6 Miss World Crowns. For a nation that prides itself in its beauties, several of who are dark-coloured/wheatish and have gone on to win laurels internationally, the article suggests that the “organizers are obsessed with fair skin.” Isn’t it surprising that a media house with the credibility of BBC has jumped the gun with such a flimsy attempt at not just disparaging India’s premium beauty contest, but showing the entire country in a poor light?
BBC chose to write the article which only presented their side of the story claiming:
• ‘…many of their biggest successes have been women who are light-skinned’
Here, have a look. Priyanka Chopra - Miss World 2000, Lara Dutta - Miss Universe 2000, Diana Hayden - Miss World 1997, Nicole Faria - Miss Earth 2010, Sushrii Shreya Mishraa, Miss United Continents 2015 3rd runner up, Noyonita Lodh Miss Diva[2] Universe 2014, Priyanka Kumari - fbb Colors Femina Miss India[3] Intercontinental 2017, Shreya Rao Kamavarapu - fbb Colors Femina Miss India 2018 2nd runner up, Shraddha Shashidhar - Miss Diva Universe 2017 and Anukreethy Vas - fbb Colors Femina Miss India 2018. The common thread among all these names, other than that they are all celebrities in the fashion & film fraternity and have made our country proud by representing India at the international platforms is that they are not fair skinned. In their article, BBC said that we as pageant organizers, were obsessed with fair skin but the names of our winners quoted above, clearly nullifies this baseless claim.
Little wonder that so many are asking how BBC, which prides itself for the quality of journalism, could do such a biased article basing its entire research on the basis of a tweet alone. The beauty pageant winners are not decided based on their pictures and how they appear in Print & Digital Platforms. Therefore to ascribe that the organizers are obsessed with fair skin is incorrect as all the above mentioned names of the winners are not fair skinned.
India is a multi-culture, multi-racial nation whose constitution does not differentiate between anyone on the basis of colour, caste or creed. The beauty contest is no different. If anything, the contest is actually as inclusive as it can get and the selection process is diversified to include people from all parts of the country, including the North East, who generally feel slightly ignored by the mainstream. In fact, participants from this part of the country, such as Priyadarshini Chatterjee, Aradhana Buragohain and Peden Ongmu have not only won the Miss India/ Miss Diva pageant but gone on to successfully represent India internationally.
The pageant empowers the participants and provides holistic training & grooming from the best in the business & further enhances and develops their personalities & confidence levels. The platform of beauty pageants gives the contestants fame,recognition & popularity that translates into better opportunities in life & higher financial remuneration in their areas of interest such as modeling, anchoring, acting, television, web series & movies. She not only becomes the face of many high end brands but also lends her voice to various causes to build our society & country at large. They go on to become inspiration for their communities & gain higher respect & positioning among their families, friends, communities & relatives.
from Latest Entertainment News, Movies News, Celebrity News, Breaking News | Entertainment - Times of India http://bit.ly/2W29dJ3
Seems the entire article was done without an iota of research or the intent to be honest.
BBC chose to write the article which only presented their side of the story claiming:
• ‘…many of their biggest successes have been women who are light-skinned’
However, if you go through some of the names of the winners, it clearly paints a radically different picture.
Here, have a look. Priyanka Chopra - Miss World 2000, Lara Dutta - Miss Universe 2000, Diana Hayden - Miss World 1997, Nicole Faria - Miss Earth 2010, Sushrii Shreya Mishraa, Miss United Continents 2015 3rd runner up, Noyonita Lodh Miss Diva[2] Universe 2014, Priyanka Kumari - fbb Colors Femina Miss India[3] Intercontinental 2017, Shreya Rao Kamavarapu - fbb Colors Femina Miss India 2018 2nd runner up, Shraddha Shashidhar - Miss Diva Universe 2017 and Anukreethy Vas - fbb Colors Femina Miss India 2018. The common thread among all these names, other than that they are all celebrities in the fashion & film fraternity and have made our country proud by representing India at the international platforms is that they are not fair skinned. In their article, BBC said that we as pageant organizers, were obsessed with fair skin but the names of our winners quoted above, clearly nullifies this baseless claim.
Little wonder that so many are asking how BBC, which prides itself for the quality of journalism, could do such a biased article basing its entire research on the basis of a tweet alone. The beauty pageant winners are not decided based on their pictures and how they appear in Print & Digital Platforms. Therefore to ascribe that the organizers are obsessed with fair skin is incorrect as all the above mentioned names of the winners are not fair skinned.
India is a multi-culture, multi-racial nation whose constitution does not differentiate between anyone on the basis of colour, caste or creed. The beauty contest is no different. If anything, the contest is actually as inclusive as it can get and the selection process is diversified to include people from all parts of the country, including the North East, who generally feel slightly ignored by the mainstream. In fact, participants from this part of the country, such as Priyadarshini Chatterjee, Aradhana Buragohain and Peden Ongmu have not only won the Miss India/ Miss Diva pageant but gone on to successfully represent India internationally.
The pageant empowers the participants and provides holistic training & grooming from the best in the business & further enhances and develops their personalities & confidence levels. The platform of beauty pageants gives the contestants fame,recognition & popularity that translates into better opportunities in life & higher financial remuneration in their areas of interest such as modeling, anchoring, acting, television, web series & movies. She not only becomes the face of many high end brands but also lends her voice to various causes to build our society & country at large. They go on to become inspiration for their communities & gain higher respect & positioning among their families, friends, communities & relatives.
References
- ^ article by the BBC (www.bbc.com)
- ^ Miss Diva (timesofindia.indiatimes.com)
- ^ Femina Miss India (timesofindia.indiatimes.com)
from Latest Entertainment News, Movies News, Celebrity News, Breaking News | Entertainment - Times of India http://bit.ly/2W29dJ3
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