Miss India Pageant Woes

by Neethi Srinivasan – University of Michigan

Pageants – it’s one of my many guilty pleasures. Though the word alone makes my skin crawl with images of taffeta and tiaras, pageants are one of those social train wrecks that I can’t take my eyes off. Like any good reality show, they have drama, suspense, and a healthy dose of stupidity. These qualities and more were on full display this past weekend during the Pantaloons Femina Miss India 2010 Pageant.

As I began watching, I was struck by the predictability of the show. Like its Western counterparts, the Miss India pageant followed the usual format of showcasing the participants’ beauty in eveningwear and their supposed intelligence in the Q&A section. In addition, professional actors and singers graced the stage to perform routines to the latest Indian hits, which interestingly enough all had a strong western influence.

The similarities between the Miss India pageant and the Miss America pageant are intriguing because they are indicative of the deteriorating state of Indian culture. During the Q&A section, only one girl responded to her question in her mother tongue, Hindi and many of the songs that were performed during the ceremony had a ridiculous rap interlude with background dancers who looked like Kevin Federline. Also, though the participants did pay homage to their motherland with sari-inspired ensembles, most of their sartorial choices looked like they were taken from the racks at Macy’s rather than the roads of Madras.

Though some may argue that this convergence of aesthetic and cultural norms is the natural byproduct of globalization, I think that it is important to pay tribute to the cultural foundations that define an ethnicity. The definition of being an “Indian” may be ever changing, but there are certain traditions that all Indians must acknowledge. Difference is what helps to create personal identity and social evolution. By failing to appreciate our Indian culture we are doing a great disservice to the people around us and ourselves.