Miss India contests: History
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[http://blog.daum.net/47euymyung/7955486 Daum] [http://desihotmasala.com/ DesiHotMasala] [http://www.iam-she.com I AM She] [http://www.indianautographs.com/miss-india-world-universe-2.html IndianAutographs] [http://latestnewspics.blogspot.in/2013/03/winners-through-years.html LatestNewsPics] [http://www.mensxp.com/entertainment/gossip/8892-25-hottest-miss-india-worlds-you-should-know.html MensXp] [http://www.mid-day.com/columnists/2012/jun/250612-opinion-A-star-is-gone.htm Mid-Day] [http://miss-india-world-universe.blogspot.in/search/label/1947%20Miss%20India%20Victoria%20Abraham%20Khan%20%28pramila%29 MissIndiaWorldUniverse] [http://missosology.info/~missyorg/forum/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=134368 Missosology] [http://missosology.info/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=91571&start=0 Missosology] [http://missosology.info/forum/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=44434&start=0 Missosology] [http://www.oocities.org/zozozaaa/1A9aa.htm Oocities] [http://www.pageantopolis.com/Int_past/teenprincess.htm Pageantopolis] [http://sabrebiade.hubpages.com/hub/Femina-Miss-India-Part-3 SabreBiade] [http://www.southdreamz.com/2010/05/miss-indians-miss-worlds-on-kollywood.html SouthDreamz] [http://photogallery.indiatimes.com/beauty-pageants/miss-india/special-50-years-of-miss-india/50-years-of-miss-india-winners-through-the-years/Winners-through-the-years/articleshow/19122568.cms The Times of India] [http://feminamissindia.indiatimes.com/news/50-Years-Miss-Indias-grooming-experts/articleshow/19125366.cms The Times of India] [http://feminamissindia.indiatimes.com/news/50-years-of-Miss-India-Highs-and-Lows/articleshow/19144686.cms The Times of India] [http://feminamissindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/articleshow/articleshow/5925804.cms The Times of India] [http://feminamissindia.indiatimes.com/news/Success-stories-from-down-South/articleshow/18222100.cms The Times of India] [http://feminamissindia.indiatimes.com/news/Miss-Indias-and-their-Bollywood-breaks-debut/articleshow/19103553.cms Arunima Mazumdar & Richa Barua The Times of India] [http://feminamissindia.indiatimes.com/news/Miss-Indias-and-their-designers/articleshow/19214060.cms The Times of India] [http://www.voy.com/81120/2/ Voy.com] | [http://blog.daum.net/47euymyung/7955486 Daum] [http://desihotmasala.com/ DesiHotMasala] [http://www.iam-she.com I AM She] [http://www.indianautographs.com/miss-india-world-universe-2.html IndianAutographs] [http://latestnewspics.blogspot.in/2013/03/winners-through-years.html LatestNewsPics] [http://www.mensxp.com/entertainment/gossip/8892-25-hottest-miss-india-worlds-you-should-know.html MensXp] [http://www.mid-day.com/columnists/2012/jun/250612-opinion-A-star-is-gone.htm Mid-Day] [http://miss-india-world-universe.blogspot.in/search/label/1947%20Miss%20India%20Victoria%20Abraham%20Khan%20%28pramila%29 MissIndiaWorldUniverse] [http://missosology.info/~missyorg/forum/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=134368 Missosology] [http://missosology.info/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=91571&start=0 Missosology] [http://missosology.info/forum/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=44434&start=0 Missosology] [http://www.oocities.org/zozozaaa/1A9aa.htm Oocities] [http://www.pageantopolis.com/Int_past/teenprincess.htm Pageantopolis] [http://sabrebiade.hubpages.com/hub/Femina-Miss-India-Part-3 SabreBiade] [http://www.southdreamz.com/2010/05/miss-indians-miss-worlds-on-kollywood.html SouthDreamz] [http://photogallery.indiatimes.com/beauty-pageants/miss-india/special-50-years-of-miss-india/50-years-of-miss-india-winners-through-the-years/Winners-through-the-years/articleshow/19122568.cms The Times of India] [http://feminamissindia.indiatimes.com/news/50-Years-Miss-Indias-grooming-experts/articleshow/19125366.cms The Times of India] [http://feminamissindia.indiatimes.com/news/50-years-of-Miss-India-Highs-and-Lows/articleshow/19144686.cms The Times of India] [http://feminamissindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/articleshow/articleshow/5925804.cms The Times of India] [http://feminamissindia.indiatimes.com/news/Success-stories-from-down-South/articleshow/18222100.cms The Times of India] [http://feminamissindia.indiatimes.com/news/Miss-Indias-and-their-Bollywood-breaks-debut/articleshow/19103553.cms Arunima Mazumdar & Richa Barua The Times of India] [http://feminamissindia.indiatimes.com/news/Miss-Indias-and-their-designers/articleshow/19214060.cms The Times of India] [http://www.voy.com/81120/2/ Voy.com] | ||
+ | |||
+ | =2017: New rules for would-be contestants= | ||
+ | [http://beautypageants.indiatimes.com/miss-india/miss-india-pageant-changes-format/articleshow/57054371.cms Miss India 2017: #WeAreChanging, TNN | Feb 9, 2017] | ||
+ | I) A girl has to be in the age group of 18-25 (as of 31 Dec, 2017 ), should be of Indian nationality (have a valid Indian passport) or an OCI card holder (she can only win the runners-up titles). She can apply from:- | ||
+ | |||
+ | Her birth state. | ||
+ | |||
+ | The state she is currently residing/ employed/studying in. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Either of her parent's birth state or from the state they are currently residing in. | ||
+ | |||
+ | II) The height criteria has been reduced to 5'5' | ||
+ | |||
+ | III) The swimwear round has been eliminated from the auditions. | ||
+ | |||
+ | IV) One winner from every state in India, mentored by four celebrities, will participate in fbb Colors Femina Miss India 2017 | ||
+ | |||
+ | V) fbb Colors Femina Miss India 2017 will conduct a nation-wide hunt in all the 30 states (including the Capital, Delhi). | ||
+ | |||
+ | VI) The top 3 of every state will be given a golden ticket to the state zonal crowning ceremony, which will be held in Bengaluru (South Zone), Delhi (North Zone), Kolkata (East Zone) and Pune (West Zone). And the state winner will get a chance to represent her state at the grand finale in Mumbai, which will be held in June and aired on Colors. | ||
+ | |||
+ | VII) Each zone will be led by a celebrity mentor who will choose the best talent from their respective states. (In 2017 these were Parvathy Omanakuttan, Neha Dhupia, Dipannita Sharma and Waluscha De Sousa) | ||
+ | |||
+ | VIII) The finalists will go through a holistic and rigorous training programme with the best in the industry. Apart from fame and glory, the winner stands a chance to take home prizes in cash and kind, running over a crore and above. fbb, India's fashion hub, has partnered again to be the title sponsor of the pageant. | ||
+ | |||
+ | IX) The auditions will take place at fbb/Big Bazaar stores and for the first time, will be open to public viewing. | ||
+ | |||
+ | X) The zones are | ||
+ | |||
+ | North Zone - (Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi) | ||
+ | |||
+ | South Zone (Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka) | ||
+ | |||
+ | West Zone - (Gujarat, Rajasthan, Goa and Maharashtra) | ||
+ | |||
+ | East Zone (Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal and Sikkim) | ||
=Related articles on Indpaedia= | =Related articles on Indpaedia= |
Revision as of 08:55, 9 February 2017
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Miss India contests: History
The use of the title Miss India is not trademarked. Any organisation can use it. Over the years the three main organisations that have awarded the Miss India title have been Femina/ BCCL, Eve's Weekly and I am She. Others that have held Miss India contests have included journalists' collectives.
Firsts and international crowns
1947 Miss India Victoria Abraham [Khan?] (Pramila): First Miss India
1952 Miss India Indrani Rahman-- First Miss India Universe
1966 Miss World Reita Faria 1966 First Miss World From India Reita Fariya
1994 Miss Universe Sushmita Sen--first Indian Miss Universe
1994 Miss World Aishwarya Rai
1997 Miss World Diana Hayden
1999 Miss World Yukta Mookhey
2000 Miss Universe Lara Dutta
2000 Miss World Priyanka Chopra
Miss Indias who won International Pageants
1966 Reita Faria: She was crowned Miss India World in 1966 and later went on to clinch the coveted Miss World honour, held at the Lyceum Theatre in London, UK.
1970 Zeenat Aman: She was crowned Miss India Asia Pacific 1970 and she went on to won the the title of Miss Asia Pacific, held in Philippines
1994 Aishwarya Rai: Mangalore beauty Aishwarya Rai won the Miss India and Miss World pageants of 1994. The international event was held in Sun City, South Africa.
1994 Sushmita Sen was crowned as Miss Universe 1994 at the 43rd edition of the Miss Universe Pageant, held at the Philippine International Convention Center, in Manila, Philippines in 1994.
1997 Diana Hayden: She won the Femina Miss India contest in 1997 and was crowned as Miss World 1997 at the age of 24 by her predecessor Miss World 1996 Irene Skliva at Baie Lazare, Seychelles.
1999 Yukta Mookhey: She was crowned Miss World in December 1999 at the Olympia theatre in London at the age of 22. She was crowned by her predecessor, Miss World 1998 Linor Abargil from Israel at the Olympia Hall, London.
2000 Dia Mirza was a second runner up at Femina Miss India 2000 and was subsequently sent to Miss Asia Pacific, where she won the beauty pageant. When she won the Miss Asia Pacific title on 3 December 2000 in Manila, Philippines, she became the first Indian contestant to win this title in 29 years!
2000 Lara Dutta entered the 1997 Miss Intercontinental Pageant in which she was ranked first. Later, she was crowned Femina Miss India Universe in 2000 in Cyprus.
2000 Priyanka Chopra: Now an A-list actress of Hindi film industry, Priyanka Chopra was crowned Miss India 2000 and later that year, Miss World at London, United Kingdom.
2010 Nicole Faria, who represented India at Miss Earth 2010 beauty pageant in Vietnam, was successfully crowned as Miss Earth 2010.
2013 Purva Rana participated in the Femina Miss India 2012 pageant and in Miss United Continent 2013 was crowned the Vice Queen United Continent 2013. The event was held at Guayaquil, Ecuador.
India's international record
[Till 2013] Miss Indias had won 34 international titles, making the country the second-most successful participant at beauty pageants around the world.
Aishwarya Rai (now Bachchan) and Lakshmi Pandit (in 2004) are the two Miss Indias who have won two important 'sub'titles which were Miss 10 and Miss Photogenic respectively.
Kanistha Dhankhar and Manasvi Mamgai won maximum subtitles which is 6 each.
In 1998, none of the Miss Indias won any subtitles. Priyanka Chopra,Sushmita Sen & Yukta Mookhey , none of them won any subtitle in their Miss India beauty contest. Miss Indias Hasleen Kaur,Puja Gupta and Sara Corner have never won any subtitle during Miss India stint.
The Top 10 countries in beauty pageants
The Times of India As in Dec 2015
The countries have been listed below in the same order as The Times of India/ IndaTimes had listed them.
Venezuela has won a total of 12 titles and have 21 runner ups. Venezuela is known around the world as the "Land of Beauty".They even have beauty schools where teens train to become future beauty queens.
USA has won a total of 14 titles and have 58 runner ups.
United Kingdom has won a total of 7 titles and have 20 runner ups.The United Kingdom is home to Miss World as it was founded in the country by Eric Morley back in 1951.
Sweden has won a total of 6 titles and have 14 runner ups.
Philippines has won a total of 12 titles and have 21 runner ups.The Philippines is the proud home of 2015’s Miss Universe crown.
Puerto Rico has won a total of 4 titles and have 11 runner ups.They have five Miss Universe (1970, 1985, 1993, 2001, 2006) titles.
India has won a total of 8 titles and have 15 runner ups.
Colombia has won a total of 5 titles and have 22 runner ups.The country first won the Miss Universe back in 1958.
Brazil has won a total of 6 titles and have 36 runner ups. It was the first country to win all four major international pageant titles.
Australia has won a total of 7 titles and have 23 runner ups.Australia has two Miss Universe (1972, 2004), two Miss World (1968, 1972), and three Miss International (1962, 1981, 1992) titles.
India at the Miss Universe contest
2 winners (1994,2000)
1 first runner up (1995)
1 second runner up (1992)
1 third runner up (1966)
1 fourth runner up (2001)
12 semi finalists (1972,1973,1974,1990,1993.1996,1997,1998,1999,2002,2004,2006,2007)
4 national costumes awards (1978,1980,1984,1987)
India at the Miss World contest
The contest started, internationally, in 1951.
1951-1958: India did not participate.
1959 onwards: Details later on this page.
Note: The 1st runner up at the Femina Miss India contest was India's delegate at the Miss World contest, in all the years when Femina selected the Indian representative to Miss World.
Year-wise charts of the Indian representative for the crown of
MISS UNIVERSE
1952 Indrani Rehman
1964: Meher Mistry
1965 : Persis Khambatta
1966 Yasmin Daji (4)
1967 Nayyara Mirza
1968: Anjum Mumtaz Baig
1969 Kavita Bhambani
1970 Veena Sajnani
1971 Raj Gill
1972 Roopa Satyan (SF)
1973 Farzana Habib (SF)
1974 Shailini Dholakia (SF)
1975: Meenakshi Kurpad
1976 Nafisa Ali
1977 Nalini Vishwanathan
1978 Alamjeet Kaur Chauhan
1979 Swaroop Sampat
1980 Sangeeta Bijlani
1981 Rachita Kumar
1982 Pamela Chaudry Singh
1983Rekha Hande
1984: Juhi Chawla
1985: Sonu Walia
1986 Mehr Jessia
1987 Priyadarshini Pradhan
1988: Dolly Minhas
1989: no contest
1990 Suzanne Sabloak (SF)
1991: Christabelle Howie
1992 Madhu Sapre (3)
1993 Namrata Shirodkar (F)
1994 Sushmita Sen (W)
1995 Manpreet Brar (2)
1996 Sandhya Chib (SF)
1997 Nafisa Joseph (SF)
1998 Lymaraina D’Souza (SF)
1999 Gul Panag (SF)
2000 Lara Dutta (W)
2001 Celina Jaitley (5)
2002 Neha Dhupia (SF)
2003 Nikita Anand
2004 Tanushree Dutta (SF)
2005Amrita Thapar
2006 Neha Kapur (SF)
2007 Puja Gupta (SF)
2008 Simran Kaur Mundi
2009 Ekta Chowdhary
2010 Ushoshi Sengupta
2011Vasuki Sunkavalli
2012 Urvashi Rautela
MISS WORLD
1959: Fleur Ezekiel
1960: Iona Pinto
1961: Veronica Tore Cato
1962 Ferial Karim (SF)
1963-65: No delegates sent; Eve's Weekly did not hold the contest
1966: Reita Faria (W)
1967: No delegates sent; Eve's Weekly did not hold the contest
1968: Jane Coelho (BHARAT SUNDARI)
1969: Adina Shaelhim (BHARAT SUNDARI)
1970 Heather Faville (SF) (BHARAT SUNDARI)
1971: Prema Narayan (From Femina)
1972 Malathi Basappa (BHARAT SUNDARI) (5)
1973: No delegate sent by India
1974: Kiran Dholakia - FEMINA
1975 Anjana Sood (SF) (BHARAT SUNDARI)
1976: Niana Balsavar (Now onwards: from FEMINA)
1977: Veena Prakash
1978 Kalpana Iyer (SF)
1979: Raina Winifred Mendonica
1980 Elizabeth Anita Reddi (SF)
1981: Deepti Divakar
1982: Uttra Mhatre
1983: Sweety Grewal
1984: Suchita Kumar
1985: Sharon Clark
1986: Maureen Lestourgen
1987: Manisha Kohli
1988: Anuradha Kootor
1989: No delegate sent by India, because the contest shifted to Hong Kong.
1990: Neveeda Mehdi
1991 Ritu Singh (SF)
1992: Shyla Lopez
1993: Karmindar Kaur
1994 Aishwarya Rai (W)
1995: Preeti Mankotia
1996 Rani Joan Jeyraj (4)
1997 Diana Hayden (W)
1998: Annie Thomas
1999 Yukta Mookhey (W)
2000 Priyanka Chopra (W)
2001: Sara Corner
2002 Shruti Sharma (SF)
2003 Ami Vashi (4)
2004: Syali Baghat
2005 Sindhura Gadde (SF)
2006 Natasha Suri (SF)
2008 Parvathy Omanakuttan (2)
2009 Pooja Chopra (SF)
MISS ASIA-PACIFIC
1968 Anabella Crawford
1969 Tasneem Fakir Mohammed
1970 Zeenat Aman (W)
1971 Urmila Sanandan
1972 Samita Mukherjee (Miss International '71)
1973 Tara Anne Fonseca (W) Miss India Asia Pacific
1974 Marilyn Theresa Ferreira (Queen of the Pacific '74)
1975 Seema Marwaha
1976 Anna Bredemeyer (3)
1977 Marianne D'Souza (2)
1978 Preeti Koppikar Best national costume Miss Talent
1979 Maureen Lestourgeon (2)
1980 Upneet Pannu
1981 Mehjabeen Ayub Khan Miss Talent
1982 Aparna Sharma
1983 Monica Lakhmana
1984 The contest was held on November 10 when India was very tense
1985 Seema Malhotra Semifinalist
1986 Ana Vasan
1987 Jasleem Kaur
1988 Viola Antony
1989 Anuradha Ramani
1990 No contest due to natural disasters in the Philippines
1991 No contest due to natural disasters in the Philippines
1992 Mehroo Jal Mistry
1993 Namrata Shirodkar (2) 1st Runner-up Best in Evening gown
1994 Shwetha Menon (SF) Top 10 semifinalist
1995 Ruchitra Malhotra (2) 1st Runner-up Best in Evening gown
1996 Mini Menon (SF) Top 10 semifinalist
1997 Divya Chauhan (2) 1st Runner-up Best in Evening gown
1998 Vikkitha Aggarwal
1999 Shivangi Parikkh
2000 Diya Mirza (W) Miss Asia Pacific 2000 Miss Close-Up Smile Miss Avon
2001 Maheshwari Thiagarajan
2002 Tina Chhatwal (3) 2nd Runner-up Miss Internet
2003 Shonal Rawat (2)1st Runner-up Miss Friendship Miss Talent Miss Congeniality
2005 Simran Chandok
MISS EARTH
2001 Shamita Singha (SF)
2004 Jyoti Brahmin (SF)
2006 Amruta Patki (2)
2007 Pooja Chitgopekar (2)
2009 Shriya Kishore (SF)
MISS TOURISM
2005 Sonal Chauhan Singh (W)
2007 Priyanka Shah (W)
MISS TOURISM INTERCONTINENTAL
2003 Elitra Coelho (SF)
MISS TOURISM INTERNATIONAL
The Miss Tourism International pageant was inaugurated in 1994 in Malaysia.-Barkha Madan was India's representative at this inaugural edition was crowned 3rd Runner Up.
1994 Barkha Madan (4)
1995, 1998, 1999, 2000: India did not compete in the pageant.
2001 Candice Pinto (W: the first Indian to win the crown)
2005 Shriya Singh (3)
2006 Tanya Vakil (2)
2008 Manasvi Mamgai (W: the second Indian to win the crown)
2001 to 2010: The Indian representative was sent by the Gladrags Manunt and Megamodel Contest.
2011 onwards: India's representative has been chosen and sent by Indian Princess.
MISS TOURISM QUEEN INT'L
2004 Zabina Khan (W)
2006 Rupali Suri (SF)
MISS INTERNATIONAL
1960 Iona Pinto (2) 1st Runner Up
1968 Sumita Sen (SF)
1970 Patricia D’Souza (SF)
1975 Indira Maria Bredemeyer (3)
1976 Nafisa Ali (3)
1984 Nalanda Bhandari (SF)
1987 Erika Maria de Souza (SF)
1991 Preeti Mankotia (SF)
1993 Pooja Batra (SF)
1997 Diya Abraham (2)
1998 Shvetha Jaishankar (3)
2000 Gayatri Joshi (SF)
2001 Kanwal Toor (SF)
2003 Shonali Nagrani (2)
2004 Mihika Varma (SF)
2006 Sonali Sehgal (SF)
MANHUNT INTERNATIONAL
1994 Rajat Bendi (5)
1995 Dino Morea (2)
1997 Zulfi Syed Ahmad (5)
1998 Balbir Meena
1999 John Abraham (2)
2000 Reji Varghese
2001 Rajeev Singh (W)
2002 Nitin Singh (SF)
2006 Aryan Beruah (SF)
2007 Abhimanyu Jain (5)
2008 Romeo Gates (SF)
MISTER WORLD
1996 Bikram Saluja (SF)
2007 Kawaljit Singh (SF)
MISS INTERCONTINENTAL
1978 Elizabeth Anita Reddi (W)
1997 Lara Dutta (W)
1999 Anchal Kumar (SF)
2001 Koena Mitra (SF)
2002 Rakhee Chowdhury (SF)
2003 Deepti Gujral (4)
Miss United Continent
2013: Purva Rana (2)
The major international contests
Miss World pageant is an international beauty pageant founded in the United Kingdom by Eric Morley in 1951. Miss World has grown to be the most sought after and prestigious title in beauty pageantry. It is the most widely attended and broadcasted of such events, with over a hundred delegates in competition. The winner spends a year traveling the globe representing the Miss World Organization in its various causes. Traditionally, Miss World lives in London during her reign and uses it as her base for world travel.
Miss Universe is an annual international beauty contest and the title for the winner of the contest is founded in 1952 by California clothing company Pacific Mills. The pageant became part of. Kayser-Roth and then Gulf and Western Industries, before being acquired by Donald Trump in 1996. Despite its historical rivalry with the Miss World contest, Miss Universe retains unparalleled prestige in many parts of the world, particularly Asia and Latin America.
Miss Asia-Pacific International: India has been represented since 1968 and this continued till 2005.
Miss United Continent used to be called Miss Continente Americano but the name was changed in 2013 to attract countries beyond the Americas. India struck gold in its first ever foray into the Miss United Continent pageant as Purva Rana won the second position (in 2013)!
Miss India trademark
HC: Misuse of trademark `Miss India' not allowed
The Times of India, Sep 05 2015
HC: Misuse of trademark `Miss India' not allowed
The Delhi high court passed an interim injunction against misuse of the `Miss India' trademark, a registered trade mark of the Times Group. The Times Group had instituted a case against the organisers of a “Miss India Worldwide“ event, who were in the process of holding a contest similar to Miss India.
“Till further orders, the defendants, their directors, partnersproprietor, organizers, assigns in business, licensees and franchisees are restrained from using mark `Miss India' and `Femina Miss India' as part of event,“ Justice AK Pathak said, while granting an interim injunction in favour of Bennett, Coleman and Company Limited, the owner of The Times of India.
While addressing the possible misuse of the `Miss India' trademark by the organisers of the `Miss India Worldwide' event, the court also observed, “In case the injunction order is not passed, the plaintiffs would suffer loss and injury and balance of convenience is also in favour of the plaintiff.“
A history of the various Miss India contests
Miss Universe, Miss World, Miss Asia-Pacific, Miss Earth
Miss India has been participating in the Miss Universe and Miss World Pageant since 1952 and 1959 respectively. Indrani Rehman was the first one to represent it in Miss universe and Fleur Ezekiel in Miss World.
India has a great record at Miss Universe. India participated in the year 1952 with the stunning Indirani Rehman after a gap of 12 years India again started to send its delegates to Miss Universe, India didn't participate in between
The 1940s to the early 1960s
The Miss India title was bestowed by the Indian Press in 1940s and 1950s, through a small and conservative contest. In 1959, 1960, 1961 and 1962, Miss India was selected by Eve's Weekly, a Bombay-based women's magazine.
However, in 1964, the Femina Miss India competition was organized as a small, closed-off event. From that year, Femina gained the local license to the international Miss Universe competition. Towards the end of the 1960s, it picked up licenses to both Miss World and the Miss Asia-Pacific Quest. In the early 1990's, it finally picked up the license for Miss International. Femina Miss India is an annual, national beauty pageant held in India and organized by Femina, a women's magazine published by Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd, a media group that also houses the Times of India and Filmfare magazine.
For many years, there were two parallel contests. Femina's Miss India would represent India at Miss Universe. Eve's Weekly's winner would go to Miss World.
The Femina Miss India competition began in 1964 as a closed off event. Femina gained a local license to international Miss Universe competitions. Towards the end of the 60s, it won licenses to both Miss World and the Miss Asia Pacific Quest. In the early 90's, it picked up licenses for Miss International. Femina Miss India has been held annually, except for 1989.
Miss India is a title given to the winner(s) of the Miss India beauty pageant held each year.
In 1947 and 1952, the winners were chosen by some Indian (mainly Bombay-based) magazines and newspapers.. In the 40s and 50s, a contest was held by the press where a title was bestowed. From 1959, for several years, Eve's Weekly, held a Miss India contest. Star TV, one of India's largest channels, has held a TV based Miss India contest.
Before 1964, the only Miss India was selected by Eve's Weekly in 1959, 1960, 1961 and 1962 (for Miss World). Starting from 1964, the pageant was also held by Femina magazine for Miss Universe. For many years there were two parallel contests.
Over time, Eve's Weekly, the magazine, ceased to be published--and also stopped holding the contest. As far back as in 1967 Eve's Weekly did not hold the contest, which is surprising because the previous year the magazine's delegate to Miss World had created history not only for India but for all of Asia by winning the crown. This should have given Eve's Weekly a huge boost. Instead, we find that 1968 to 1975 the winner of a shortlived title called Bharat Sundari (Indian beauty) represented India at Miss World.
On the other hand the Femina Miss India pageant got firmly established, and took over both contests. The practice began to send the winner to the Miss Universe pageant and the runner-up to the Miss World contest.
While a 2nd runner up or an independent pageant winner was sent to other international pageants like Miss Asia, Miss International and Miss Asia Pacific. Starting from 95, the practice of choosing one Miss India was changed to elect representatives to different international pageants, and 3 winners, receiving equal status, designated as Miss India Universe, Miss India World and Miss India Asia Pacific. As of 2002, the 3rd winner would not be sent to Miss Asia Pacific, but to a Miss Earth pageant
1966 and 1994: India's first international crowns
Reita Faria is the first Miss India to be crowned Miss World in 1966. This was the first major international beauty crown won by an Indian.
Though Fleur Ezekiel was the first women to represent India in the Miss World Contest, however, popularity of this event gained ground in post 1994, when the European developed nations were left behind as India won Miss World and Miss Universe titles. After Aishwarya Rai, Diana Hayden won the title in 1997, Yukta Mookhey in 1999 and Priyanka Chopra in 2000.
Sushmita Sen was the first Indian to win the Miss Universe crown. Nicole Faria became the first Indian to win the Miss Earth title.
In 1994, Miss India Universe Sushmita Sen won the Miss Universe title and Aishwarya Rai Miss India runner-up won the Miss World title. And in 2000, all the Miss India winners happened to win their respective international pageants - Lara Dutta (Miss Universe), Priyanka Chopra (Miss World) and Diya Mirza (Miss Asia-Pacific).
After the historic win of Sushmita Sen and Aishwarya Rai at the International pageants, coaching institutes were set up to groom young womens to become Miss Indias.
In 1994, India recorded historic wins at International pageants. So Femina decided that all top three winners would be designated as winners with equal visibility and prizes instead of crowning a single winner.
Therefore, from 1995, the practice of choosing a single winner as "Miss India," and calling the next two winners 'Runners Up' was changed. three winners who receive equal prizes, were chosen, and were called Miss India Winners. They were designated as Miss India Universe, Miss India World and Miss India Asia-Pacific and were sent to respective pageants. From 2002, the third winner is sent to the newly formed Miss Earth pageant.
Femina, the women's magazine of the Times of India group, used to send delegates to Miss Universe till 2009. later Miss Universe 1994 Sushmita Sen's production house Tantra entertainment pvt limited/ 'I am she' acquired the right to choose the delegate . From 2010, Femina Miss India started sending crowned winners to Miss International and stopped sending representatives to Miss Universe pageant entirely.
In 2013 the Digital Diva title was launched Sources for the Miss India series of articles on Indpaedia include, in the alphabetical order:
Daum DesiHotMasala I AM She IndianAutographs LatestNewsPics MensXp Mid-Day MissIndiaWorldUniverse Missosology Missosology Missosology Oocities Pageantopolis SabreBiade SouthDreamz The Times of India The Times of India The Times of India The Times of India The Times of India Arunima Mazumdar & Richa Barua The Times of India The Times of India Voy.com
2017: New rules for would-be contestants
Miss India 2017: #WeAreChanging, TNN | Feb 9, 2017 I) A girl has to be in the age group of 18-25 (as of 31 Dec, 2017 ), should be of Indian nationality (have a valid Indian passport) or an OCI card holder (she can only win the runners-up titles). She can apply from:-
Her birth state.
The state she is currently residing/ employed/studying in.
Either of her parent's birth state or from the state they are currently residing in.
II) The height criteria has been reduced to 5'5'
III) The swimwear round has been eliminated from the auditions.
IV) One winner from every state in India, mentored by four celebrities, will participate in fbb Colors Femina Miss India 2017
V) fbb Colors Femina Miss India 2017 will conduct a nation-wide hunt in all the 30 states (including the Capital, Delhi).
VI) The top 3 of every state will be given a golden ticket to the state zonal crowning ceremony, which will be held in Bengaluru (South Zone), Delhi (North Zone), Kolkata (East Zone) and Pune (West Zone). And the state winner will get a chance to represent her state at the grand finale in Mumbai, which will be held in June and aired on Colors.
VII) Each zone will be led by a celebrity mentor who will choose the best talent from their respective states. (In 2017 these were Parvathy Omanakuttan, Neha Dhupia, Dipannita Sharma and Waluscha De Sousa)
VIII) The finalists will go through a holistic and rigorous training programme with the best in the industry. Apart from fame and glory, the winner stands a chance to take home prizes in cash and kind, running over a crore and above. fbb, India's fashion hub, has partnered again to be the title sponsor of the pageant.
IX) The auditions will take place at fbb/Big Bazaar stores and for the first time, will be open to public viewing.
X) The zones are
North Zone - (Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi)
South Zone (Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka)
West Zone - (Gujarat, Rajasthan, Goa and Maharashtra)
East Zone (Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal and Sikkim)
Related articles on Indpaedia
Miss India contests: History <> Miss India contests: Behind the scenes <> Miss India winners: 1947-58 <> Miss Ind1a winners: 1959-61 <> Miss India winners: 1962-64 <> Miss India winners: 1965 <> Miss India winners: 1966 <> Miss India winners: 1967 <> Miss India winners: 1968 <> Miss India winners: 1969 <> Miss India winners: 1970 <> Miss India winners: 1971 <> Miss India winners: 1972 <> Miss India winners: 1973 <> Miss India winners: 1974 <> Miss India winners: 1975 <> Miss India winners: 1976 <> Miss India winners: 1977 <> Miss India winners: 1978 <> Miss India winners: 1979 <> Miss India winners: 1980 <> Miss India winners: 1981 <> Miss India winners: 1982 <> Miss India winners: 1983 <> Miss India winners: 1984 <> Miss India winners: 1985 <> Miss India winners: 1986 <> Miss India winners: 1987 <> Miss India winners: 1988-89 <> Miss India winners: 1989/ 90 <> Miss India winners: 1991 <> Miss India winners: 1992 <> Miss India winners: 1993 <> Miss India winners: 1994 <> Miss India winners: 1995 <> Miss India winners: 1996 <> Miss India winners: 1997 <> Miss India winners: 1998 <> Miss India winners: 1999 <> Miss India winners: 2000 <> Miss India winners: 2001 <> Miss India winners: 2002 <> Miss India winners: 2003 <> Miss India winners: 2004 <> Miss India winners: 2005 <> Miss India winners: 2006 <> Miss India winners: 2007 <> Miss India winners: 2008 <> Miss India winners: 2009 <> Miss India winners: 2010 <> Miss India winners: 2011 <> Miss India winners: 2012 <> Miss India winners: 2013 <> Miss India winners: 2014 (regional) <> Miss India winners: 2014 <> Miss India 2015: regional winners <> Miss India winners: 2015 Miss India 2016: regional winners <> Miss India winners: 2016