INDIA: HEAVY SECURITY IN THE INDIAN CITY OF BANGALORE WHERE PROTEST GROUPS OPPOSE THE STAGING OF THE MISS WORLD BEAUTY CONTEST

Record ID: 649344

  • Title: INDIA: HEAVY SECURITY IN THE INDIAN CITY OF BANGALORE WHERE PROTEST GROUPS OPPOSE THE STAGING OF THE MISS WORLD BEAUTY CONTEST
  • Date: 21st November 1996
  • Summary: NEW DELHI (RECENT - NOVEMBER 5, 1996) (RTV) LV MISS AMERICAN VIRGIN ISLANDS FOLLOWED BY MISS ARGENTINA WALKING DOWN THE RAMP AS PART OF REHEARSALS FOR THE MISS WORLD PAGEANT 1.21 SV PEOPLE WATCHING 1.23 SV MISS CZECH REPUBLIC WALKING DOWN RAMP 1.30 SLV MISS DOMINICAN REPUBLIC WALKING DOWN RAMP 1.38
  • Embargoed: 6th December 1996 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: BANGALORE AND NEW DELHI, INDIA
  • Country: India
  • Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment / Showbiz
  • Reuters ID: LVA5FVHNPG3SNCLSN4RLILUGHT1M
  • Story Text: There is heavy security in the Indian city of Bangalore, where protest groups opposed to the staging of the Miss World Beauty contest there are threatening violence.
    --------------------------------------------------------------- Bangalore police rounded-up militant activists on Friday (November 22), the eve of the Miss World pageant, while a firebrand protest leader promising self-immolation if the show goes ahead went into hiding.
    An ally of the leader of a women's group whose members said they would burn themselves alive in protest said Kinay Narayana Shashikala was trying to stay out of police clutches.
    Police Commissioner S.C. Burman said 35 people were detained on Friday morning to head off trouble and the figure was expected to reach between 150 and 200 by later in the day.
    Various factions are hoping to block or spoil the three-hour extravaganza on Saturday night and some have threatened self-immolation.
    Earlier in November there were violent protests in various Indian cities by action groups vehemently opposed to the contest.
    The annual international event is expected to draw a television audience of two billion in 115 countries, but local protesters say it offends Indian culture and demeans women.
    Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Subhashini Ali said the contestants' beauty would be judged according to foreign, not Indian standards.
    More than 10,000 security officers, including elite commandos, were expected to be on patrol on Saturday. They will be joined by regular army soldiers after a court ruling in New Delhi.
    The Supreme Court overturned an earlier court ruling that government soldiers could not be used to safeguard the event.
    The state government ordered schools and colleges to close on Friday and Saturday.
    Banks and government offices were open, but the Hindu nationalist opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has called for a protest strike that is expected to mean transport stoppages and shop closures in some parts of the city.
    The 88 contestants were resting on Friday after a dress rehearsal on Thursday.
    The Supreme Court provided some good news for drinkers among the audience. Alcohol can now be served. Miss World, if all goes well, will be toasted in champagne.
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