Miss in every Leikai, yet none ready for Femina Miss Manipur

Last Updated on October 5, 2023 by SPN Editor

Social media is crazy. A viral post uploaded by one of the Top Modeling icons of Manipur, Halley Laithangbam tells a different story about beauty pageants and Miss Manipur. The State is proud of organizing dozens of Miss contests and Beauty pageants and we could not gather a minimum of 20 contestants for the Audition round of the Femina Miss Manipur.

The deck is now cleared for Manipur to host one of the most popular events in 2023, the Femina Miss India. The state government is working hard to represent Manipur in the National limelight. For the first time in Manipur’s history, Femina Miss India will be held in the state. This is a proud moment for every Manipuri.

When the Manipur government signed MoU with the Miss India Organiser, CM N Biren said, “The main objective of this collaboration is to celebrate the diversity and inclusion of Indian culture and promote the competitive spirit of the talented participants. We want to encourage and empower the youth of the country by welcoming the best of Indian talent to our land, and showcasing the culture and heritage of Manipur that we are so proud of.”

This speaks of the seriousness of our leaders to represent and encourage the talents of our youths.

Times of India Managing Director Raje Prem Kumar also said, “We are happy to bring our wonderful event to the people of Manipur and we will pull out all stops to make it an inspiring and entertaining event the city has seen”.

Miss India has changed the lives of many Indian women, giving them empowerment, employability, opportunity, and a strong voice in the community. Manipur State also believes in empowering its women to be equal partners in development so this partnership is a natural culmination of ideologies and vision, Prem Kumar added.

The Organiser is hoping to give the right platform for women’s empowerment and the voice of Manipuri women through the Femina Miss India.

However, the viral post shows we are facing problems in finding talents to represent Femina Miss Manipur in such an important event. It is supposed that the winner of the audition round in the State will represent Manipur as Femina Miss Manipur in the grand finale of the 59th Femina Miss India next year.

Manipur has its own version of the Miss contest, popularly known as the Miss Manipur and Miss Kut which are the most popular ones. Now the point is what is the use of organizing dozens of beauty contests in every festival when we don’t find any eligible contestants to participate in the Femina Miss Manipur title round and wear the crown?

If we are not wrong, the state has churned out around 50 Miss and Beauty Queens every year. Some are crowned as Pineapple Queen, Miss Orange, Miss Singju, Meitei Chanu, and some Miss Shirui. Let us assume, every Leikai has one Miss who has won the title for beautiful eyes, beautiful smile, or perfect body.

There is doubt about our Miss beauty and Pageant winners. People are pointing fingers at those winners. Are they just winning a title on recommendations, mystery, or by luck? Why are they afraid to come for the audition and represent the Femina Miss Manipur? Do they lack confidence and talents?

Beauty pageants are competitions that focus on physical attractiveness and often include a talent portion as well. Some common characteristics of beauty pageants include:

Physical attractiveness: Contestants are often judged on their physical appearance, including their facial features, body shape and size, skin tone, and overall presentation.

Poise and grace: Contestants are expected to display confidence, poise, and grace under pressure, both on stage and during interviews.

Personality and charisma: Contestants are judged on their overall demeanor and personality, including their ability to engage with others and articulate their thoughts and views.

Talent: Many beauty pageants include a talent competition, where contestants perform a specific skill or talent such as singing, dancing, or playing an instrument.

Intelligence: Contestants may be judged on their knowledge and understanding of current events and their ability to articulate their thoughts and opinions on various topics.

Community involvement and philanthropy: Many beauty pageants place a strong emphasis on charitable work and community involvement, and contestants may be judged on their commitment to these causes.

Overall, beauty pageants are designed to showcase the physical attractiveness, intelligence, and charisma of the contestants and to identify individuals who embody these qualities. Do our Beauty pageants winners lack the talents, beauty, intelligence, and confidence to become Femina Miss Manipur?

We don’t think our girls are so timid. Looking back on the previous editions of Miss India, our own girls- Kanchan Soibam, Maria Chanu Pangambam, Angobi Chanu Loukrapam, etc. have done a great job by representing Femina Miss Manipur.

In fact, Kanchan Soibam created history when she represent Femina Miss Manipur in the 2017 edition of Femina Miss India. Kanchan is the first Manipuri to represent State in the Femina Miss India.

Coming to the present condition, if the State organizer failed to conduct an audition and select Femina Miss Manipur, then the Mis India Organisation will take over the charge and they will make sure someone is representing Manipur, be it local or non-local. The point is when Manipur is hosting the Femina Miss India in Imphal, we should have a local girl representing Femina Miss Manipur.

When the beauty pageant is organized with the State government and Tourism Department participating and we can’t represent our own girls, it is a mockery. More than mockery, the issue will create hurdles in the event.

Let us not forget the 2018 edition of Femina Miss India where several organizations raised the issue when Nimrit Kaur Ahluwalia, a Punjabi girl whose father was posted in Manipur in 2008 represents the State in the Femina Miss India. Some appreciate Nimrit for representing Femina Miss Manipur while few criticize and trolled her badly.

The Kangleipak Students’ Association (KSA) came out to protest against the selection of Nimrit Kaur as Femina Miss Manipur. The student body has alleged that a non-local candidate has been selected to represent Manipur in the Miss Femina India contest, at a time when there is great hue and cry about saving the indigenous people of the State, and has demanded the State Government look into the matter at the earliest. KSA’s general secretary alleged that selecting Nimrit Kaur to represent Manipur in such a beauty pageant is an attempt to gradually overpower the indigenous people of the State.

What will we do when our girls are not interested to participate and represent State now? The credibility of organizing the Miss Contest in myriads of festivals needs to be checked if we are finding difficulties in getting contestants for the audition this time. What is the purpose of having so many Misses and Beauty pageant winners?

Hope we find the perfect Femina Miss Manipur soon. We don’t want an ugly mess when Manipur is hosting the spectacular 59th Femina Miss India in Imphal.