Indian-origin stunner in British beauty pageant row

Prasun Sonwalkar

London, July 17 (PTI) An Indian-origin beauty queen
has unwittingly sparked a controversy by winning a beauty
contest in a region where she does not reside.
Janeena Basra, 23, who is a resident of Leeds, was
declared winner of the Miss Halton Pride in Cheshire, across
the Pennines. She triumphed over Donna Hayes, who is
considered a 'native' local contestant.
Local people in Halton believe the winner should be
from nearby Runcorn or Widnes, and not one who is not a
resident of the area. More than 50 comments appeared on a
local newspaper website voicing displeasure over her win.
"Where is the justice in a girl from Leeds being
crowned?" wrote a reader while another wrote: "Isn't it about
time that Miss Halton was picked from girls who actually live
in Halton."
Winning the Miss Halton Pride title qualifies Basra,
who counts bhangra and salsa dancing among her talents, to
contest the finals of the Miss England contest to be held in
London on Friday. The winner of the contest will represent the
country at the Miss World contest in Ukraine.
Miss England Limited, which runs the Miss Halton Pride
contest, confirmed that as per rules, contestants do not have
to originate from a particular area to represent it.
Basra, who has a degree in Human Nutrition and is
awaiting the result of a Masters in Naturopathic Nutrition
from the University of Manchester, said: "I can't understand
it, there are no restrictions. I did not experience any
hostility at the competition from fellow contestants."
"I have not broken any rules. As long as you are
British it's fine. A girl from London could win Miss Leeds. I
can see why some people wanted a local girl to win but I think
some of the comments are ridiculous. I'm not going to let it
get me down," Basra said.
Two weeks before the Halton Pride contest, Basra said
she was assaulted by a jealous girl in Manchester.
"I was attacked because I had entered a beauty pageant
and I had been promoting myself. I had a swollen lip and
couldn't talk or eat. When I looked in the mirror I thought
there was no way the judges would even look at me," she said.
But Basra won the title, and despite the controversy,
is keen to use the competition experience to improve her
public speaking so that she could go on to talk about the
importance of nutrition for young people.
Basra is not England's first Asian-origin beauty queen
to represent her country. Afghan-born Hammasa Kohistani became
the first Muslim Miss England in 2005.
In 2006, Yorkshire beauty Preeti Desai was crowned
Miss Great Britain after the original winner, Danielle Lloyd,
was stripped of her title when it was revealed that she was
romantically involved with one of the judges.