“Proud and happy” Lara Dutta saves us from the drought

Vijay Prashad is a historian, author and the director of Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research, an inter-movement research organisation based in Buenos Aires, Johannesburg, New Delhi and São Paulo. He is also the Chief Editor of LeftWord Books and a fellow at the Independent Media Institute. As a journalist, he writes for Frontline, the Hindu, and Turkey’s BirGün. He has been associated with Himal Southasian since its inception.

Published on

Upon hearing that Lara Dutta (21) won the Miss Universe pageant on 13 May, I conducted a small, unscientific poll. asked several of my South Asian friends in the United States if they had heard the 'sensational' news: most had, this within hours of the announcement in Nicosia, Cyprus. Then I asked a host of non-South Asians, and I checked the US newspapers. I drew a blank. No one| seemed interested.

So what is Miss Universe, this annual pageant that makes the Indian media go all barmy ("Lara Dutta's sister says she used to love posing for photographs as a child")? And even bring forth this frothy homage from Prime Minister ABV: "I wish to congratulate you on your winning the Miss Universe contest. Your success is a tribute to the Indian woman and her aspirations for excellence."

Loading content, please wait...
Himal Southasian
www.himalmag.com