Miss India Worldwide

Last updated
Miss India Worldwide
Formation1990;34 years ago (1990)
FounderDharmatma Saran [1]
Founded at New York City, United States
Type Beauty Pageant
Headquarters New York City
Location
  • United States
Official language
English
Chairman
Dharmatma Saran
Key people
Monica Gill
Parent organization
Dharmatma Saran, Worldwide Pageants [1]
Website Official Website

Miss India Worldwide is a beauty pageant which draws contestants from India and from among members of the Indian diaspora residing in other countries. [2] It is conducted by India Festival Committee (IFC), first founded and headed by Dharmatma Saran in New York City, USA. [1]

Contents

History

The pageant started in 1990. Simi Chaddha (now Dr. Simi Chaddha Ranajee), from the United States, was crowned the first ever Miss India Worldwide in New York City. Simi was the winner of the 1990 Miss India USA pageant. The pageant was held in the United States until 1996. In 1997, the pageant was hosted in India. Poonam Chibber of Canada became the first Miss India Worldwide winner to be crowned outside the United States. It was the first time that the pageant moved out of its home turf and was held in the Asian continent. The next year in 1998 the pageant moved to the southeast region of Asia and was held in Singapore. Once again, Canada's representative Melissa Bhagat was crowned the Miss India Worldwide 1998 by outgoing titleholder Poonam Chibber, giving Canada a rare back to back victory at the pageant. Canada is one of three countries to have a back to back victory, the other two being the USA and the UK.

The pageant moved back to the United States in 2000 and was held in Florida. Rita Upadhyay of the United States was crowned Miss India Worldwide 2000 and became the fourth woman from the United States to win the crown. Since 2012 international choreographer Sandip Soparrkar is the official show director and grooming expert.

Notable Miss India Worldwide Participants

Past pageant participants include Bollywood actress Pallavi Sharda (Miss India Australia 2010), media personality and television host Amin Dhillon (Miss India Worldwide Canada 2010), and Indian television actress Uppekha Jain (Miss India Worldwide Canada 2008).

Titleholders

YearNation representedMiss India WorldwideNational TitleCityCountryNotes
1990 Flag of the United States.svg  United States Simmi Chadha Miss India USA New York City United States
1991 Flag of the United States.svg  United States Bela Bajaria Miss India USA Bajaria would go on to become an executive at Universal Television. [3]
1992 Flag of the United States.svg  United States Icha Singh Miss India USA
1994 Flag of India.svg  India Karminder Kaur Virk Miss India Worldwide India The first of five wins for a Miss India Worldwide India titleholder. This was the first year in which Hong Kong sent a delegate to the worldwide pageant, Puja Venkataraman who was Miss India Hong Kong winner, which was held in New York City; local businessman Hari Harilela was one of the judges.
1995 Flag of Hong Kong.svg  Hong Kong Nirupama AnandMiss India Hong KongFirst winner from Hong Kong. [4] [5]
1996 Flag of India.svg  India Sandhya Chib Miss India Worldwide India Also became a semi-finalist in Miss Universe 1996 [6]
1997 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada Poonam ChibberMiss India Canada Mumbai India The first win by a Miss India Worldwide Canada titleholder. Chibber would go on to become a Bollywood actress. [7] [8]
1998 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada Melissa BhagatMiss India Canada Singapore Singapore Bhagat went on to work for the Department of Citizenship and Immigration Canada under Minister Jason Kenney. [9] [10]
1999 Flag of India.svg  India Aarti Chabria Miss India Worldwide India Rahway United States Third winner from India [11]
2000 Flag of the United States.svg  United States Rita Upadhyay Miss India USA Tampa Held in November 2000. Upadhyay was age 23 and a New York-based staff writer for Time magazine then. [12]
2001 Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa Sarika SukhdeoMiss India South Africa San Jose Originally scheduled to be held in Durban, South Africa, it was later delayed until March 2002 and moved to San Jose, California. Nevertheless, Sarika Sukhdeo of Durban garnered the first win for a Miss India Worldwide South Africa titleholder after ten years of South African delegates to the worldwide pageant. [13] [14] [15]
2002 Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg  United Arab Emirates Santripti VellodyMiss India UAE Durban South Africa First winner from UAE. Held in November 2002 [16] [17]
2003 Flag of India.svg  India Purva Merchant Miss India Worldwide India San Francisco United States Held in September 2003 [18] [19]
2005 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom Amrita Hunjan Miss India UK Mumbai India Held in February 2005; the fourteenth edition of the Miss India Worldwide pageant. [20] [21]
2006 Flag of the United States.svg  United States Trina ChakravartyMiss India USA [22]
2007 Flag of Suriname.svg  Suriname Fareisa JoemmanbaksMiss India Suriname Fords United States Held in April 2007. Joemmanbaks would later go on to a career in Mollywood. [23] [24]
2008 Flag of India.svg  India Shagun Sarabhai Miss India South Africa Johannesburg South Africa Held in February 2008. Prizes included $5,000 in cash, jewellery, clothing, and a notebook computer. [25]
2009 Flag of the United States.svg  United States Nikkitasha Marwaha Miss India USA Durban Held in February 2009. Marwaha was age 20 and a drama student at the time. She went on to star in the Indian television series 24 . [26] [27]
2010 Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa Kajal LutchminarianMiss India South AfricaHeld in March 2010. Lutchminarian was age 21 and a medical student at the time. [28]
2011 Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia Ankita GhazanMiss India Australia Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates Held in May 2011; the twentieth edition of the pageant. Ghazan was age 19 and a university student at the time. [29] [30]
2012 Flag of Guyana.svg  Guyana Alana SeebarranMiss India Guyana Paramaribo Suriname Held in February 2012. Following her crowning, Seebarran had various conflicts with the organisers, and was not invited to the following year's pageant in Malaysia to crown the new winner. [31] [32]
2013 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom Nehal BhogaitaMiss India UK Kuala Lumpur Malaysia Held in May 2013. Bhogaita was the first deaf contestant in the pageant's history. [33]
2014 Flag of the United States.svg  United States Monica Gill Miss India USA Dubai United Arab Emirates Held in June 2014. Prizes included $8,000 in cash, as well as photo assignments and modelling sessions. [34] [35]
2015 Flag of Oman.svg  Oman Stephanie LohaleMiss India Oman Mumbai India First winner from Oman. Pageant held in September 2015. [36] [37]
2016 Flag of the United States.svg  United States Karina Kohli Miss India USA New Jersey United States
2017 Flag of the United States.svg  United States Madhu Valli Miss India USA Pageant held in October, 2017. Winner is a student of criminal law and a hip hop artist from USA. [38]
2018 Flag of the United States.svg  United States Shree Saini Miss India USA Washington Pageant held in December, 2018. Shree is a pacemaker patient and a graduate from University of Washington, who studied at Harvard, Yale and Stanford. She won the "Best Titleholder" award from the pageant community for her endless service work with hundreds of charities. [39]
2019 Flag of Oman.svg  Oman Tanishq SharmaMiss India Oman Mumbai India Pageant held in December, 2019. [40]
2022 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom Khushi PatelMiss India UK New Jersey United States Pageant held in June, 2022. [41]
2023 Flag of Guyana.svg  Guyana Aruna SukhdeoMiss India Guyana Pune India Pageant held in June, 2023. [42]

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