India Arrests Miss World Protesters
Police wearing riot gear blocked protesters Sunday from marching to a hotel where Miss World contestants are staying and arrested 800 of them.
The protesters, mostly women, were detained for about two hours and released after receiving a warning. The women say the beauty pageant is demeaning and contrary to Indian values and culture.
Police stopped the marchers 1 1/2 miles from the hotel where 88 contestants are staying, said Police Commissioner Sharat Chandra Burman in Bangalore, which is in southern India.
The Miss World pageant has been dogged by controversy since organizers announced it would be staged in India. Members of a militant Indian women’s group have threatened to commit suicide Saturday, the day of the finale.
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