35 Opposing Beauty Pageant Arrested

Police arrested 35 members of a right-wing group as a dress rehearsal proceeded for the Miss World beauty pageant in Bangalore. Armed with tear gas, the police patrolled outside the Chinnaswamy cricket stadium where the pageant’s final event is to be held today. Nearly 10,000 police officers have been brought in to protect the 88 contestants, and nearby schools and colleges were closed as a precaution. Opponents who see the Miss World contest as demeaning to women appealed to spectators to boycott the event and threatened to blockade roads to the stadium.