'Disgusting and racist': Outrage erupts over Telangana women washing Miss World contestants’ feet. Video

The visual prompted an immediate outpouring of criticism online.

The ongoing Miss World 2025 pageant in India has sparked a major political and cultural controversy after footage emerged of Telangana women washing and wiping the feet of international beauty contestants prior to a temple visit. The video, widely circulated on social media, has drawn fierce backlash from opposition parties and sections of civil society, with critics labelling the act “colonial”, “racist”, and “humiliating”.

The Miss World competition, one of the oldest beauty pageants globally, began on May 10 in Hyderabad and will culminate in a grand finale on May 31, when reigning queen Krystyna Pyszková is set to crown her successor. This year’s edition, hosted in Telangana, has seen over 100 contestants from around the world participate in a range of cultural, tourism and rehearsal events leading up to the final.

As part of the cultural itinerary, the contestants visited two of Telangana’s most prominent heritage temples — the Ramappa Temple in Mulugu district, which is recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the Thousand Pillar Temple in Warangal. The visits, coordinated by the Telangana Tourism Department, included a customary ritual of washing one’s feet before entering the temple premises.

According to news agency PTI, “Before entering the temple, the contestants participated in a customary foot washing ritual, using elegant plates filled with water.” However, video clips posted on the official Miss World Instagram account and reshared by other users appeared to show local women assisting the contestants with the ritual, with some seen wiping their feet with towels.

The visual prompted an immediate outpouring of criticism online. One user on X (formerly Twitter), condemned the act as “disgusting”, writing, “Such a disgusting activity by the state government, it’s an out and out casteist and racist program.”

Another user defended the event, pointing out that the contestants were largely washing their own feet, while the women seen in the video were assisting as volunteers: “The video shows that the contestant are washing their own feet, the women volunteers are assisting them… There should be a word from the Govt representative & the organisers on this activity.”

Union Minister for Coal and Mines, G Kishan Reddy, who also serves as BJP’s state president, issued a scathing statement criticising the Congress-led state government. “In a shocking display of servility, the Telangana Congress government made local women wash and wipe the feet of Miss World contestants, a humiliating act that reeks of a colonial-era mindset,” Reddy said in a post on X.

He further added, “This was done within the sanctity of the Ramappa Temple and in an area in close proximity to the place where the divine Goddesses Sammakka and Saralamma are revered. Congress party's century-old legacy of making Indians kneel before foreigners to appease their high command is evident. Revanth Reddy, in his desperate bid to impress Delhi bosses, has trampled on the dignity and self-respect of Indian women.”

Reddy called on the Congress party's national leadership to apologise. “The Congress national leadership of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi should tender an unconditional apology to Telangana women for blasphemy and for surrendering the dignity, culture and self-respect of our NariShakti,” he stated.

Red carpet for foreigners.Red face for Indian women.The Telangana government made Indian women wash the feet of Miss World contestants and then wipe them with towels.Is this women empowerment or royal servitude? pic.twitter.com/nqfGUl7YaO YSR (@ysathishreddy) May 14, 2025

The main opposition party in the state, the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), also condemned the incident, accusing the Congress government of shattering Telangana’s self-respect and tarnishing its cultural heritage. BRS leaders claimed that local Dalit, tribal, and economically disadvantaged women were compelled to perform the act of washing the feet of foreign contestants.

In a strongly worded letter addressed to Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, former ministers and public representatives from the BRS demanded immediate intervention and redressal. Signatories included former ministers Sabitha Indra Reddy, Satyavati Rathod, Sunita Laxma Reddy, and sitting MLA Kova Laxmi.

“We express our profound anguish over the disgraceful and humiliating act of making local women wash and wipe the feet of Miss World contestants. This is an insult to the dignity of Telangana’s women and a betrayal of the state’s proud cultural legacy,” the letter read.

The BRS leaders called for an unconditional public apology from Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and urged Sonia Gandhi to take steps to “restore the dignity of the state's women and address the mounting public discontent.” They warned that failure to act could alienate Telangana’s population and provoke a strong backlash against the Congress party, especially from the women of the state.

“The Chief Minister must issue a public apology to Telangana’s women. The Congress government must take immediate corrective measures to prevent further erosion of the state’s pride,” they said.