The Indian woman who stood before the moral police and won a competition

Muscan Sharma faced men who tried to harass her over their clothes – and continued to win hearts and beauty pageants.

The 23-year-old, who was crowned Miss Rishikesh 2025 last week in the northern Indian state of Ukthand, told the BBC that although it was a small local competition, “made me feel like a lady universe.”

Sharma’s victory made titles in India as he appeared after a viral video showing her fierce disputes with a man who embarked on her rehearsals just a day before the October 4th race.

Sharma, who “wanted to be a model and participate in a competition since I was in school,” said the intruders came just when they broke for lunch.

“We were sitting around, freezing, laughing when they went in,” she said.

The shots showed Raghavendra Bhattagar, the district leader of the Hindu group called Rashtriya Hindu Shakti Sangathan, objecting to skirts and western dresses that Sharma and other competitors were dressed.

“The modeling is over, go home,” Bhattagar is heard to tell them. “This is against the culture of Uzarakhand.”

Sharma refuses to retreat. “Why don’t you close the stores that sell them (western clothes)?”

She then tells him that he should consume his energy about things that are more wicked than women’s clothing – social evils like drinking and smoking.

“There’s a store out there that sells cigarettes and alcohol. Why don’t you close it? First, stop these things first and I will stop wearing these clothes,” she says.

The man snapped at her, saying “Don’t tell me what to do.” She replies in the same way. “If you have the right to choose, then we too. Our opinion matters as much as yours,” she says.

As the argument continues, Sharma joins some of the other competitors and organizers and Bhattagar and his group, who threatened to stop the show, are finally accompanied by the hotel manager.

Sharma says her reaction to Bhattagar was “spontaneous”.

“I could see my dreams fall apart in front of me. The only question in my mind was will the competition continue? Will I be able to go to the ramp? Or will all my hard work will be waved?” She says.

The next day, the event continued as planned, and Sharma won the crown.

“For three seconds, after I heard my name announced, I was shocked,” she said.

“But then I was happy that I was standing for myself and that I won. I felt like a double victory. It was a small competition in a little place, but it made me feel like the Miss Universe,” she said.

Sharma says hekeling of women for their clothing is unheard of in Rishikesh, a city in the Himalayan foothills on the banks of the Ganges River. He is known for his ashrami and meditation and yoga discounts and is considered to be a sacred Hindu site that attracts a large number of tourists and worshipers.

The city was also sought after by Beatles fans because FAB Four spent weeks in Ashram there in 1968.

“You see tourists dressed in western clothing here all the time and no one sticks a eyelid,” she adds.

Globally, beauty pageants have been criticized for objectifying women and enhancing sex stereotypes.

But these competitions have been extremely popular in India since 1994 – the year when Sushmita Saint won the Miss Universe crown, and Aishwarya Paradise brought the Miss World trophy home.

They both continued to turn into top Bollywood actresses and have since inspired generations of young women to follow their way.

Similar successes in the later years of Priyanka Chopra, Diana Hayden and Lara Duta have only strengthened the belief that beauty pageants can be a ticket for success, especially for young women in India in the small town.

Sharma says her parents have always been very supportive of her decision to participate in the competition. In the viral video, she even heard Bhattagar ask: “Who are you commenting on my clothes if my parents allow me to wear them?”

But the reverse reaction of Western clothing in India is not new, where what women wear becomes the subject of debate. In a deep patriarchal society, many associate western clothing, especially jeans, to “moral degradation“To young people.

Schools and colleges put a dress for students, and sometimes the village elders Barry a whole community of girls from wearing jeans.

The BBC has reported a number of cases where girls and women have been separated and humiliated for their clothes.

A few years ago we wrote about a Year-old student In an asam that appeared in shorts to take the exam and was forced to wrap a curtain around her feet after the teacher objected.

In one extreme casesHe is a killed teenager by his relatives to wear jeans.

Nama Bhandare in it column In the Hindustan Times newspaper, he points out that he has no objection to the Rishikesh competition, where the participants are hardly dressed.

The objection to the clothing of Sharma and other competitors, she writes, is “barely a fig leaf.”

“The question is not clothes. The problem is freedom and aspiration. How do they dare these young women at a stage that can confront them with a greater global platform?

Bhandare writes that in India, where there are not enough women MPs or judges, the discount of young women from a small town is remarkable.

Sharma says her mother has taught her to uphold what is right. “The crown is as big as mine. Without it, I wouldn’t be the person I am today.”

Her story, according to her, will now encourage other women to intercede for themselves for what is right.

“I say that I was scared and nervous right now. But I also want to say that if you believe you are right, then you can also fight.”

“For me,” she says, “the crown was always secondary. More importantly, it was to encourage women to face injustice, to talk about what is right,” “”

I ask her what the next step is for her.

“I will go to Miss Ukukhand next year and then miss India. Then I will see where life takes me.”