Miss World, 1966

Lyceum Theatre, London

On 17 November 1966, at the Lyceum Theatre in London, 23-year-old Reita Faria became the first Indian woman to win the Miss World beauty pageant, an annual televised event which was watched by millions of people globally and was organized by the British entertainment company Mecca. Faria was born in Bombay in 1943 to Goan Catholic parents. In 1966 she was in her final year of training to become a physician. She applied for the Miss Bombay pageant, which was organized as part of a nationwide search for India’s entry to Miss World, because her sister suggested she might get a free trip to London. In September 1966 she won Miss Bombay and, later, Miss India whilst undertaking her medical training.

In November 1966 Faria was sent to London for the Miss World competition, the first time India had submitted an entry. To her surprise, she won and the following year she toured around the world as part of her obligations to Mecca, wearing a sari for the entire duration. This included a trip to Bath in March 1967, where she met sick children at Bath and Wessex Orthopaedic Hospital. She also entertained American troops in Vietnam with British-born American comedian Bob Hope, a highly controversial trip given the Indian Government’s opposition to the Vietnam War. In response, the Leicester branch of the Indian Workers’ Association wrote to Jagmohan Joshi on 15 June 1967, stating that they were no longer attending the International Youth Festival in London, sponsored by the Indian newspaper Des Pardes, as Faria would be judging a bhangra competition as part of her Miss World obligations.

For South Asians living in Britain, Miss World 1966 was a memorable occasion. In an interview with Kavita Puri, Inderjit Sehli – who migrated from India to live with her family in Birmingham in 1961 – remembered how Faria winning Miss World positively shifted perceptions of Indian women. The victory was celebrated by Sehli’s family, and it was a popular topic of conversation among her white neighbours.

After her tenure as Miss World, Faria completed her medical studies in London. She married a fellow doctor and moved to Dublin, where she still resides.