A collage featuring all 30 participants of Miss India 2019 beauty contest has caused a heated debate as online sleuths tried to figure out why the girls looked so similar and all had such fair skin.

An Indian user has posted the collage from Times of India paper on Twitter with a question: “What is wrong with this picture?” and got an avalanche of replies.

What is wrong with this picture? pic.twitter.com/61B23aYFr6 — Sameer Sewak (@Naa_Cheese) May 28, 2019

With all of the contestants having dark shoulder-length hair and fair skin tone, the organizers of the pageant were slammed for sticking to a single beauty standard. Some commentators even suggested that the girls were clones, while others insisted that they were pictures of the same person.





We may not know who will be crowned Miss India but we do know what she looks like. So no point watching the programme. — Jonathan_H (@TheEpicBiker) May 30, 2019

Nothing wrong with it. The clear winner is the one in the 3rd row second from right, no wait the one in top right...no, I mean top left, no all of the bottom row, no wait...Ok yeah I see what you mean. — Mike Conway (@MRConway80) May 30, 2019

They all look xerox of each other. — Ashima Sharda (@ShardaAshima) May 28, 2019

She is the winner! pic.twitter.com/4qhZwauG1F — Zara Taran (@zara_taran) May 30, 2019

Some philosophically noted that the girls being so alike was actually a good thing as they could all consider themselves the winner when one of them takes the crown.

There were many regrets about darker-skinned beauties not fighting for the title, despite India being such an ethnically diverse country. But others pointed out that such a situation was typical for the pageant.

Looks like batch 17383 from clone factory — Priyanka Lahiri (@lahirip) May 28, 2019

Actually, they're all just one person 👀👀 — Aarushi (@aarushi_t06) May 28, 2019

India’s obsession with fair skin is a long-standing trend, with even the majority of Hindu gods being depicted as white-skinned. “Fairer is better” is the slogan that many women in the country hear from their early years because it’s easier for those with lighter skin to find a good husband.

What happened to 'caramel' skin color? — SD (@JustABrainThing) May 28, 2019

only fair people are considered beauty — contractor nesmani karthik (@hackiz) May 28, 2019

They should name it Miss Fair India instead — Ego Alter (@alterego920118) May 28, 2019

Same beauty filter has been used on everyone leaving no scope for diversity and inclusiveness. — Nidhi (@nidzk123) May 28, 2019

And there’s a major industry to help them achieve whiter skin, as ‘Fair and Lovely’ cream remains in the highest demand since the 1970s. A number of online sleuths even suggested that the makers of the whitening cosmetic products were sponsoring the pageant.

Let me guess... fair & lovely has sponsored this? 🤔.. — GeographicallyIndian (@kelly_riard) May 30, 2019

In recent years, several campaigns, including Dark is Beautiful and #unfairandlovely, sparked in the country to protest the fair skin obsession, but so far they have been unable to change Indians' perception of female beauty.

They all look very different from each other also I don't get this weird generalization — Lord RW Rekt-angle👼 (@aNuSFW) May 29, 2019

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