WATCH: Video of Indian women helping Miss World 2025 contestants wash their feet sparks outrage online

As the Miss World pageant rolls through India with a lavish cultural itinerary, one moment from Telangana has left a sour aftertaste.

During a recent temple visit, international contestants were filmed having their feet washed not by themselves, but with the help of local Indian women. 

The visuals, taken during a tour of the Ramappa Temple and the Thousand Pillar Temple, two of the most significant heritage sites in Telangana, have become a talking point across social platforms.

Over 100 contestants had been invited to experience local customs as part of their journey ahead of the grand finale taking place on Saturday, May 31.

In Hindu tradition, foot-washing is a spiritual act, symbolising purity before entering sacred spaces.

It’s often part of temple etiquette across parts of India, rooted in humility and cleanliness.

Normally, individuals rinse their own feet at the entrance to a temple as a sign of respect. 

Foot-washing has deep symbolic roots across several global faiths. 

In Christianity, particularly during the Holy Week before Easter, foot-washing is practised to honour Jesus Christ, who washed the feet of his disciples to teach humility and service.

In many Christian denominations, it’s re-enacted to remind followers that greatness lies in serving others, not lording over them.

In Sikhism, devotees remove their shoes and wash their hands and feet before entering the gurdwara (place of worship), again as a symbol of respect and spiritual readiness.

But what stirred public concern this time was the role reversal on display.

Instead of the contestants performing the ritual independently, videos show local Telangana women, believed to be volunteers, kneeling and assisting them.

Some gently poured water over their feet, others dried them with towels. 

To many online, the image felt troubling.

Not because of the ritual itself, but the optics: brown-skinned Indian women attending to mostly white or lighter-skinned foreign contestants in a gesture that felt uncomfortably close to servitude. 

The Telangana Tourism Department, which coordinated the temple visit, has defended the ritual as an authentic cultural experience shared with dignity. 

Still, the moment has opened up a wider conversation.

One user said, "Dear Country! YES! This is happening in #Telangana. Women of Telangana are being made to wash the feet of contestants of MISS WORLD! They are even patting them dry using towels! WTF is this Casteist, Colonial, Racist behaviour!" 

Another user, @decoupagebyRoop, added: "What bloody nonsense! Boycott these shallow pageants. Shame on the contestants, too." 

However, one person offered a different view, writing: "At the outset it's looking disgusting... but in our culture... women are equalled to goddesses and treated like the same... by washing the feet, offering haldi, kumkum, clothes and other sringaar items... nothing racist."