Sunita (Pandya)Williams daughter of Deepak Pandya and Bonnie Pandya is the second woman of Indian heritage to have been selected by NASA for a space mission after Kalpana Chawla. She is married to Michael J. Williams, but her roots go back to Gujarat in India and she has been to India to visit her father\'s family. She is of Slovenian descent from her mother\'s side. Among the personal items Williams took with her to the International Space Station (ISS) are a copy of the Bhagavad Gita, a small figurine of Ganesha and some samosas.
I hope these facts are enough to prove that she has more of India than many Indians who comment on her.
RE:Sunita an Indian American...We Indians are PROUD of her
by vishal shukla on Jun 19, 2007 05:02 AM Permalink
See Joseph.... She might be having some roots here and there in India, she might be caring geeta and samosa (lol) ... but comm on yaa, what we Indians has to do in it? Samosa any one can have, geeta is divine enough to be taken anywhere with... rest her roots to india... and thats what I mentioned... do we really need "rooted" indians and their samosas? We "real" Indian are good enough... I dont know why media is marking her as Indian...... grow up yaar... She is good in her job and thats it.... I also wish that she come back safely, but as a human being...not as Indian...
and By the way ...when you said " I hope these facts are enough to prove that she has more of India than many Indians who comment on her."
DO u mean that any Indian citizen not been to their native place, any Indian not has samosa, any Indian not seen or having geeta, any Indian is not having their parents as Indians? what are u trying to say by saying "more Indian"?? Its not a fuzzy term.... its a boolean term ..having answer in "yes, I am Indian" or "No, I am not an Indian" Both are good answer from ppl perspective... what is "more" or "less" Indian??
And bhaai, think broad... she is good and that is it, do give the pleasure to any one for by calling them as Indian (atleast not to ppl who just carry geeta and eat samosa)... this name "Indian" has got some gravity in it... dont just dilute it, just like that....
RE:Sunita an Indian American...We Indians are PROUD of her
by sushant naik on Jun 19, 2007 05:44 AM Permalink
Vishal have you ever read Bhagwatgita ??...i m sure like most of us, u have not...so dont be a hypocrite...agreed she is not an indian citizen..but carring gita to space itself proves that she belives and repects indian culture and our centuries old religon...so if you cant give credit to her please just shut up...
RE:Sunita an Indian American...We Indians are PROUD of her
by Loan Shark on Jun 19, 2007 06:05 AM Permalink
well said susank naik .. carrying bhagwad geeta with her to space shows her faith and confidence in geeta .... shows her belief in the teachings of Lord Krishna.
She may not be an Indian, but she is very much a Hindu.
RE:Sunita an Indian American...We Indians are PROUD of her
by Rahul Vaid on Jun 19, 2007 08:31 AM Permalink
There was a news in Times of india ,Delhi...arguing shiv sena about who a real maratha is...pls dont bring the discussion to a level as low as that...refrain yourself to be passing such a nationalist remark...ur going the Shiv sena way...only consider that she has Indian ROOTS...and that's more than enough to call her an indian not by birth but by Genere..Sunita...I feel sorry on part of these comedians and wish you a safe journey back home(Earth).
RE:Sunita an Indian American...We Indians are PROUD of her
by vijay meganathan on Jun 19, 2007 05:16 AM | Hide message
Enough of nonsense, India is today stands in global because of Indians leaving here, not becuse of Indian -American, u fool as she said by her own mouth she is a gujarti or Indian-American, I don't get what nationality this people or rediff editor is refering to, I guess, If she has got ganesha she is an Indian, you fool work on for what Indian or any nationality stands , You r the greatest fool I have ever seen on this planet, Be proud of people like abcul kalam who is an Indian, who doesnt carry ganesha with him We Indian stands for the people leaving here not on the bases of religion
RE:Sunita an Indian American...We Indians are PROUD of her
by pavan prasad on Jun 19, 2007 09:20 AM Permalink
Well said vijay. Sunita is an American (of half indian origin-her father was indian). That's about it. It's nice that she's gud in her job and has done so well. I appreciate her for her achievement and pray for her safe return as a fellow human. She's not of my nationality. And that's period.
Also which fool claims that carryin geeta or ganesh idol or eating samosas makes one Indian. Geeta and Ganesha are related to Hinduism (a religion) and not specific to India(a nation). Get your facts right. We are a country of many religions. Only on this stand, she might well be a nepali! And about eating samosas making one Indian...well, no comments!
Grow up dude.
Hope she comes back safely. That's what comes to my mind after thinking of the present situation with her.Thats about it.
