Sunita Williams unfurls tricolour in space

New Delhi, August 15: Indian-American astronaut Sunita Williams displayed the tricolour on board the International Space Station and wished Indians a very happy Independence Day.

"I wish India a very happy Independence Day for August 15... India is a wonderful country and I am very proud to be a part of India," Williams said in her message.

"Of course, you know that I am half Indian. My father is from Gujarat. India is a very colourful and wonderful place and I am very proud to be from there. Happy Independence Day to everybody in India," she added.

This history-making event occurred on the annual program hosted by Riti Sunshine Bhalla, when the Indian American Astronaut called out from the International Space Station. It was for the first time in 65 years since India gained freedom, an astronaut, Sunita Williams, greeted the people of India and the Indian people around the world from outer space.

"Thank you Riti Sunshine for inviting me to join in your Indian Independence celebration," said Williams, while displaying the tricolor on board the International Space Station. She also gave a guided tour of the Space Station.

The unique celebration of the 65th anniversary of India's independence in the International Space Station is the brainchild of Varinder Bhalla, producer and director of the program.

Extensive planning and coordination was done with the help of the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
"Riti worked very hard for this program all summer," said Varinder Bhalla.

"Riti and I traveled to Boston to interview Dr. Deepak Pandya, the father of the Astronaut as well as the Governor of Massachusetts, where Williams grew up. We then traveled to Mumbai to videotape greetings from Bollywood celebrities for Sunita, all in a span of ten days," added the proud father of the teen host.

Over 100 million viewers across India are likely to watch the Astronaut's greetings, on 80 national and regional TV channels in India.

"Five years ago, we started the program with the intent to pay homage to the freedom fighters who gave up their lives so India could be free. This year, we are dedicating our Independence Day Special to Sunita Williams, who has made a billion people of India so proud," said Riti Sunshine.

Bollywood celebrities Yash Chopra, Shah Rukh Khan, Sanjay Dutt and Anushka Sharma also offered their greetings to Williams on the Riti Bhalla Special, the TV program named after the teen host, a student of New York University.

Bhalla, 18, started her annual Independence Day in 2008, when she was only 13 years old.

U.S. Senator Bob Menendez joined Riti Sunshine in the celebration for the fifth time in he last five years.

Congressman Steve Israel, a strong supporter of India on Capitol Hill, also participated in the televised celebration. Both offered their best wishes to the Indian American Astronaut and shared their pride with the people of India.

Since 2008, 10 governors of America, 22 senators and congressional leaders as well as the former President of India, Dr. Abdul Kalam, have appeared as guests on her Independence Day show, which is telecast in 23 countries.

Williams, 46, along with Yuri Malenchenko of Russia and Japan's Akihiko Hoshide left for the ISS aboard a Russian spacecraft Soyuz TMA-05M on July 15 from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Comments

Add new comment

Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.

In meeting with Zohran Mamdani, Trump repeats claim he stopped India-Pak war

Agencies

November 22,2025

New York/Washington: US President Donald Trump has again claimed to have solved the conflict between India and Pakistan, repeating his assertion during a meeting with New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani in the Oval Office.

Mamdani flew to Washington DC for his first meeting with Trump in the White House on Friday. Trump said he “enjoyed” the meeting, which he described as “great.”

During remarks in the Oval Office, with Mamdani standing next to him, Trump repeated his claim that he solved the May conflict between India and Pakistan.

"I did eight peace deals of countries, including India and Pakistan,” he said.

On Wednesday, Trump had said he threatened to put 350 per cent tariffs on India and Pakistan if they did not end their conflict, repeating his claim that he solved the fighting between the nuclear-armed neighbours and that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had called him to say “we're not going to go to war.”

Since May 10, when Trump announced on social media that India and Pakistan had agreed to a “full and immediate” ceasefire after a “long night” of talks mediated by Washington, he has repeated his claim over 60 times that he “helped settle” the tensions between India and Pakistan.

India has consistently denied any third-party intervention. India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam attack that killed 26 civilians. India and Pakistan reached an understanding on May 10 to end the conflict after four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes.

Mamdani emerged victorious in the closely-watched battle for New York City Mayor, becoming the first South Asian and Muslim to be elected to sit at the helm of the largest city in the US.

He had been the front-runner in the NYC Mayoral election for months and defeated Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa and political heavyweight former New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo, who ran as an independent candidate and was officially endorsed by Trump just hours before the elections.

Indian-descent Mamdani is the son of renowned filmmaker Mira Nair and Columbia University professor Mahmood Mamdani. He was born and raised in Kampala, Uganda and moved to New York City with his family when he was 7. Mamdani became a naturalised US citizen only recently, in 2018.

Comments