I was touched by the story on the young Indian woman who achieved so much in her short lifetime.

However, I still do not understand why you feel her story needs to be in my kids text books. A role model is a role model. Who cares about the ethnicity of the model. Why do we need Indian role models in our text books just because we have Indians in our schools? Are we to have ethnic role models for each type of ethnicity (and sub ethnicity) that we have in our schools?

I come from the West Indies and my wife is from Gujarat, India. We live in a part of the USA where there is no West Indian community but a very size-able Hindu Indian community. So what role models do we seek for our kids? Do we start a program and make a big deal about the lack of positive role models for our ethnically mixed children?

I have to agree with Yesha's sentiments. (Disclosure: we are alumni of the same college). I have my misgivings about all of the recent activities mostly Hindu Indians to dispel the "myths" about them. It seems more of an attempt to paint a one sided positive image of India and Hinduism (Islam and other Indian religions are ignored) and glosses over the severe problems. I see the caste system, the religious violence, the arranged marriages (yes they still happen), the wife beatings, female fetal abortion, the racism ( trust me when I say it was a tense situation when my wife, Bhavana, told her parent we were to be married). These topics are always avoided.

My kids are obviously of mixed parentage ( I am Afro-Franco-Anglo Caribbean)...are they then to be ABCHD (American Born Confused Half Desis)!? or simply "Americans".