Moonstruck! From US to South Africa -- a 'proud day' for Indian diaspora

It was a 'proud and historic day' for India's 32 million-plus strong diaspora, which stood in unison with their mother country amid chants of 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' and 'Vande Mataram', as the nation conquered the moon on Wednesday with its historic Chandrayaan-3 mission.

From holding special screenings of the landing event, to saying prayers and distributing sweets, loudest cheers on the mission's success could be heard from the community that is far away, yet not away from India.

Capturing the excitement of Indians in South Africa, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is in the country for BRICS Summit, shared pictures of community members meeting him and celebrating.

"Feeling the fervour all the way from Johannesburg for Chandrayaan-3! The enthusiasm of our diaspora in South Africa for India's achievements in the space sector is truly gladdening," PM Modi posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Wednesday.

Taking to X, member of the House of Lords of the UK Parliament, Lord Rami Ranger, said, "Indians are literally over the moon with the smooth landing of the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft! Congratulations ISRO. India becomes the only nation to land on the South Pole of the Moon."

"Congratulations to India on the #MoonLanding -- this is a national, regional and global success story. Everyone involved has played their personal part in a national victory.
#Chandrayaan3 is a win for everyone," Virendra Sharma, Member of British Parliament, posted.

Indians from across the UK joined the High Commission in London where people chanted 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' and 'Vande Mataram' slogans.

Calling it a "moment of immense pride", the Friends of India Society International (FISI), a UK-based diaspora group, celebrated India's expanding prowess in the realm of technology.

"The successful soft landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the lunar surface is a moment of immense pride for the 1.4 billion people in India and the global Indian diaspora. This achievement serves as a powerful testament to India's unwavering dedication to scientific progress, poised to ignite the aspirations of forthcoming generations of explorers and scientists within the nation," FISI said in a statement.

Singapore's Indian-origin Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan also dropped a congratulatory message to Indians. "Congratulations India for landing on the South Pole of the Moon. This is indeed a proud achievement that will resonate across the world!"

M A Yusuff Ali of Emirates-based Lulu Group and Second Vice Chairman of Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce & Industry, said, "It is a historic moment not just for India and Indians but for the entire mankind. May this landmark landing of #Chandrayan3 pave for many more achievements in the science and technology field".

Chandrakanth 'Chandra' Arya, a powerful Indian-origin voice in the Canadian parliament, who visited India in July this year and met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, attributed the success to 'India's mastery of advanced technologies'.

"India is now on the Moon”. Congratulations to India on Chandrayaan-3 becoming the first space mission to land near the south pole of the Moon and joining the exclusive club of just three other countries in the world to land on moon," Arya, who hails from Karnataka, wrote on X.

"This is proof of the sophistication of  India's space programme and India's mastery of advanced technologies. This is a great moment for the people of India and all those of Indian heritage across the world," he said.

With Tricolours in their hands, Indian-Americans gathered at Times Square in New York to celebrate the event.

"Congratulations to India for the historic landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the southern polar region of the moon. It’s an incredible feat for all the scientists and engineers involved. We are proud to partner with you on this mission and space exploration more broadly," US Indian-American Vice President, Kamala Harris, said.

Indian-American Congressman Ro Khanna, who was in India this month to celebrate Independence Day, called it a "big moment" for the country. "A big moment for India. Congratulations... I saw incredible ingenuity and dynamism across India in the delegation we recently led," Khanna said.

Calling the success an "incredible moment", Google's Sundar Pichai and Microsoft's Satya Nadella congratulated ISRO for its victory.

"My congratulations to ISRO on the moon landing of the Chandrayaan-3. What an exciting moment for India - and the future of space exploration," Nadella wrote.

"Wow! Chandrayaan-3's moon landing is a great achievement for India and all humanity! Congratulations to the ISRO team and all of India," Gita Gopinath, First Deputy Managing Director of the IMF, wrote on X.

The success of the moon mission was of prime importance to India, which has now become the fourth country to master the soft-landing technology on the lunar surface after the US, China and the erstwhile Soviet Union.

Via this mission, India will understand the lunar surface better but also its potential for human habitation in the future.

Chandrayaan-3 landed successfully after a 40-day journey starting from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota.