Suzanne RD Tata (nee Brière, 1880–1923), also known as Sooni Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata, was the French wife of Indian businessman Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata. She is known for being the first woman in India to drive a car, in 1905.

Life and background

She was born in Paris. She married businessman Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata, chairman of the

Tata Group The Tata Group () is an Indian multinational conglomerate group of companies headquartered in Mumbai. Established in 1868, it is India's largest business conglomerate, with products and services in over 160 countries, and operations in 100 c ...

, a member of the Tata family, soon after he began to learn French, and they were married in Paris in 1902. At the time of her marriage, she converted to

Zoroastrianism Zoroastrianism ( ), also called Mazdayasnā () or Beh-dīn (), is an Iranian religions, Iranian religion centred on the Avesta and the teachings of Zoroaster, Zarathushtra Spitama, who is more commonly referred to by the Greek translation, ...

from Christianity and began to be known as Sooni, or Soona. The couple had five children Rodabeh,

Jehangir Nur-ud-din Muhammad Salim (31 August 1569 – 28 October 1627), known by his imperial name Jahangir (; ), was List of emperors of the Mughal Empire, Emperor of Hindustan from 1605 until his death in 1627, and the fourth Mughal emperors, Mughal ...

, Jamshed (Informally called Jimmy), Sylla, and Dorab. Her son Jehangir, better known as J. R. D. Tata, took over his father's business and was the first man in India to get a pilot license, and both her daughter's were the first women to get a pilot license in India. Her daughter Sylla was married to businessman Sir Dinshaw Maneckji, the 3rd baronet, and Rodabeh was married to Leslie Sawhny. Brière made her first flight in an aeroplane in 1913. In the early 20th century, Tata had some difficulties in reconciling her French and Indian identities.Ian H. Magedera, `Désorienter l'Orient et les orients désorientés: Said, Derrida et le paradoxe du GPS' in Jean-Pierre Dubost and Axel Gasquet (eds), ''Orients désorientés'' (Paris: Éditions Kimé, 2013), pp. 33–55, She died in 1923 in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

at the age of 42.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tata, Suzanne RD 1880 births 1923 deaths French emigrants to India Indian Zoroastrians Converts to Zoroastrianism from Christianity Tata family French emigrants to the British Empire