Miss America crowns first winner of Indian descent..

Miss New York spends her first press conference defending herself from angry viewers calling her un-American, Arab and Indonesian. 'I have to rise above that,' she said after winning the coveted crown.

"I have to rise above that," she said after her crowning in Atlantic City, the Associated Press reports. "I always viewed myself as first and foremost American."
"I'm so happy this organization has embraced diversity," she continued. "I'm thankful there are children watching at home who can finally relate to a new Miss America."
 Her parents, who are both from Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, immigrated to Missouri in 1981, Bihar Prabha reports.

She credits her father, a gynecologist affiliated with St. Joseph's Hospital, as inspiring her desire to go into the field of medicine.
But regardless of her accomplishments both on an off the stage, many, including Fox News commentator Todd Starnes, disagreed with the judges' decision.