My name is Sudesh Menon and I am returning to India on a permenant basis after 17 longyears in oman and now that i have made all possible arrangements for my living and luxury over in india my only concern there is a car which is what is confusing meto the core so as to which one to buy, and seeing the numerous options available over there, most of which consists of sedans and i do not need a sedan but a family car or a SUV preferrably with an Automatic transmission.

well as per your needs in a car i have a suggestions for you , infact there are many family cars like the safari, or the innova, or the xylo, or tavera or qualis, but the kind of car you are looking for is the one with an auto transmission and that should make me suggest you the scorpio automatic.
rad a review for the same a few days back and thought to post it here so that you and the others may be benifitted by this one

The first automatic SUV by the Mahindra group, featuring a six speed gear box and powerful 2.2 litre mHawk engine. More about the designs, engine, safety features and variants of Scorpio Automatic, are gives as follows:
Design and Interior:
The design of the Scorpio Automatic is same as that of the first Scorpio, designed way back in 2002. It has a four-door SUV wagon,a separate frame and three-row seating, which can have up to seven people. Scorpio Automatic has a fully electronically controlled gearbox which enables greater maneuvering. The new model is designed to suit the city driving conditions.
Engine:
The 120bhp 2.2L engine gets a six speed automatic made by Drivetrain International Systems in Australia. Scorpio Automatic has an intelligent driving mode to make driving a pleasurable experience inclines.Other features include antilock brakes, rear-obstacle detection, auto-on headlamps and even rain-sensing wipers. The mHawk Scorpio automatic can cover 60 kmph in 6 seconds and touch 100 kmph in just 15 seconds. and the engine feels relaxed even at 120 km/hr. As the Scorpio At gives a mileage of 12.7 km/pl on highways and 10.2 km/pl on city roads. The acceleration is a bit better than the manual version.
Features: Cruise Control, ABS, automatic headlamps, rain-sensing wipers, Tyre pressure monitoring system, voice assist system etc. (for VLX)
Safety:
The Scorpio Automatic equipped with overheat protection, reverse lockout, BTSI (brake transmission shift interlock) and anti roll-back in ?Drive? mode. These feature enables the Scorpio not to roll back on inclinesPrice & Variants:
The Scorpio AT is launched in two variants (VLS, VLX) which are both priced above 10.5 L.

Downside of scorpio is that its cramped from inside. May they can improve seating positions.

Honda Accord?

Or Sonata embera AT/

You go with Tata Safari Dicor. That's fantastic SUV and family car.