(ZENIT News – Asia News / Chicago, 21.08.2024).- Joe Biden’s decision to drop out of the race for the White House has drawn the world’s attention to Kamala Harris, the current US Vice President, and her chances of becoming the Democratic challenger to Donald Trump in the November presidential election.
In Asia, the Indian roots of the 59-year-old former Attorney General of California, who now wants to become the first female President of the United States, are making headlines.
Harris is the daughter of Shyamala Gopalan, a scientist from Tamil Nadu who, like generations of young Indians who have built successful careers in the United States, came to Uncle Sam’s land in 1958 at the age of 19 to study nutrition and endocrinology at the University of Berkeley.
According to the latest U.S. Census, there are about 4.4 million people of Indian descent living in the United States. This group grew by 50 percent between 2010 and 2020. Among Asian Americans, Indians are the second largest ethnic group after Chinese Americans with 5.2 million.
And it is very relevant that Usha Chilukuri Vance, the wife of the Republican vice-presidential candidate chosen by Donald Trump a few days ago for the November elections, is also of Indian origin and comes from the state of Andhra Pradesh.
Shyamala Gopalan, a scientist with a brilliant career, died in 2009 after devoting herself to breast cancer research. As she raised Kamala, her eldest daughter, born in 1964 to Jamaican-American economist Donald Harris, she instilled in her a deep pride in her Tamil roots.
“Our classic Indian names are reminders of our heritage, and we were raised with a strong awareness and appreciation for Indian culture,” the current vice president wrote in her autobiography, referring to her own name and that of her sister Maya.
Although Shyamala let them attend a black Baptist church, he also made sure that they learned about her Hindu faith.
At a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Modi at the White House last year, Ms Harris said that after her parents divorced when she was five, she spent every year with her maternal grandparents in Chennai (then Madras).
On this occasion, she also spoke of the very strong bond she shared with her grandfather, PV Gopalan, an Indian civil servant who worked for the rehabilitation of refugees who came to India from East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) after the traumatic experiences of post-independence disintegration.
Before Modi, she recounted how her mother’s father, who was retired, took her on his morning walks, during which he and his friends would “reminisce about the freedom fighters and the founding heroes of the nation and about India’s independence. I remember them talking about the importance of fighting corruption and fighting for equality, regardless of creed or caste.”
“I remember my grandfather teaching me not only what it means to have a democracy, but how to maintain a democracy,” she added. “And I believe those lessons I learned at a very young age sparked my interest in public service.”
At this official reception with Narendra Modi, Harris also recalled her mother’s story and asserted that India’s global engagement through scientific and technological cooperation has benefited not only the Indian people but also the people of the United States and people around the world.
In today’s edition The Hindu The newspaper also recalled that her victory as Joe Biden’s vice presidential candidate in the 2020 presidential election was also celebrated in Thulasendrapuramin, her mother’s home village in Tiruvarur district of Tamil Nadu.
Villagers lit firecrackers, distributed sweets and painted colourful kolams in front of their houses. They also held a special thanksgiving puja at a Hindu temple for the woman they called the “daughter of the village”.
Chennai-based Jesuit and Dalit rights activist Father AJ Bosco tells AsiaNews that Khamala Harris’ family is committed to fighting caste discrimination. “Although her mother, Shyamala, came from a Brahmin family, she was an enlightened woman who opposed caste and colour prejudice. Despite being a Hindu Brahmin, she was open-minded enough to embrace Christianity and bring her daughter Kamala to church.”
However, it is important to remember that the curse of caste discrimination often persists in immigrant communities in the US as well. Dalits there too have come together to fight this evil and this led to the passage of the Anti-Caste Discrimination Act in California. We hope that if Kamala Harris gets the chance to become President of the United States, she will stand up for equality and justice.”
Speaking about Usha Chilukuri Vance, the wife of the Republican vice-presidential candidate, Msgr Joseph Raja Rao, Bishop of Vijayawada, the diocese within whose boundaries lies the Khrisna district from which she hails, said: “It is a great honour to know that a person from Andhra Pradesh is the wife of the vice-presidential candidate of the United States,” he told AsiaNews. “In our country, there are many people who are originally from our country and who hold important positions. There is a Telugu Sangam, the association of Telugu speaking people, who are very enterprising and courageous. Of course, as residents of India, we do not participate in American politics, but Usha’s presence alongside Vance is nevertheless a great honour for the Telugu people.”
(Nirmala Carvalho contributed)
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