Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee for President, has named Kamala Harris, who is of mixed Indian and Black heritage, as his pick for Vice-President in what was described as “historic” and “seismic” by Democrats, including many ecstatic Indian Americas, and non-partisan observers. Harris was not a surprise pick as she had been on everyone’s shortlist of Biden’s choices, which at some stage had 11 names. In recent days the former vice-president had been focussed on three - Harris, former National Security Adviser Susan Rice and Congresswoman Karen Baas. Some days ago, Biden may have tipped his hand inadvertently when notes he held during a press interaction showed several checkmarks against her name.
The 55-year-old first time senator from California is now the first American of Indian and Asian descent to run for vice-president. She is also the first African American of a major party and only the third woman yet to run for that office, after Democrat Geraldine Ferraro and Republican Sarah Palin. The US hasn’t had a female vice-president, or president, yet.
Biden announced his pick in a tweet as speculation reached a feverish pitch on all leading TV channels and social media. “I have the great honor to announce that I’ve picked @KamalaHarris - a fearless fighter for the little guy, and one of the country’s finest public servants - as my running mate,” the former vice-president wrote on twitter.
In her first public response to the announcement, Harris wrote on Twitter: “@JoeBiden can unify the American people because he’s spent his life fighting for us. And as president, he’ll build an America that lives up to our ideals. I’m honored to join him as our party’s nominee for Vice President and do what it takes to make him our Commander-in-Chief.” A win in November will make Harris the first female vice-president of the United States and set her up the presidency in 2024, at the end of Biden’s first term, or 2028. Most vice-presidents have gone on to run for the top job themselves and win, with some exceptions such as Al Gore.
Kamala Harris - The granddaughter of Besant Nagar, Chennai
Kamla’s mother Shyamala Gopalan who hailed from Chennai, met and married Kamala’s father Donald Harris, Jamaican student at the University of California at Berkeley. It was a hugely “progressive” decision taken by the family, considering India was still a deeply conservative country and accepted the “inter-racial union’. She was a cancer researcher, who raised Harris and the younger daughter Maya Harris, as a single mother mostly after early separation from Donald Harris. Shyamala passed away in 2009.
Kamala’s grandfather PV Gopalan remained a guiding light in Kamala’s life imparting values of civic mindedness, public service and human rights. He passed away in 1998. In an interview to journalist Aziz Haniffa, Harris said, “One of the most influential people in my life, in addition to my mother, was my grandfather PV Gopalan, who actually held a post in India that was like the Secretary of State position in this country..some of my fondest memories from childhood were walking along the beach with him after he retired and lived in Besant Nagar, in what was then called Madras. He would take walks every morning along the beach with his buddies who were all retired government officials and they would talk about politics, about how corruption must be fought and about justice. They would laugh and voice opinions and argue, and those conversations, even more than their actions, had such a strong influence on me in terms in terms of learning to be responsible, to be honest, and to have integrity.” In her book The Truths We Hold Kamala, she called her grandfather a diligent civil servant, who had a strong anti-corruption stance. Kamala once said, “My grandfather felt very strongly about the importance of defending civil rights and fighting for equality and integrity. I just remember them always talking about the people who were corrupt versus the people who were real servants.”
Doctor Gopalan Balachandran, Harris’ maternal uncle told a publication that the Harris sisters grew up in a predominantly black neighbourhood, so their mother had a vast library of religious scriptures like Ramayana for them to read and made many visits to India to imbibe the culture. In a speech she delivered in the year 2008, Harris said, “I remember the stories that they would tell and the passion with which they spoke about the importance of democracy. As I reflect on those moments in my life that have had the most impact on who I am today — I wasn’t conscious of it at the time — but it was those walks on the beach with my grandfather in Besant Nagar that had a profound impact on who I am today.”
Erstwhile critic, present day ally
Noticeably, the Senator had gone on record to believe the women who accused presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden of inappropriate interactions and called into question his record on race issues. Joe Trippi, a long-time Democratic strategist reacted to this and told Newsweek, “You can criticize Biden and he doesn't seek revenge. He can still work with you and get his agenda passed. With Trump, there's no way.”
Trump on Harris: From “fine choice” to “the meanest”
President Donald Trump, who had earlier called Harris a “fine choice” if picked by Biden, felt differently and accorded the announcement the full Trump treatment. He slammed her as “nasty” and “the meanest, the most horrible, most disrespectful” for her grilling of Brett Kavanaugh at his senate confirmation hearing for the Supreme Court. His campaign called her “phony”.
Indian Americans ecstatic
Ramesh Kapur, a veteran Democrat who hosted a fundraiser for Harris at his home in Boston in 2016 during her senate run, said he believed the announcement was the start of a journey. “It’s the beginning of her becoming the first Indian American president - this is a journey.” “Moment of great pride for the Indian American community,” said Shekar Narasimhan, a top Democratic strategist and fundraiser. “It’s a first in so many ways and will help Joe Biden win the presidency which is the first priority. A seismic shift occurred today, and its ramifications will be felt for many decades”.
Former first lady Michelle Obama tweeted in support of Biden and Harris: “If we want to end the chaos and division—and keep alive the possibility of progress on the issues we hold dear—we’ve got to vote for @JoeBiden and @KamalaHarris like our lives depend on it.” Former President Barack Obama shared his wife’s tweet and further added, “As Michelle said, we’ve got to do everything we can to elect @JoeBiden and @KamalaHarris. So make sure you have a plan to vote. Vote early. And tell everybody you know to register to vote at http://iwillvote.com.”
In a video from 2019 that recently surfaced on the internet again, Harris was seen cooking a masala dosa with actor Mindy Kaling. In the video, Harris also talks about how her maternal family in India advocated vegetarianism. “So, when we were growing up and we would go to India…and my grandfather was a little mischievous…my grandmother, of course, was strictly ‘no, nothing’. If it had a mother, it was not getting eaten. And if my grandmother would go out of town, my grandfather would then…get very mischievous and he would say, ‘Okay, let us have French toast‘,” Harris said.
