JOIN USKamala Harris’s Indian connection - her grandfather who sparked the fire for public service
Presidential hopeful Joe Biden named Senator Kamala Harris, a former rival in the White House race, as his running mate Tuesday, marking a historic first for American women of color.
Harris, who at 55 is two decades Biden's junior, could appeal to younger voters and women, particularly those in the suburbs who have been fleeing Trump.
The former California attorney general is the first person of Indian descent in the running mate role and personifies the diversity seen as key to building enthusiasm for the Democratic ticket.
Kamala is bi-racial. She is of Afro-Jamaican and Tamil-Indian descent. Some have compared Harris’ mixed-race identity and her multicultural experience whilst growing up to that of President Obama’s.
Indian Americans across the world have hailed this historic selection, and Harris herself has spoken proudly of her Indian heritage, reiterating the impact her mother and grandfather have had on her and her career.
Kamala Harris has said that her grandfather, an Indian civil servant was the one who sparked a passion for public services within her.
Her maternal grandfather P V Gopalan was an Indian freedom fighter and former civil servant.
Gopalan was born in Painganadu near the Madras presidency in 1911. He later joined the Indian civil services. He also served in Zambia, where he was assigned to manage an influx of refugees.
Harris also spent her childhood in Lusaka, Zambia, where she grew up in her grandfather's home.
“My grandfather was one of the original Independence fighters in India. 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,” Harris said in an interview republished on CNN, speaking with fondness for her grandfather and his impact on her.
“My grandfather was really one of my favorite people in my world,” she added.
Gopalan had four children, out of which two went on to secure PhDs. One of them was Shyamala Gopalan, Kamala Harris's mother, who was a cancer researcher and a civil rights activist.
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Shyamala Gopalan Harris, migrated from Madras. A cancer researcher and a McGill fellow, she studied nutrition and endocrinology at UC Berkeley where she met her future husband, Professor Donald Harris, who would go on to teach at Stanford University. The couple divorced when Kamala Harris was seven years old.
Harris's maternal grandmother was also an activist. According to reports, she travelled across villages in India, educating women about birth control.
Reportedly Harris's family was initially skeptical of the career choice. While she acknowledged that prosecutors have historically earned a bad reputation, she said she wanted to change the system from the inside.
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"My mother was very proud of her Indian heritage and taught us, me and my sister Maya, to share in the pride about our culture. I am proud to be who I am, I am proud of the influences that my family have had on my life, that my community had on my life," Harris said in a 2009 interview.