Kamala Harris' mother is Shyamala Gopalan, who immigrated to the US at the age of 19.
New Delhi:
In her acceptance speech for the Democratic nomination, Kamala Harris vowed to push back against the influence of authoritarian leaders, who she said had manipulated Donald Trump’s foreign policy by appealing to his autocratic tendencies. In an effort to position herself against Republican front-runner Trump, Harris emphasized her resolve on national security, portraying the billionaire as a riskier alternative.
In her speech, Harris made it abundantly clear that her presidency would mark a definitive break with the Trump era, particularly on foreign policy. “I will not flatter tyrants and dictators,” she declared.
As Dr. Sweta Chakraborty, a Climate Surrogate for the Harris campaign, explains, Harris’ approach to policymaking is rooted in a clear-eyed assessment of the threats the country faces, both from foreign adversaries and from within. Dr. Chakraborty, who has been closely involved with the campaign and attended the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago, noted that Harris’ message resonates strongly with Indian-Americans and other minority communities who look to her as their leader.
Indian American perspective
“Kamala Harris is a few points ahead of Donald Trump and will definitely see a revival after the DNC. Indian-Americans like me are joining forces and supporting her through various efforts and special partnerships. For example, we are raising funds through 'South Asians in Climate' after the DNC and ahead of the official launch of the 'Harris for President Climate Group' in September. South Asians are there. Climate voters are there and as a South Asian climate proxy, I represent both the voter groups that are broadly supporting Kamala Harris for president,” Dr Chakraborty told Our.
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Harris was born in 1964 in Oakland, California. His father is Donald Harris, a man of Afro-Jamaican descent, and his mother is Shyamala Gopalan, who immigrated to the United States at the age of 19 to pursue a PhD in nutrition and endocrinology.
“A president who shares the same ancestry as South Asians in America shows that South Asian immigrants and their descendants have a definite place in America. A daughter of India can reach the highest elected office in the United States, which shows that the sky is the limit for the Indian diaspora in the US. Indians in the US already enjoy the status of the highest earning demographic group. An Indian will elevate that status and make history for minorities and women in general,” Dr Chakraborty said.
The Usha Vance Factor
Harris, however, is not the only Indian-American whose name and image are plastered all over the US presidential campaign. In the Republican camp is Trump's vice presidential candidate JD Vance's wife Usha Vance, who traces her roots to Vadluru in Andhra Pradesh.
Usha's father, Chilukuri Radhakrishnan, grew up in Chennai but went to the US to pursue further education. Usha grew up in San Diego, California and met JD Vance at Yale Law School before getting married in 2014.
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“Usha Vance and her husband traded their morals for power,” Dr. Chakraborty alleged. “It is clear that they shared authentic liberal values with friends and college classmates, but adapted and crafted their positions to maneuver in the conservative party, which they thought would be the easiest route to power.”
Kamala Harris vs. Donald Trump
Dr. Chakraborty highlighted a stark contrast between Harris and Trump: where Trump has prioritized tax breaks for billionaires and deregulation of polluting companies, Harris has promised to hold the oil and gas industry accountable, invest in a clean energy economy and ensure that the benefits of climate action accrue to all Americans, not just the wealthy elite.
When Harris ran for vice president in 2020, her climate plan was even more aggressive than what eventually passed during Joe Biden’s presidency as the Inflation Reduction Act—a landmark piece of climate legislation in U.S. history. Now, as she prepares to release her full climate agenda in September, Harris is positioning herself as the “Climate President” for the United States, Dr. Chakraborty said.
“As an Indian woman, she also represents members of American society who have been historically dispossessed. She is the physical opposite of Biden and represents the rise of women and a future society that is more fair and just for all genders and races,” she said.
