Harris's Indian uncle says his niece will 'bring back civility' to US public debate

KAMALA HARRIS’S EXTENDED family in India are keeping a close watch on the US presidential campaign. But they don’t have any grand plans to celebrate even if she becomes the most powerful person in the world.

A simple ‘pooja’ – a ceremonial prayer performed by Hindus — is all that will happen if Harris makes history.

“We have no special plans or celebrations if she becomes president except perhaps a pooja in her name at the family temple,” Gopalan Balachandran, Harris’s 80-year-old uncle, told The Journal from India as Harris prepares to accept the Democratic nomination at her party’s convention later this month. 

Balachandran has been keenly watching his niece’s rise after a frenetic period for Democrats prompted by President Joe Biden’s disastrous June debate performance.

He described her as a “loving and talented” niece, who has turned into a “mature politician” after years of experience in public service.

“As her uncle, it goes without saying that she is a very loving and talented niece. As a child she was a playful and carefree niece. Now, she is a mature adult with years of experience in public service at various levels of governance – city, state and national.”

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Earlier this week, Harris secured the Democratic presidential nomination, becoming the first woman of colour to feature at the top of a major party’s ticket. The Democratic National Convention, to be held in Chicago later this month, will formally certify the vote.

Balachandran said that Harris has done all her work with “exceptional competence and right philosophical approach”.

He recently met her for dinner at her residence in the US during a family reunion just before Biden had stepped down.

“The talk was mainly personal family reminiscences,” he said.

When asked what he thinks of Harris as a politician, he said, “She will bring back civility in political discourse and debate in the US.”

Down south in India, people of the remote village of Thulasendrapuram in Tiruvarur district, Tamil Nadu, are anxiously waiting as Harris gets a step closer to becoming President. 

Her maternal grandfather, PV Gopalan, was born in this village in 1911, which she visited as a five-year-old kid.

Harris’s mother, Shayamala, was one of Gopalan’s four children who moved to the US when she was 19 to study at Berkeley. She met Harris’s father Donal Harris, an immigrant from Jamaica, and Kamala was born to the couple in 1964.

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TheJournal made contact with a number of people in Thulasendrapuram in the wake of Harris’s elevation to the top of the Democratic ticket. 

One man, N Krishnamurthi, who we were told has become something of an authority on Harris, said: “We are all praying for her victory since she has brought this tiny village on the world map. Being the would-be president of the world’s most powerful nation, we can’t expect her to pay a visit to our village but we will be praying.”

Last month, large banners were installed in the village featuring Harris and her maternal grandfather’s name. People celebrated and distributed sweets when Biden proposed her name as the presidential candidate.

Some three years ago, they had even inscribed her name in a local temple when she became the vice president.

This time, they are expecting more.

Reaching the highest office in the US, her uncle said, “would be a great achievement for a loved family member”. 

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