By Ashoke Raj
New Delhi [India], Aug 12 (ANI): After Senator Kamala Harris was picked to be the US Democratic presidential contender Joe Biden‘s Vice Presidential candidate. her maternal uncle who lives here said that she has “many memories in India”.
“Kamala was in India and made a trip to the Bay of Bengal to immerse her mother’s ashes. Kamala’s mother Shyamala Gopalan Harris was born in India and she was a cancer researcher and died of cancer. At that time when I saw Kamala, she was very emotional,” G. Balachandran, her maternal uncle told ANI.
Kamala’s mother, Shyamala Gopalan Harris passed away in the year 2009 after which Harris made a trip to India to immerse her ashes in the Bay of Bengal, according to family tradition, her uncle recalls.
“I spoke to her last time when I was in the US, in October-December last year. Today I sent her a message of congratulations,” he said
The entire Gopalan family is very happy and marked the day as a historical day for the diaspora. “Our family feels happy. My sister–her mother–would have been very proud of her daughter. It is a historic day for the Indian community,” Balachandran said.
Harris’ maternal uncle who lives here in the national capital says he has good memories of Harris who was born in Oakland, California and is a lawyer-turned-politician. He said that while HArris was in India, she used to visit Indian cities all the time and visit places.
“She requested me to travel to Indian cities during her stay in India; basically she wants to see cities. We usually offer her a South Indian dish at home and she loves South Indian food like, dosa, rasam, rice but she also loves hamburgers, sandwiches and other American dishes,”
When asked if he had any memories with Kamala, he said that he had met her in England when she was at the tender age of two years old when her parents came down to visit. “When I was in England, I met Kamala when she was two years old. Kamala, Shyamala and her husband had come down. We went out for food and Kamala was playing in the park and running around,” recalled the proud uncle.
Balachandran said that the California Senator is fond of India but couldn’t come in the last ‘couple of years’ as she is a Senator as well.
“She could not come here frequently in the last couple of years as she is a Senator. She is Indian and likes India but that doesn’t mean that anything India says is right for her. She is also Jamaican, an African-American, she uses her own judgment,” he said.
He added, “If there is anything to choose between India and somebody else, provided it is not against US interests, she will choose India. After all, she has taken oath on the US Constitution.”
Harris will be the first African American nominated for Vice President by a major party.
“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,” Biden tweeted on Tuesday. (ANI)
