Kamala Harris- Indian VP in the USA? Good for India?

Who is Kamala Harris?

Kamala Harris, a talented politician of Indian roots has been chosen as the running mate by Democratic Presidential Candidate Joe Biden.

In previous elections, Hillary Clinton competed Donald Trump and lost. In 2020 elections, Donald Trump and Mike Penece will be defending their positions as President and Vice-President of the USA against Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

Kamala Harris is an American politician and lawyer. She has served as the junior US Senator from California since 2017. Right now, she is the presumptive Democratic Vice Presidential Nominee in the US 2020 elections. In a choice where race and gender are the most crucial parameters, US Democratic nominee Joe Biden announced Senator Kamala Harris. She is the first Asian American and the first Black woman in American history on a major party ticket. Biden announced her as his vice presidential pick and a potential White House successor.

Joe Biden had 6 potential candidates to choose from and he chose Kamala over the other 5.

Let us find out a little bit about who Kamala is and how she got to where she is.  

Background of Kamala Harris

Kamala Harris was born to a Tamil mother and Jamiacan father.

Kamala’s mother was a Breast Cancer Researcher while her father was a professor.

Her parents got divorced when she was 7. The reason for their divorce was due to their professional lives. 

Her mother lived with her and her sister Maya Harris. Kamala studied Law. Her first big appointment was in 2004, as the District Attorney of San Francisco. From 2011-2017 She was the attorney general of California. 

She was elected as Senator in 2016 and since then she was looked at as a strong contender of the 2020-Presidential race.

Kamala Harris is often referred to as the “Female Barack Obama”. 

Obama congratulated her on being picked for Vice President.

Moreover, she did participate in the presidential primaries but due to poor results, she withdrew her nomination in 2019. She was in the race for President last year from the Democratic Party to compete Joe Bidden and Berny Sanders. 

In a debate, she criticized Vice President Joe Bidden for opposing Busing in Primaries last year. Bidens referred to that as “Gut Punch”. Despite that, Biden still ended up picking her as his choice of Vice President. 

Took a “Gut Punch”

Joe Biden after Iowa Debate

Kamala refers to herself not as Indian but as a Black woman. This is because Kamala’s upbringing was closer to the field of black studies, leaders, and culture. She studied at what is known as a “Historically Black College and University. Her identity as a black woman is the front stage on the heels of a resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement. She often argues that her identity makes her uniquely suited to fight for people who have been traditionally ignored.

Kamala Harris on India

“Kashmiris are not alone!”

Kamala Harris during her presidential campaign in 2019

Statement made during her presidential campaign. This was to slam India over the removal of Article 370.

Sikh Activists in the USA reported her tenure as California’s Attorney General barred state prison guards for keeping a beard for religious reasons.

Kamala lashed out at Indian Minister of External Affairs Jaishankar for not meeting her colleague Senator Jaypal Pramila who is a staunch critic of India’s Kashmir Stand.

On her being picked as running mate, Indian Actress Priyanka Chopra congratulated her in a tweet.

Cons Of Kamala

1. Her father was Jamaican and Mom was Indian, yet, she refers to herself as African-American.
   It would have been understandable if she referred to herself as an Immigrant, also as a person of Indian origin or as Jamaican – Indian. Because there is no connection to Africa.
   
2. It is said that Kamala has not worked over Black rights nor has she done much for the black community while being in power.
3. Even though she is half Indian, she seldomly delves into her Indian heritage despite her grandfather being a High-Rank officer of British India.

Thoughts Of Donald Trump

“Meanest, Most Horrible and the Most Disrespectful Senator”.

Donald Trump

Donald Trump said he was very surprised when Biden picked her as running mate. He said she was very disrespectful to Biden. Trump also referred to her as the “Meanest, Most Horrible and the Most Disrespectful Senator”.

Wrapping Up

Kamala Harris is certainly a good choice for getting more votes from Indian-Americans but she also has a very different stance on India which doesn’t necessarily fall into the favor of India. Many Black people have also disagreed to vote for Kamala because she has not done much for them. Now Biden and Kamala wish to defeat Donald Trump. Let us see how the US 2020 elections turn out for them.