Early Sunday morning, Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Joe Biden and Kamala Harris (Archive)
New Delhi:
Residents lit firecrackers at Kamala Harris’ ancestral home on Sunday as India celebrated the victory of the vice president-elect of the United States, and her uncle hailed her achievement as historic and an inspiration to women and girls.
Ms. Harris, daughter of breast cancer specialist Shyamala Gopalan from Chennai city, South India, paid tribute to her late mother, who “believed so deeply in an America where a moment like this is possible. “in a national speech with the president. elect Joe Biden on Saturday.
In the village of Thulasendrapuram in Tamil Nadu, once the home of Ms. Harris’s maternal grandfather, PV Gopalan, celebrations erupted with people lighting firecrackers, praying at its main temple and waving posters with the vice president-elect’s face.
The village women made a rangoli, a colorful work of folk art drawn on the ground, with the words “Congratulations to Kamala Harris.”
“It is a matter of pride for all women,” housewife Arul Mozhi Sudhakar told AFP.
– ‘Many firsts’ –
Harris’s uncle, scholar Balachandran Gopalan, said his late sister would have been proud of their daughter and that the family would gather in Washington from across the United States and from India, Canada and Mexico to witness her historic inauguration.
“His mother would have been very happy. She would have asked Kamala to continue what he is doing,” the 79-year-old academic in the national capital told AFP as a huge media contingent crowded in front of his house.
“Can you think of any other country where a first-generation immigrant would go to the highest office? It’s a lot of news. And at an important time in American history. And that she’s there as vice president means a lot.”
Her niece’s lifetime achievements – she was also California’s first black attorney general and the first woman of South Asian descent elected to the United States Senate – would be an inspiration to other Indian-American immigrants, she added.
“Many (Indian-American) children who were previously interested in the annual Spelling Bee contest will now be interested in American politics,” he joked.
“I think young children, especially girls, are more motivated and excited. That’s a good thing.”
Gopalan said he had more hope for his pioneering niece, including a presidential race.
– ‘Ray of hope’ –
In Delhi, people applauded the Indian origins of the Harris family.
Yash Iyer, 25, told AFP: “It is a proud moment for us also as indigenous people, since she has her roots here.”
“The fact that Kamala Harris is the vice president of the US is a monumental achievement not only for the US and India, but also for women around the world,” Smitashree Mishra, who told AFP. works in health and international development.
“What I take away from this victory is a ray of hope, the hope to stand firm in a society that constantly judges you on archaic notions of gender, race and ethnicity … I am proud as a woman to see another woman represent our perspective. in the politics of the most powerful country in the world. “
Trader Murlidhar Aggarwal said Ms. Harris’s success demonstrated that people of minority backgrounds could “get to the top” in America.
“Even in India, it should be like that, the only thing that should matter is whether the person is qualified for the job.”
Early Sunday morning, Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Biden and Harris.
“Her success is groundbreaking and a source of immense pride not only for her Chittis, but also for all Indian Americans,” Prime Minister Modi wrote of Ms. Harris.
“Chitti” is a Tamil term of endearment for the younger sisters of one’s mother, which Ms. Harris used when accepting the Democratic vice presidential nomination.
Biden-Harris’s victory made the front pages of Indian Sunday papers.
Harris “makes history,” said The Sunday Express along with the headline: “Finally.”
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