Kamala Harris has never shied away from acknowledging her Indian roots. The US Vice President reminisced about her maternal grandparents on National Grandparents Day. Sharing a throwback picture of her grandparents PV Gopalan and Rajam Gopalam, she wrote about the time she spent with them during trips to India and the lessons she imbibed.
“As a young girl visiting my grandparents in India, my grandfather took me on his morning walks, where he would discuss the importance of fighting for equality and fighting corruption. He was a retired civil servant who had been part of the movement to win India’s independence,” wrote Harris. PV Gopalan began his career in the Imperial Secretariat Service during British India, which later integrated into the Central Secretariat Service after independence.
Kamala Harris traces her roots back to Tamil Nadu , India, through her maternal lineage. She has Indian heritage on her mother's side and Jamaican heritage on her father's side. Her mother, Shyamala Gopalan, the daughter of PV and Rajam Gopalan, moved to the United States at 19 to pursue a Master’s degree.
“My grandmother traveled across India—bullhorn in hand—to speak with women about accessing birth control,” she added. Harris' maternal grandfather hailed from Thulasendrapuram. Kamala Harris is running in the US presidential election, facing off against Republican Donald Trump.
Back in 2021, when she was sworn in as Vice President, her ancestral village of Thulasendrapuram.