Kamala Harris: What is Democratic presidential candidate's Indian connection?

Thulasendrapuram, in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu, celebrated when Ms Harris became vice president

Celebration on the day of the inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in Thulasendrapuram, where Harris' maternal grandfather was born and grew up, January 2021. Reuters

US President Joe Biden's decision to drop his bid for re-election and endorse Vice President Kamala Harris to be the Democratic Party candidate could spark celebrations in a small Indian village after the vote in November.

Residents of Thulasendrapuram, in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu, celebrated after Mr Biden's election win in 2020 made his running mate Ms Harris, 59, not only America's first woman vice president but also the first person of black or Indian heritage to hold the post.

Kamala Harris' family

Ms Harris's mother Shyamala Gopalan, a cancer researcher and civil rights activist, is from Thulasendrapuram and moved to the US as a student in the late 1950s, while her father Donald J Harris, a professor of economics, came to the US from Jamaica for higher studies.

Her parents divorced when she was young, and Ms Harris and her sister Maya lived with Ms Gopalan.

Ms Harris has said on several occasions that she grew up with her mother's Indian culture, often joining her on visits to India, although she identifies more as a black woman.

Her grandfather PV Gopalan was a civil servant who campaigned for India's independence from British rule while her grandmother Rajam Gopalan “travelled across India to talk to women about accessing birth control”, Ms Harris has said.

Her grandfather later moved to Tamil Nadu's state capital Chennai, 320km from Thulasendrapuram, where Ms Harris has said she would often take walks with him along the beach during her childhood visits to India.

“Those walks along the beach in India really planted something in my mind and created a commitment in me, before I even realised it. That has led me to where I am today,” she said in a video on X, in 2020.

When Ms Harris was sworn in as Vice President in 2021, her grandfather’s village celebrated by setting off fireworks, sharing sweets and printing posters and calendars with her picture.

K Kaliyaperumal, a member of the village committee, told Reuters that if she were to win and become president the celebration would be much larger, comparing it to India’s recent win at the cricket Twenty20 World Cup.

Ms Harris has not visited the village since becoming vice president but has said she remains in touch with her relatives.