Indians in Kamala Harris' ancestral home wake up to her victory
08 November, 2020
After rooting for Kamala Harris as President-elect Joe Biden's running mate, people in her small ancestral Indian village woke up on Sunday (Nov 8) morning to the news headlines of her making history.
Most of them had opted to sleep by the time Biden clinched the winning threshold of 270 Electoral College votes.
"Congratulations Kamala Harris. Pride of our village. Vanakkam (Greetings) America," one female resident wrote in colour powder outside her residence.
"We all have already been waiting for today. Congratulations," Aulmozhi Sudhakar, a village councillor, said.
The village of Thulasendrapuram, population 350, planned to celebrate Harris' success with singing, dancing and firecrackers at a temple down the road Sunday.
Already in the morning hours, groups gathered at street corners reading newspapers and chatting about the Democrats' victory before moving to the temple for prayers.
Cutouts and posters wishing Harris a "grand success" adorned the village walls.
"Kamala Harris may be the daughter of our village. From children to older persons, each one of us is awaiting your day she'd take oath as the vice president of the US," said Sudhakar.
J Sudhakar, who organised prayers on Election Day, expressed his wish that Harris should now go to the village. As Americans voted, almost 50 residents, with folded hands, lined up in the temple that reverberated with the sounds of ringing bells, and a Hindu priest gave them sweets and flowers as a religious offering.
Women in the village, located 350km from the southern coastal city of Chennai, used bright colours to write "We Wish Kamala Harris Wins" on the floor, alongside a thumbs-up sign.
The lush green village is the hometown of Harris' maternal grandfather, who migrated to the US decades ago.
In the temple where people have already been holding special prayers, Harris' name is sculpted right into a stone that lists public donations made to the temple in 2014, along with that of her grandfather who gave money decades ago.
Harris' late mother also was created in India, before moving to the US at age 19 to review at the University of California. She married a Jamaican, and they named their daughter Kamala, Sanskrit for "lotus flower".
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a tweet described Harris' success as path-breaking, and a matter of immense pride not just for her relatives also for all Indian-Americans. "I am confident that the vibrant India-US ties are certain to get even stronger together with your support and leadership."
There's been both excitement - plus some concern - over Biden's selection of Harris as his running mate.
Modi had committed to President Donald Trump, who visited India in February. Modi's many Hindu nationalist supporters also were upset with Harris when she expressed concern about the divided Himalayan region of Kashmir, whose statehood India's government revoked in August this past year.
Harris stood by Pramila Jayapal, another US congresswoman of Indian origin, when India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar refused to wait a meeting in america over her participation this past year. Jayapal had earlier moved an answer on the Kashmir issue critical of India inside your home of Representatives.
Rights groups accuse India of human rights violations in Indian-controlled Kashmir, where insurgent groups have been fighting for independence or merger with neighbouring Pakistan since 1989.
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