BETA
This is a BETA experience. You may opt-out by clicking here

Breaking

3 hours ago
Netanyahu Says He Hopes To Overcome Disagreement With Biden—But Insists Rafah Assault Must Happen
11 hours ago
Bird Flu (H5N1) Explained: 70 People In Colorado Monitored For Illness, Local Officials Say
12 hours ago
Judge Denies Trump’s Call For A Mistrial, Again, In Hush Money Case
12 hours ago
Discrimination May Cause People To Age Faster—And Affect White People Most, Study Suggests
12 hours ago
Taylor Swift Added These ‘The Tortured Poets Department’ Songs To Her Eras Tour
12 hours ago
Trump Stock Jumps More Than 10%—Boosting His Net Worth To An All-Time High
Edit Story
ForbesBusiness
Election 2020

‘Long Live Kamala Harris’: Vice President’s Ancestral Village In India Erupts With Joy (Photos)

Siladitya Ray
Forbes Staff
Siladitya Ray is a New Delhi-based Forbes news team reporter.
Following
This article is more than 3 years old.
Updated Jan 21, 2021, 05:47am EST

Topline

The residents of Thulasendrapuram, a small village in southern India, celebrated with chants of “Long live Kamala Harris,” as the granddaughter of one of the village’s well-known families was sworn in as the U.S. vice president on a historic day.

Key Facts

The village’s residents gathered to watch a live broadcast of the inauguration while holding portraits of her and then set off fireworks moments after she took the oath, the Associated Press reported.

The residents of Thulasendrapuram — where Harris’s maternal grandfather and former Indian diplomat PV Gopalan was born — had also adorned their local Hindu temple with flowers and offered special prayers for her success.

Harris shattered barriers on Wednesday, becoming the first Black, Indian-American and female vice president of the United States.

Key Background

Harris’ mother, Shyamala Gopalan, was born in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu and immigrated to the United States as a teenager where she met Harris’ father, Donald Harris, an immigrant from Jamaica. Harris’ maternal grandfather, PV Gopalan, had participated in the Indian independence movement and would later go on to become a senior civil servant in the country, at one point serving on an Indian diplomatic mission to Zambia.

Follow me on Twitter. Send me a secure tip. 
Siladitya Ray
Siladitya Ray
Following

Join The Conversation

Comments 

One Community. Many Voices. Create a free account to share your thoughts. 

Read our community guidelines .

Forbes Community Guidelines

Our community is about connecting people through open and thoughtful conversations. We want our readers to share their views and exchange ideas and facts in a safe space.

In order to do so, please follow the posting rules in our site's Terms of Service.  We've summarized some of those key rules below. Simply put, keep it civil.

Your post will be rejected if we notice that it seems to contain:

  • False or intentionally out-of-context or misleading information
  • Spam
  • Insults, profanity, incoherent, obscene or inflammatory language or threats of any kind
  • Attacks on the identity of other commenters or the article's author
  • Content that otherwise violates our site's terms.

User accounts will be blocked if we notice or believe that users are engaged in:

  • Continuous attempts to re-post comments that have been previously moderated/rejected
  • Racist, sexist, homophobic or other discriminatory comments
  • Attempts or tactics that put the site security at risk
  • Actions that otherwise violate our site's terms.

So, how can you be a power user?

  • Stay on topic and share your insights
  • Feel free to be clear and thoughtful to get your point across
  • ‘Like’ or ‘Dislike’ to show your point of view.
  • Protect your community.
  • Use the report tool to alert us when someone breaks the rules.

Thanks for reading our community guidelines. Please read the full list of posting rules found in our site's Terms of Service.