Ancestral Village of Kamala Harris in India Monitors Her Political Achievements in the US

July 5 :
A little town in southern India, located over 12,000 kilometers from Washington, is keeping a careful eye on whether U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris will run against Donald Trump in the 2017 election, replacing Joe Biden. There were fireworks, free chocolate, posters, and calendars featuring the vice president for the 2021 celebration of her inauguration in the verdant village of Thulasendrapuram, the site of Harris's maternal grandfather's birth over a century ago.

Considering the news emanating from the United States, which they are following through television and social media, the villagers are demanding more this time.

If Biden were to withdraw from the contest for the November 5th election, sources have indicated that Harris—who was born to an Indian mother and a Jamaican father who came to the US to pursue further education—would be the front-runner to replace him. But Biden has threatened that he is "not going anywhere," and his supporters think he can calm the nerves of funders and voters who are worried about his mental clarity and endurance.

A member of the village committee named K. Kaliyaperumal claimed that this time there will be a bigger party because she is likely to run for president. The Indian cricket team's recent World Cup victory, he claimed, would cause a similar frenzy in the nation if she were to receive a nomination.

Harris fondly remembers going on beach walks with her grandpa in Chennai, which is 320 kilometers (200 miles) away from Thulasendrapuram and the area where her family eventually settled when she was five years old. However, since becoming vice president, she has not returned.

According to G. Manikandan, a merchant in the town of Thulasendrapuram, where around 2,000 people reside, the locals were hoping for a visit, a statement, or even just some mention of their hamlet. However, none of that materialized.

When she was inaugurated as vice president, many individuals proudly displayed calendars with her likeness outside their residences. These days, you hardly see them. However, they will most certainly return now.

S.V. Ramanan, who is sympathetic because her family departed Thulasendrapuram in the 1930s, operates a temple to the family god of Harris' grandpa; so, the community may feel dissatisfied that it was not mentioned. Using the analogy of screaming for a winning horse that doesn't get the significance of your yelling and clapping, he suggested that Harris, being American, may understandably be unaware of the village's enthusiasm.