Kamala Harris’ family in India is confident that Harris, the first Black and Indian-American woman on a major presidential party ticket, will win over the rest of a country that has moved closer to the US thanks to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s close ties with Donald Trump.
“Indians love drama, which explains President Trump’s popularity in India,” said Harris’s maternal uncle, Gopalan Balachandran, an academic based in New Delhi was quoted as saying in a Bloomberg report. “But I am confident that she will be equally popular”.
Last September, President Trump visited India amid huge theatrics at the Sardar Patel Stadium in Ahmadabad, Gujarat. And while warming relations between the nations haven’t resolved a trade spat, India has expanded arms purchases from the US and aligned with it more openly against China.
The Trump administration openly backed the Modi government following deadly clashes between Chinese and Indian troops along their disputed Himalayan border in June.
Biden’s campaign pledged to reform the H-1B visa system and work to eliminate the country-quota for green cards— both issues that Trump. They reckon the Harris’ Indian heritage will be a positive element in her approach to India.
Amitabh Mattoo, a former member of India’s National Security Council Advisory Board said, “They may not roll out a red carpet or give bear hugs or talk about each other in narcissistic terms, but I don’t think there will be a substantial shift in the importance that Washington has for India—that will remain.”
There could be some frayed nerves, however, as Harris was vocal about what she felt after the Modi government abrogated Article 370, revoking the special status of the only Muslim majority state in India—Jammu & Kashmir. “We have to remind Kashmiris that they are not alone in the world,” Harris said in September 2019 while on the campaign trail. “We are keeping track of the situation. There is a need to intervene if the situation demands.”
In December 2019, when S. Jaishankar refused to meet Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, who had been critical of India’s policies in Kashmir, Harris stood up for her colleague and said, “It’s wrong for any foreign government to tell Congress what members are allowed in meetings on Capitol Hill. I stand with @RepJayapal, and I'm glad her colleagues in the House did too.”