Thiruvarur (Tamil Nadu) : Kamala Harris is expected to be nominated as the Democratic candidate for US presidential race after President Joe Biden has given his bid for the second term. All eyes are on Kamala Harris, who is having an interesting Tamil Nadu connection through her maternal grand parents.
Kamala Harris' Indian Origin: P.V. Gopalan, an Indian career civil servant who served as Director of Relief Measures and Refugees in the government of Zambia, later served as Advisor to 1st President of Zambia Kenneth Kaunda. He served as Joint Secretary to the Govt of India in 1960s. He is the maternal grandfather of U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris.
Gopalan was a member of the Imperial Secretariat Service and later a Central Secretariat Service officer. Gopalan, who went on an official visit to Zambia to survey the refugees, settled there. Later, his second daughter Shyamala, married a Jamaican. Kamala Harris was born to the couple.
Kamala Harris' family is still close to Tamil Nadu. Her mother Shyamala's sister lives in Chennai. Some of the relatives still live in Thulasendrapuram village. Also, her ancestral temple named Dharma Sastha Temple, is in Thulasendrapuram. Kamala Harris had donated to the temple a few years back. It is noteworthy that the details are recorded in the temple inscription.