Kamala Harris' 2020 US presidential bid excites Indian-Americans
Washington, Jan 22 : The 2020 US presidential bid of first Indian-origin Senator Kamala Harris has thrilled the Indian-American community which considers the "groundbreaking" announcement a "proud moment" and a reflection that Indian-Americans have finally arrived.
Harris, 54, officially launched her campaign for the US presidential election in 2020 to take on President Donald Trump on Monday, saying she was "honoured" to announce her bid on a day when Americans celebrated Martin Luther King Jr who sought inspiration from Mahatma Gandhi.
A rising party star and vocal critic of President Trump, Harris is the fourth Democrat to join the battle for the party's nomination in the next year's election.
While it's too early to say on the results of the grilling presidential primary that would conclude with the Democratic National Convention in July 2020, the Indian-American community leaders said Harris who is of mixed parental heritage from India and the Caribbean has a fair and clear shot at the White House.
"It's a proud moment for the Indian-American community to see one of our own announce to run for the president," eminent philanthropist and venture capitalist M R Rangaswami, founder of Indiaspora, told PTI.
Indian-American Impact Fund, a political action committee that supports Indian-Americans candidates, said it was "thrilled" by Senator Harris' "groundbreaking" announcement.
"As the first viable Indian-American candidate for President of the United States, she is a trailblazer for our community and a champion for our values. We applaud her decision and look forward to supporting her enthusiastically in the days and months ahead," it said.
Quite often described as the female Barack Obama in the Democratic party, Harris would create history by becoming the first woman to be elected as the US President if she wins the 2020 presidential race against Trump.
The community members cautioned that the politicians cannot take the Indian-Americans for granted and need to earn the support of the community.
"Any politician shouldn't look at the Indian-American community as a monolith at all. They cannot take us for granted because we also have a Hindu American running for president Tulsi Gabbard and she has been also reaching out and getting supporters," Silicon Valley-based Rangaswami said.
Gabbard, the first Hindu elected to the House of Representatives has also announced her bid for the 2020 presidential election.
"Nobody can take us for granted and they have to come talk to us, earn our vote, earn our support. The community is just ready to go behind any one person and, and also it shows that the community has gained a lot more influence...They have to come to us, talk to us, earn our vote and earn our support," he said.
After becoming the high-profile Senator from California, Harris whose mother Shyamala Gopalan migrated from Tamil Nadu to the US as a young student for higher studies, has maintained a distance from the Indian-American community, which has felt proud of her accomplishments.
It is only in the last six months, that she has started attending some of the Indian-American events.
"It's not like that the community is ready to go behind any one person," Rangaswami noted.
"Is she a viable candidate? The answer's yes," Virginia-based Shekar Narasimhan, chairman and founder of the AAPI Victory Fund, told PTI.
"She has at least the same credentials as (former president) Barack Obama did," he said.
However, it's too early to say on the Democratic party's presidential race, the winner of which in all probability would have to face incumbent Donald Trump, he observed.
In at least four of the early primary States Nevada, North Carolina, California and Virginia Harris would need the support of Asian Americans where they are in significant numbers, he said.
"We do not know today, if she can win or not. But she has a chance (to win the presidency)," Narasimhan said, adding that it was never the case with Republican Bobby Jindal, the first Indian-American to run for the White House in 2016.
"It's amazing! Isn't it that we have a viable candidate, who is at least half Indian-American running for president of the United States? I don't know if anyone of us thought that this was going to happen anytime soon," said the long-time Democratic political activist from Virginia.
"My first reaction and the reaction of everybody I talked to from the next generation was: We have arrived," he said.
Eminent Indian-American Frank Islam, who was closely associated with the Clinton campaign in 2016, said Harris will be a formidable challenger.
"But she needs to define herself and she needs to differentiate herself from other challengers in crowded democratic presidential field," he said.
"She has personal story - a child of mixed race that will resonate well with the Americans. She is not well known but her work as a prosecutor will demonstrate her toughness but her record will be under scrutiny," Islam said.
Indian-Americans constitute 1 per cent of the American population and are one of the fastest growing minorities in the country.
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Indian mobile hospital treats over 2,200 cyclone-hit people as New Delhi ramps up relief efforts in
Colombo (PTI): A mobile hospital set up by India in Sri Lanka has provided medical care to over 2,200 people affected by Cyclone Ditwah, as New Delhi ramped up its assistance to the flood-ravaged island nation with engineering support and delivery of fresh relief consignments, the Indian mission here said on Sunday.
Sri Lanka has been grappling with widespread flooding, landslides and severe infrastructure collapse triggered by the cyclone, leaving several districts isolated and severely straining the country's disaster-response capacity.
At least 627 people have been killed and 190 remain missing as of Sunday noon due to catastrophic floods and landslides caused by extreme weather conditions since November 16.
Sharing a social media post by the Ministry of External Affairs on its X handle, the Indian High Commission said a field hospital set up by India in Mahiyanganaya near Kandy has provided medical care to more than 2,200 people affected by the cyclone since December 5.
The hospital has also performed 67 minor procedures and three surgeries, it said. The field hospital was airlifted to Sri Lanka by an IAF C-17 aircraft along with a 78-member Indian medical team on Tuesday.
In another post, the mission said Indian Army engineers, working with Sri Lanka Army Engineers and the Road Development Authority, in Kilinochchi have begun removing a damaged bridge on the Paranthan–Karachchi–Mullaitivu (A35) road, a key route disrupted by the cyclone.
"This joint effort marks another step toward restoring vital connectivity for affected communities," it said.
India has additionally sent nearly 1,000 tonnes of food items and clothing contributed by the people of Tamil Nadu. Of these, about 300 tonnes reached Colombo on Sunday morning aboard three Indian Naval ships.
High Commissioner Santosh Jha handed over the supplies to Sri Lankan Minister for Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development Wasantha Samarasinghe.
India, on November 28, launched 'Operation Sagar Bandhu', a Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) initiative, to aid Sri Lanka in its recovery from the devastation caused by Cyclone Ditwah.
Since the launch of the operation, India has provided about 58 tonnes of relief material, including dry rations, tents, tarpaulins, hygiene kits, essential cloths, water purification kits and about 4.5 tonnes of medicines and surgical equipment, the Indian mission said in a press release on Sunday.
Another 60 tonnes of equipment, including generators, inflatable rescue boats, Outboard Motors, and excavators, have also been brought to Sri Lanka, it said, adding that 185 tonnes of Bailey Bridge units were airlifted to restore critical connectivity along with 44 engineers.
Two columns of the National Disaster Response Force, comprising 80 experts and K9 units with specially trained dogs, assisted with immediate rescue and relief efforts in Sri Lanka.
Besides the field hospital in Mahiyanganaya, medical centres have also been set up in the badly hit Ja-Ela region and in Negombo. INS Vikrant, INS Udaygiri, and INS Sukanya provided immediate rescue and relief assistance to Sri Lanka.
Apart from the two Chetak helicopters deployed from INS Vikrant, two heavy-lift, MI-17 helicopters of the Indian Air Force are actively involved in evacuations and airlifting relief material, the release said.
At the request of the Sri Lankan Disaster Management Centre, a virtual meeting was organised between DMC and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)'s National Remote Sensing Centre on Saturday.
Since the onset of the disaster, ISRO has been providing maps to assist DMC in its rescue efforts, the release said.
