We are both daughters of India, in a way: Priyanka Chopra Jonas to US VP Kamala Harris
Washington(PTI): US Vice President Kamala Harris and actor Priyanka Chopra Jonas have reflected on their Indian connections, marriage equality, and climate change, as they shared a stage during a leadership forum here.
Chopra Jonas, who is now settled in Los Angeles, was invited by the Democratic National Committee's Women's Leadership Forum last Friday to interview Harris for a fireside chat.
The actor kicked off the conversation with their Indian connection.
I think we're both daughters of India, in a way, Chopra Jonas told the room full of prominent Democrats invited to the conference from across the country.
You're a proud American-born daughter of an Indian mom and a Jamaican father. I am an Indian born of two physicians as parents and a recent immigrant to this country who totally still believes in the wholehearted...American Dream, she said.
Harris, 57, was born in Oakland California. Her mother Shyamala Gopalan migrated to the US from Tamil Nadu in India, while her father, Donald J Harris, moved to the US from Jamaica.
She is the first woman, the first Black American, and the first South Asian American to be elected US Vice President.
The US, Chopra Jonas said, s regarded as a beacon of hope, freedom, and choice for the whole world.
And these tenets are being endlessly assaulted right now, she said.
The actor, producer, and philanthropist said after working for over 20 years in films, it was only this year that she got paid equal to her male co-stars.
Chopra Jonas was most recently seen in Keanu Reeves-led "The Matrix Resurrections". She will next star in The Russo Brothers' series "Citadel" and "It's All Coming Back To Me", opposite Sam Heughan.
Chopra Jonas, 40, also touched upon the issue of marriage equality. She is married to American singer Nick Jonas, with whom she welcomed a baby girl in January 2022.
In her remarks, Harris acknowledged that right now they are living in an unsettled world.
I've been traveling around the world as Vice President. I've directly talked with 100 world leaders in person or by phone, she said, adding things that we long took for granted are now up for debate and question.
You look, for example, at Russia's unprovoked war in Ukraine. We thought it was pretty well settled--the issue of territorial integrity and sovereignty -- and now that is up for some debate, given what's happening there, she noted.
Harris then quickly turned to issues in the US.
We look at our own country. We thought, surely with the Voting Rights Act and all that it stood for, we assumed and thought the issue of voting rights in America was settled, the US vice president added.
Then we had the Shelby v Holder decision. And then after the 2020 election, when more people voted and more young people voted than ever before, states around our country started systematically and intentionally making it more difficult for people to vote, Harris said.
The Voting Rights Act was passed in 1965 to ensure state and local governments do not pass laws or policies that deny American citizens the equal right to vote based on race. On June 25, 2013, the Supreme Court swept away a key provision of this landmark civil rights law in Shelby County v Holder.
We thought a woman's right--a constitutional right--to make decisions about her own body was settled. No longer, said Harris.
The US Supreme Court recently overturned Roe v Wade, the 1973 decision that had provided a constitutional right to abortion.
Agreeing with her, Chopra Jonas said, Absolutely. You're so right. There's so much to navigate right now.
The actor also touched upon the climate change issue as she acknowledged the relief efforts in hurricane-hit Florida.
Extreme weather conditions like this are becoming more frequent and more severe. And I wanted to acknowledge the administration for passing the biggest climate legislation in history earlier this year because it is a fact that America's leadership sets an example to other major economies around the world, which are truly dragging their feet when it comes to doing their bit, Chopra Jonas, the UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, said.
The crisis is real, and the clock is ticking. And the urgency with which we must act is without any question, Harris responded, stressing adapting to extreme weather conditions.
On the point that you made about disparities, you know, back when I was the district attorney of San Francisco, I started one of the first environmental justice units of any District Attorney's office in the country focused on this issue, she said.
As you have described rightly, it is our lowest income communities and our communities of color that are most impacted by these extreme conditions and impacted by issues that are not of their own making, Harris said.
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Report on Sambhal mosque survey likely to be submitted to local court; security tight in district
Sambhal(UP) (PTI): Security was stepped up across the district ahead of Friday prayers and the likely submission of a report on the survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid here by the court-appointed ASI team following claims that a temple once stood at the spot.
Tension has been brewing in Sambhal since November 19 when the court-ordered survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid was carried out following claims that a Harihar temple previously stood at the site.
Divisional Commissioner of Moradabad, Aunjaneya Kumar Singh said security measures have been reinforced at sensitive religious sites in the area and around the court in Chandausi.
The lawyer for the Hindu side, Gopal Sharma, said the court hearing on Friday will see the plaintiff's side present their reply, and the court commissioner is expected to submit the findings from the survey conducted on the disputed site.
"Our further action will be determined after the survey report is reviewed," Sharma said.
Shakeel Ahmed Warsi, the lawyer representing the Muslim side, said they are fully prepared to present their case.
"We have all the necessary evidence, and we will first request a copy of the survey report before strongly presenting our side in court," Warsi stated.
Violence erupted on November 24 as protesters gathered near the mosque and clashed with security personnel, leading to stone pelting and arson. Four people died and scores of others were injured in the violence.
The situation remains tense, and local authorities are closely monitoring the developments to maintain peace and order.
