Kamala Harris flags insufficient representation of Indian-Americans in politics, asks more people to run for elected offices

US Vice President Kamala Harris has flagged that the political representation of the Indian-Americans in the United States is not reflective of their growing population. Harris urged more and more people from the community to run for elected offices.

Harris is the first Vice President of the United States to be of Indian-origin. Her mother, Shyamala Gopalan, had arrived in the US at the age of 19. Harris is also the first woman and the first Black VP of the US.

Speaking at an event by Indian American Impact, a Democratic Party’s think tank that supports Indian-Americans politically, Harris noted that the community’s political representation has increased over the years, but it is still not enough.

“Over the years, we’ve had so much more participation by Indian Americans in the electoral process running for office, but the numbers are still not reflective of the size of the growing population,” said Harris, as per PTI.

Harris also recalled her mother Shyamala, who died in 2009, marching for Civil Rights in Berkeley. She also recalled her grandfather, a civil servant in India, and said that she would visit India every two years as a child and her grandfather would take her on morning walks.

“I remember as a young girl hearing them discuss the importance of standing for what is right and fairness,” said Harris.

As of 2024, there are five sitting US Congress members of Indian-origin: Ami Bera, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Ro Khanna, Pramila Jayapal, and Shri Thanedar. The think tank IA Impact had, however, hoped to have 10 Indian-American lawmakers by now.

‘You are not alone, I’m empirical evidence of America’s promise’: Harris to Indian-Americans

Speaking about growing as an ethnic minority in the United States, Harris told the audience that they were not alone. She said that she was the empirical evidence of the promise that’s the United States of America.

“There is so much that we still have to do as a country and a lot of the work that we each do, which is why we are here together, is born out of a belief in the promise of America. And dare I say that, I am empirical evidence of the promise of America…What will happen, invariably it’s happened to all of us, is you are going to find yourself invariably in rooms where you are the only one who looks like you, the only one who has had your life experience. What I then say to you each, look around this room and hold onto this image. And remember then when you walk into those rooms, when you walk into those situations, you remember, you are not alone. We are all there with you. You must remember that,” said Harris.

Mentioning the elections, Harris said that they face a critical question about the kind of the world they want to live in. She said the upcoming election mattered to people in fundamental ways.

The Indian-American community is the second-largest and the fastest-growing immigrant community in the United States. At several seats, the community may emerge as a crucial swing voter bloc in the 2024 US presidential election in which incumbent Joe Biden faces former US President Donald Trump again.

“This election coming up in six months, I think is presenting a question to each of us. Which is, what kind of world do we want to live in and what kind of country do we want to live in? And one of the ways that we answer that question is to seek office and to participate in elections knowing that the outcome of those elections matter in fundamental ways,” said Harris.