Indians love to play the spot the Indian connection game. Everything is fair game for that. Miss America pageants, spelling bees, and politicians.
Now the 2024 US presidential election is an Indian fantasy come alive.
No matter what happens, say excited Indians on WhatsApp groups, the next White House will have an Indian connect. The Republican vice-presidential nominee JD Vance is married to an Indian American, Usha. And of course, the Democratic nominee is Kamala Harris whose mother was an Indian immigrant
As a viral meme goes, in Hindi Kamala means Lotus. In America it means Potus.
But it’s not just about Indians anymore. Kamala Harris’ mother is from Chennai, formerly Madras, in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Usha Chilukuri Vance’s parents are from the neighboring state of Andhra Pradesh. So as far as many Indians are concerned this is a Tamil Nadu vs Andhra Pradesh fight taking place in faraway America.
India Today boils it down to the VILLAGE level.
Usha’s parents, the Chilukuris come from Valluru village in Andhra Pradesh. A priest there,Subramanya Sharma is offering prayers for her victory in a small temple in a property once owned by her family, says India Today.
Usha Vance has never visited the village but roots die hard. Meanwhile, 370 miles away in Indirapuram they are praying for local daughter, well local granddaughter, Kamala Harris. Ahuge picture of the smiling Democrat stands at the village entrance near its main temple, a sprawling structure with a towering, decorated gate.
Community prayers began the day after President Joe Biden withdrew from the race.
Thanks to these candidates, the Indian immigrant story is actually moving beyond the usual tropes of what it means to be South Asian or desi in America. Curry. Spelling bees. Bhangra dance.
Suddenly we are seeing memes and Tik Tok videos about coconut trees. That comes from a comment Harris made about something her mother would say. “I don’t know what’s wrong with you young people. You think you just fell out of a coconut tree.”
Lots of Americans reacted with bemusement but I immediately understood what she was getting at. She was saying context matters, we are all shaped by parents, grandparents, teachers. We didn’t fall fully formed from a tree.
Also, Usha Vance has not disavowed her Hindu faith in order to be more acceptable to some of her husband’s followers. That’s led to some in the extreme right trolling her and forcing JD Vance to come to her defense.
“Obviously she’s not a white person. We’ve been attacked by some white supremacists for that. But I love Usha. She’s such a good mom,” he said in an interview.
In a way both Harris and Vance are really a testimony to the allure of America, which led an Indian biologist and a Jamaican economist to find each other and fall in love. Hence Kamala. And also made the JD Vance and Usha love story possible as Usha herself said at the Republican convention. “That JD and I could meet at all, let alone fall in love and marry, is a testament to this great country.”
Though many wonder if America is really ready to elect a part black, part South Asian woman as president no matter what the polls say, both bear witness to a changed America. Even Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a joke about that when he addressed the US congress. He said these days there’s a samosa caucus in the chambers of congress itself.
He then pointed to Vice President Harris sitting behind him. “There are millions here who have roots in India. Some of them sit proudly in this chamber. And there is one behind me.”
Samosa. Or Dosa. Or Coconuts. Despite all the racial dog whistling that’s part of the election campaign, the candidates on both sides show the power of the melting pot in America. And I don’t think you can un-melt that melting pot. This is not a changing America. They bear witness to a changed America.
There’s a reason why Usha Vance and Kamala Harris are where they are now. They didn’t just fall out of the coconut tree.
Sandip Roy is a Kolkata-based writer and journalist. Tune into KALW 91.7FM in San Francisco to hear more of Sandip Roy’s Dispatches From Kolkata, where this story originally appeared.
