Kamala Harris – running to be elected the first female president of the United States of America. This sounds amazing and historic for people of Indian heritage because she would also be the first Indian American US President, being of Indian descent on her mother’s side. So, what would a Harris presidency look like?
Harris has held her cards somewhat close to her chest on her policies, being reluctant to give many interviews. Her debate debut was notable for an emphasis on her middle-class roots and her passionate support of women’s rights, in America’s great abortion debate. Some aspects of her policy are clear however, such as a clear stance against Russia in the aftermath of its invasion of Ukraine. The increasingly close US-India relationship looks set to grow ever closer in the backdrop of a gradually potent Chinese challenge.
These fundamentals are unlikely to change. The relationship with New Delhi is highly prized in the corridors of power in Washington DC, as evidenced by the continued spurts of growth in the bilateral partnership. From the Bush administration authorising a vast deal to build new nuclear powerplants and supply nuclear fuel in 2006, to cooperation in space research, and the investments in semiconductor manufacturing in India under President Biden – the relationship with India is broadly on autopilot upward trajectory, irrespective of who is in charge in Washington and Delhi.
Tracing the roots
Kamala Devi Harris was born in California in 1964 to Shyamala Gopalan, an Indian-origin endocrinologist and Donald Harris, a Jamaican-origin developmental economist. She showed herself to be a fast learner with an aptitude for law, rising to become the first South Asian and African American Attorney General of California.
Her career has cut a spectacular path since then, successfully running for the US Senate in 2017. She impressed the then candidate Joe Biden enough to be selected as his running mate for the Presidency in 2020, with the Biden-Harris ticket winning the election in the aftermath of Covid-19, and today she stands on the precipice of history.
Harris also understands Indian security concerns – she publicly condemned Pakistani state support for terrorism against Indian civilians, upon landing in India for her first visit in 2021, even as she appears to share Donald Trump’s disdain for China. The only area where possible disagreement between India and the US might arise under a Harris presidency would be on Russia – where India has been markedly less critical of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine than America.
MORE LIKE THIS…
Poll predictions
There is scope for negotiations hosted by India or another interlocutor, with Russian President Putin recently explicitly naming India as a potential peace mediator recently. It will be interesting to see if elected, Harris would agree to participation in a peace summit with Russia held in India, or elsewhere.
If recent polls are anything to go by, a Harris presidency looks like an increasingly possible outcome, with the Indian American candidate slowly but surely making an impression among the electorate. She currently leads Trump by around 2.7 percentage points, flipping the situation where Trump was leading Biden by around 5 points.
While pollsters think that Trump has the overall advantage because he tends to outperform his polling (and Harris’ lead is within the margin of error), there can be no doubt that Harris has a fighting chance especially in the aftermath of her robust debating performance against Trump on September 10. She was perceived to have won the debate 67 per cent to 33 per cent, according to a flash poll conducted by CNN immediately after – albeit CNN is perceived as pro-Democrat. She certainly has momentum, although the unfortunate second assassination attempt on Trump on September 15 may go on to shake up these poll predictions.
MORE LIKE THIS…
Indian diaspora support
Harris will certainly have the support of much of the Indian diaspora, particularly Democrats. Indian Americans recently released a Bollywood themed video in support of her, titled Nacho Nacho, aimed at energising voters of Indian ethnicity in key swing states such as Pennsylvania. “Through Nacho Nacho, we are using Bollywood’s universal appeal to unite and energise our community for this critical election,” said Ajay Bhutoria of the National Finance Committee for ‘Harris for President.’
If she wins, she will become the second Indian-origin leader of a Western country, after Rishi Sunak as British Prime Minister. However, the Sunak example also highlights a double-edged sword for her – her race may work against her on election day among prejudiced swing voters. This is something that her team will need to be mindful of, especially given Trump’s tendency to weaponise her background against her. It is true that former president Barack Obama overcame that barrier of prejudice, but this time the Democrats are incumbents fighting against economic challenges including inflation and high unemployment.
MORE LIKE THIS…
However, Kamala Harris has gained sufficient momentum to become a credible contender for the US presidency when many would have considered the election lost for Democrats after the earlier Trump-Biden debate debacle. It remains to be seen whether she can build upon this to win on November 5. It would most certainly be a historic moment of great pride for members of the Indian diaspora if she did.
Jeevan Vipinachandran is a UK-based writer and political analyst specialising in political conflict and counter-terrorism. With a Masters in Comparative Politics: Conflict Studies from the London School of Economics (LSE), his core interest is in international relations with a special focus on the rise of India and its impact on the world stage.