Wednesday, November 13, 2024

US Elections: Not just Kamala Harris’s mother; Shyamala Gopalan was a trailblazer 

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US Vice President and the Democratic Party’s Presidential nominee Kamala Harris has on multiple occasions referred to her mother, Shyamala Gopalan, and the experience of being the child of an immigrant.

But, who was Shyamala Gopalan? Read to find out!

Love for science

Shyamala Gopalan was a biomedical scientist whose work influenced the progress of breast cancer research and helped develop other fields of cancer research.

Gopalan was born in British India’s Madras Presidency.

Encouraged by her mother and father, Shyamala applied and got into the University of California and soon started to make a name for herself.

Big shoes to fill?

Kamala’s connection with her mother is known, but her relationship with her father, Donald Jasper Harris, has often come under attack by those on the other side of the political spectrum.

No matter the case, the accomplishments of Shyamala Gopalan have been extraordinary, not just because she may have raised the next President of the United States, but also as a highly successful individual.

Gopalan’s decision to move to the USA as an immigrant in an era that did not see many women travelling abroad, is path-breaking.

According to the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (INS), in the entirety of the 1950s, only 1973 Indians were allowed to enter ‘the land of the brave and the free’.

In Berkeley, says Politico, less than 2% of all students were not white when Gopalan joined. Being an immigrant Indian woman in a land that had a history of racism could not have been easy.

Besides, the gritty Gopalan married Donald Harris, four years before the USA made interracial marriage legal across the country, signalling a personality that did not conform.

Lasting legacy

Shyamala Gopalan Harris died on February 11, 2009, leaving a legacy that will be cherished by everyone from scientists to academicians and breast cancer survivors across the world. Gopalan was a unique person, not just because she gave birth to Kamala Harris, but also because the pressure of being a circle in a world full of squares is immense.

Like mother, like daughter

It will soon be clear if Kamala Harris makes it to the White House or not. But Shyamala Gopalan had already made it big, much before her illustrious and often controversial daughter.

Akul Baiju

Akul Baiju is a social media manager with a background in geopolitical, lifestyle, and human-interest journalism, focusing on global politics, feminism, and LGBTQIA+

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