Kamala Harris’ ancestral village in India prays for Election Day win

Vice-presidential hopeful Kamala Harris was getting support Tuesday from afar — the ancestral village of her maternal grandfather in India, which was literally praying for her to win.

About 20 people in the village of Thulasendrapuram in the southern part of the country gathered at a local temple for the ritual of “abhishekam’’ — or the pouring milk over a Hindu idol while reciting prayers, in this case on behalf of Joe Biden’s Democratic running mate.

“She is from here, and we are proud of her,’’ said supporter R.R. Jayakumar Vandayar from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

Harris’s mother was born and raised in India. Her father is Jamaican, and both Harris and her dad identify as black.

But despite some Indian nationals’ pride in Harris, there were those who favored her and Biden’s rivals, Republican President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence.

To the north, in Delhi, a territory that includes the nation’s capital of New Delhi, just as many people from a Hindu group gathered around a priest in saffron robes as he lit ceremonial fires and chanted prayers for a Trump victory.

“India can fight terrorism only if Trump is around, and both China and Pakistan will stay restrained as long as he is the president,” leader Vishnu Gupta said.

“We wish Harris well because of her Indian ancestry,’’ Gupta said. “But vice presidents are not as powerful’’ as presidents.

With Reuters

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