The idea that Vice President Kamala Harris, whose mother was from Chennai, will be more distant to the Indian government is mistaken, a top Indian American adviser to President Joe Biden has said. "Yeah, I find that so odd," Neera Tanden, Domestic Policy Advisor to the US President told PTI when asked about the concerns of a group of Indian Americans about India-US relationship under the Harris administration.
"Because you are speaking of a woman who's actually been to India, who grew up, has experiences. She recalls memories of her grandfather supporting the independence movement. She'd walk in the mornings with her grandparents as they'd discuss politics and just how it really could be the case because of that call for independence in India," Tanden said.
I mean, we've never had a leader who has experiences like that in American history. She's a person who has Indian relatives. The idea that she'll be less, more distant to the Indian government strikes me as so just mistaken," she said.
"So, I think people should really think about what that feels like to have a leader who understands our community in this really profound way, because again, her mom was many of our moms strong mother willing to really take on this unimaginable journey in order to really do better for her own life and her children's lives," Tanden said.
Tanden called it an important moment in American history. "This moment in time is so important because I really do think there's a question about whether we are moving forward, whether Indian Americans will be seen really as part of America's fabric or social fabric, our leadership, or whether we're going to have a more constricted view of what it is to be American and who our government should work for, as the president likes to say, whether our government and our country is for all of us or just some of us," she said. "I am so proud that the president and vice president have been tremendous champions in making sure everybody's at the table and demonstrate it by the profoundly leading roles they've provided to Indian Americans in this administration," Tanden said.
She said that the issues she hears from the Indian American community are really fundamentally about equal opportunity. "So many people in our community have come here as immigrants. They've come here for opportunity and are trying to make sure that they have the same opportunities as everyone else. A lot of them are entrepreneurs. They've really focused on support for small businesses and ensuring that small businesses have access to support," she said.
That's been a hallmark of the vice president's leadership in the White House is ensuring that small businesses are getting financial support in tax incentives, et cetera. They're also very focused on the quality of education and quality healthcare quality education, because I do think our community has been particularly focused on ensuring access to good quality schools and access to higher education, she said.
"That has been the hallmark of the president, the vice president's leadership. They made college more affordable, expanding Pell Grants, really opening up the door of college for more people. They focused on making sure everyone would have access to healthcare," Tanden said, and I know has been greatly important in our community too.
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