Kamala Devi Harris | SabrangIndia News Related to Human Rights Wed, 23 Oct 2024 07:53:56 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.2.2 https://sabrangindia.in/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Favicon_0.png Kamala Devi Harris | SabrangIndia 32 32 American Muslims’ dilemma: Harris or Trump? https://sabrangindia.in/american-muslims-dilemma-harris-or-trump/ Wed, 23 Oct 2024 07:53:56 +0000 https://sabrangindia.in/?p=38361 Should American Muslims be thinking only as members of a particular faith community? Or also as citizens concerned with what another four years of Trump will mean for all Americans and the rest of the world?

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]]> With the US Presidential poll weeks away, American Muslims are today faced with a dilemma somewhat similar to the predicament of Indian Muslims. For most Indian Muslims until now voting for their “khula dushman” (open enemy) — the communal BJP – has not been an option. The question that has nagged very many Muslims is about what to do with their chupa dushman (hidden enemy) – the self-professedly secular Congress. But 10 years of Hindutva’s undiluted hate politics – mob lynching, bulldozer raj, websites ‘auctioning’ Muslim women, unchallenged public calls for go-to-Pakistan, economic boycott, even genocide – forced Indian Muslims to put aside their reservations and vote overwhelmingly for the Congress (‘lesser evil’) in the general elections held in June this year.

For American Muslims the choice today is between the Democratic candidate, Kamala Harris and the Republican, Donald Trump: both ‘khula dushmans’ of Muslims. There is, of course, a difference between the Indian and American Muslim contexts. The Indian Muslim response has been based on their own bitter experience as citizens of India. On the other hand, uppermost in the mind of many American Muslims today is not so much their personal experience as citizens of USA, but the hypocrisy and the blatant complicity of the Biden administration in the year-long ongoing Israeli genocide of fellow-Muslims in Palestine and now Lebanon too.

The Democratic Presidential aspirant, Harris unreservedly defends the Biden administration’s unstinted support to the immoral, illegal, outrageous massacre of Palestinian men, women and children. She has even asserted that the biggest enemy of the US is not Russia or China but Iran. Several steps ahead of her, Trump is goading mass murderer Netanyahu to “finish the job” in Gaza and Lebanon and even launch a full-scale war against Iran.

 So who should or will American Muslims vote for come November 5? Democrat Harris, Republican Trump, a third candidate with no chance of winning, or simply stay home on V-day?

Several influential voices among American Muslims are urging the community to go for Trump in order to teach Harris and the Democratic Party a lesson. Included among them, is a group of Imams in the US who an open letter quote the Quran while asking Muslims to shun Harris. A non-American analyst, Sami Hamdani has declared it is the “religious duty” of American Muslims to deny Harris their vote even if means victory for Trump.

The most brazen appeal to religion however has been made by the Green Party’s vice-presidential candidate in the coming polls, Buch Ware. Ware, a Muslim, has tweeted this dire warning: “The ‘Muslims’ that have come out in support of Harris, have inscribed their names on the tablets of eternity alongside that of Nimrod, Pharaoh, Caesar and Yazid. Every soul slain in Gaza has a claim against them on Judgement day. They better dress light – been hearing Hell is hot.”

The ‘Muslims’ in quotes clearly implies that Muslims who support Harris are nothing but fake Muslims who must await their fate come the Day of Judgement. Presumably Allah’s angels are keeping a close watch right now of what American Muslims are thinking and will record their deed on November 5.

Fortunately, there are saner voices too. The most compelling among them is that of the well-known journalist Mehdi Hasan. He ran his weekly ‘Mehdi Hasan Show’ on the American TV channel MSNBC until November 2023 when it was abruptly discontinued for his bosses could not stomach his bold coverage and commentary on the American complicity in the Palestinian genocide. He has since launched his own channel, Zeteo.

In a 9-minute long episode (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7vOzUmqv-s)

, Hasan challenges those who are asking fellow-Muslims to abandon Harris. He clarifies that as a journalist it is neither his job nor intention to canvass support for Harris. He is only asking Muslims not to succumb to pressure from fellow-Muslims, and think clearly of what is at stake in the coming elections before casting their votes. He questions the wisdom behind the three main propositions and assumptions of the no-to-Harris camp.

Proposition One: Weaponising of faith, introducing religion in essentially secular political disputes. “The increasing invocation of the Quran to tell people to vote the right way, (is) emotionally blackmailing them into not voting for the Democrats and the accompanying insinuation that you are not a good Muslim, or not a Muslim at all, if you think of voting the candidate who is the lesser of two evils”. Hasan rightly asks: who can claim knowledge of what is in another person’s heart, who has the right to judge another person’s faith? While he does not mention it, there is also this to consider: Will such weaponisation of Islam hinder or help Islamophobia not only in the US but globally?

Proposition Two: Humbling of Harris will compel the Democrats to introspect and American Muslims will emerge a force to reckon with. Hasan questions the sheer naiveté and ignorance of how American politics works. He points to the 2000 US polls when American Muslims voted en masse for George W Bush. What happened next was the invasion of Iraq and the killing of half-a-million Iraqi Muslims. He next refers to the 2020 elections when having seen four years of Trump, Muslims voted for Biden. This, of course, has not come in the way of Biden’s unstinted support to Netanyahu.

Proposition Three: Underestimating the implications of Trump’s victory. Hasan asks: If Biden is complicit in the ongoing genocide in Palestine and Lebanon, what about Trump’s complicity with the Saudis in the genocide of Yemeni Muslims during his first term as president?

In his new book, War, the Watergate reporter Bob Woodward maintains that Trump is far worse than Nixon and, ‘the most reckless and impulsive president in American history.’

American Muslims who have endured four years of Trump earlier will survive one more term of his presidency, argues the non-American Samdani. That begs the question: should American Muslims be thinking only as members of a particular faith community? Should they not also be thinking as American Citizens, ponder over what another four years of the pro-genocide, pro-Netanyahu, racist, anti-Muslim, sexual abuse and felony convict, increasingly unhinged Trump mean would mean for all Americans and the rest of the world?

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]]> Is Meena Harris using her aunt Kamala’s name to build her own brand? https://sabrangindia.in/meena-harris-using-her-aunt-kamalas-name-build-her-own-brand/ Tue, 16 Feb 2021 04:23:34 +0000 http://localhost/sabrangv4/2021/02/16/meena-harris-using-her-aunt-kamalas-name-build-her-own-brand/ Meena’s books and clothing brand come under the scanner amidst allegations of profiting from her VP aunt’s fame

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Lawyer-turned-entrepreneur Meena Harris has reportedly raised eyebrows in the White House for allegedly using her famous aunt Kamala’s name to build her own brand, reports the LA Times. Kamala Harris was sworn in as the Vice President of the United States on January 20, 2021 along with President Joe Biden.

Around this time, 36-year-old Meena who is an author, owns a charitable clothing brand called Phenomenal and has over 8,00,000 followers on Instagram, appeared on the Today show with host Jenna Bush Hager, who is the daughter of former president George W. Bush. She was seen sporting a Phenomenal T-Shirt with the words “Ambitious” on it. This was for promoting her book titled Ambitious Girl, that came out just a day before Kamala Harris was sworn in.

Meena has also authored a book titled Kamala and Maya’s Big Idea, where one of the characters appears to be named after her famous aunt, and the other is the name of Meena’s mother. So far, Meena has also appeared on The View and has been profiled in Vanity Fair and the New York Times. 

According to the LA Times article, Meena, who was an unpaid campaign representative, has allegedly “meshed her personal brand with her aunt’s ascendant political career.” The article also goes on to say that Meena has allegedly used “that publicity to promote her lifestyle brand, which has over time capitalized on Kamala Harris’ name, likeness, life history and political slogans to produce clothing, videos, bestselling children’s books and designer headphones.”

Meena had also come up with a line of products that appeared to be inspired by Kamala Harris including a Vice President Aunty sweatshirts, and Harris themes swimsuits that were previously sold. She had also collaborated to produce special-edition Beats by Dre headphones that used Kamala’s popular slogan, “The first, but not the last.” Meena’s brand Phenomenal’s online store continues to sell sweatshirts bearing the words, “I’m speaking”, which was a quote that went viral after the Vice-Presidential debate.

A White House official, speaking to LA Times on the condition of anonymity said, “Some things can’t be undone,” adding, “That being said: Behaviour needs to change.”

Meena for her part issued a statement via her public relations firm saying, “Since the beginning of the campaign, I have insisted on upholding all legal and ethical standards and will continue to strictly adhere to the ethics rules of the Biden/Harris White House.” The statement further said, “With regards to Phenomenal, it was always our plan to remove the likeness of the Vice President from the website before the Inauguration, and refrain from using her likeness in any products or campaigns going forward.”

Meanwhile, Meena Harris has raised concerns about the Indian administration’s treatment of protesting farmers, as well as the arrest of trade-union activist Nodeep Kaur.

 

 

 

Related:

Nodeep Kaur’s ‘illegal confinement’: Punjab and Haryana HC take suo motu cognisance

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]]> Why does Kamala Harris care more about human rights than her Indianness? https://sabrangindia.in/why-does-kamala-harris-care-more-about-human-rights-her-indianness/ Fri, 14 Aug 2020 13:17:08 +0000 http://localhost/sabrangv4/2020/08/14/why-does-kamala-harris-care-more-about-human-rights-her-indianness/ Is she indian? Is she Black? Is she Hindu? America’s Democratic nominee for vice president 2020 has confused RW Indians

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If all goes well for her Kamala Devi Harris will be the the first, Black-Indian-American woman to become the vice president of the United States of  America, and if things continue to get better she may first take all those credentials and become the President.  She, as the world knows by now, is the daughter of  Tamil Nadu born, Indian-American, cancer researcher and civil rights activist Shyamala Gopalan and Jamaican-American economist Donald J. Harris. Kamala’s father immigrated to the U.S. from Jamaica to study economics and her mother immigrated from India. But it is her ‘amma’ who matters most in the life of Senator Harris. She credits all her achievements, and indeed her thought process to the life lessons she learned from her mother Shyamala, who herself is hailed as a cancer research pioneer, and activist. Brought up by her mother, as a single parent, it is her influence that Kamala has always admitted too. 

One would think that would be great news for us Indians. We love to pick a connection and bond with all things indian origin, and half indian, that have achieved great global success. Notable corporate leaders, doctors, astronauts, all have been hailed as ‘children of mother India,” in some form or the other. Kamala Harris , however, has confused many in the motherland. While that is still fine, she seems to have upset those who align with the myopically homogenised Right Wing idea of India, and Indianness. 

They have found in Kamala Harris a fresh candidate to target with their hate speech. As always it has begun with mocking, and vile personal attacks. Leading from the front is writer, Madhu Kishwar who posted, “Video of her dosa making skills will not wash away the hateful narrative peddled by @KamlaHarris & her #DemocraticGang on #Kashmir projecting India in fascist hues! Such phoney hybrid Hindus more dangerous than those openly belonging to #BarbaricCults”. 

 

With a thousands likes and countries replies to this were predictable, “She is not Hindu. By her own admi6 she is a Christian and she identifies herself as a black”

 

And , “she cynically wooed Indian diaspora, suddenly she loves idli, sambhaar & dosa; & wooing the Paki diaspora by talking Kashmir. Anti Hindu is the Democratic narrative, with Biden and Sanders talking up a storm backing the Pak narrative.

She is NOT an Indian, just a US politician!” 

 

Ironically, her nomination was welcomed by none other than Ram Madhav, the national general secretary, Bharatiya Janata Party, who  was also a member of the National Executive of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). He gave a ‘thumbs up’ to Kamala Harris for being the “first Indian and Asian woman to get the nomination as official VP candidate.”

 

Over three thousand likes and counting, Madhav’s words soon snowed under more Right Wing ‘counter’ tweets aimed to show the US senator as a ‘anti-India. His own followers trolled him, calling his tweet ‘foolish’.

 

Some others told him to “Wait till she calls for UN intervention in J&K. Then we’ll see how you feel. And by the way she is a Black American.”

 

And of course a RW influencer even told him what to do next, “please stay away from this dubious, corrupt woman who supports Kashmiri #terrorists“

 

The ultimate one has come from journalist Rahul Kanwal, who posted his thoughts on the “The Kamala Conundrum” while pushing a story by India Today, according to him “There’s cheer in India as Democrats named Kamala Harris as Joe Biden’s running mate for US presidential elections later this year, but her relatives back home caution that human rights matter to the senator than her Indian ancestry.”

 

The India today story itself is based on a conversion with Harris’s Delhi-based uncle Dr G Balachandran, who has been a  consultant with the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses. Dr Balachandran has been quoted by India Today as saying, “She has a strong sense of public service, public rights and human rights. Even if she is of Indian extraction, as a VP or even as a Senator now, if she thinks anything in India impinges upon the civil rights of Indian citizens, she will speak out loud and clear,” he said.

He was also asked if her election would change the dynamics of the relationship between Donald Trump led-US, and Narendra Modi-led India? Dr Baachandran said, “India-US relations is well beyond one senator or even the President. India-US caucus is the biggest caucus. There is a need for some tweaking here and there, that she will do.” 

The fact of course remains that if  Kamala Harris becomes the Vice President of American, it means that the government has changed and a new government will have its own take on India-US relations. 

To say that her relative has “cautioned” that Kamala Harris is more “concerned about HUman rights, “than her Indian ancestry” is assuming that the two factors are polar opposites. 

As posted by an India Today editor, Dr. G Balachandran also said that his niece Kamala Harris will “take a stand on #Article370 not on why the govt did it but on issue of liberties of ppl of #Kashmir”

 

His remarks too set off a series of personal jibes, aimed both at him and his niece. The comments, as expected came from handles with minimal following and on expected lines of “she is Christian, or “she is not Indian.”

 

 

 

According to the campaign site joebidden.com “Kamala’s mother told her growing up “Don’t sit around and complain about things, do something,” which is what drives Kamala every single day. She too shared this, her life mantra, as she paid homage to her mother. 

 

She has, of course, continued to ignore the  Right Wing trolls and not responded to any hate speech so far.

Related: 

Joe Biden bats for restoration of rights in Kashmir
San Francisco passes resolution opposing discriminatory CAA, NRC and NPR
July 4th Message: Muslims have a special bond with America
Indian-Americans protest communalism in NYC

 

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