YEARS
had declared independence from Britain. Gopalan joined the Indian Civil Service in the 1930s at the time of the end of British rule in India. He joined straight from college. He was also a freedom fighter in India’s freedom struggle.
Kamala Harris was just 5 years old when she lived in a bungalow surrounded by greenery in Lusaka, Zambia. The house belonged to her maternal grandfather, an Indian civil servant PV Gopalan. He was a civil servant in post-colonial India who was sent to Zambia to manage the influx of refugees from Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and had recently declared independence from Britain. Gopalan joined the Indian Civil Service in the 1930s at the time of the end of British rule in India. He joined straight from college. He was also a freedom fighter in India’s freedom struggle.
My maternal grandfather was one of India’s original freedom fighters. In an interview with CNN, Harris said that some of my fondest childhood memories were walking with him to the beach after he retired and living in Besant Nagar, then called Madras. He would also tell stories about the long journeys of freedom fighters from Indiana. Harris inherited civic-mindedness and a sense of public service from her grandfather.
Even as Vice President, Harris had visited her grandfather’s home in Zambia and shared how she treasured every memory of that house. This began a life-defining relationship for Kamala Harris until his death in 1998. Harris and Gopalan wrote letters to each other from miles away. He was her guide in every sense. PV Gopalan was caring, full of life and dedicated to serving the public.
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