How Kamala Harris’ Family in India Helped Shape Her Values

One of Sen. Kamala Harris’ brightest childhood memories was walking down the beach hand in hand with her Indian grandfather. Her grandfather, P.V. Gopalan, had served for decades in the Indian government, and his ritual, nearly every morning, was to meet up with his retired buddies and talk politics as they strolled along the beach in Besant Nagar, a seaside neighborhood in Chennai where brightly painted fishing boats line the sand and Hindu temples stare out at the sea. During her visits from the United States, Harris tagged along while the men discussed equal rights, corruption and the direction India was headed. “I remember the stories that they would tell and the passion with which they...