Indian-American Ghazala Hashmi, a former community college professor, created history by becoming the first Muslim woman to be elected to the Virginia State Senate.
With just hours to go before the United States presidential election all eyes are turning stateside as Donald Trump seeks a second term in the White House and Democratic candidate Joe Biden campaigns to become America's 46th president. If you're struggling to wrap your head around the presidential election and how it compares to India, which competing parties will be vying for the White House, and how a winner is selected, scroll on for a comprehensive guide that details all there is to know about the upcoming elections.
Harris, 54, would beat Trump most handily -- by a 10-point margin -- if the election were held now, according to an online poll carried out by Axios.
A resolution commemorating the life of Indian human rights defender Father Stan Swamy and seeking an independent investigation into the death of the Jesuit priest has been introduced in the US Congress, Congressman Juan Vargas has said.
US President Donald Trump identified New York, California and Washington as the three major coronavirus hot spots.
Several members of Congress are confirmed to be in attendance for the Prime Minister's address to a diverse crowd of 18,500 people.
Harris, the 49th US Vice President, will serve as the deputy of President Joe Biden, 78, who also took the oath of office, becoming the 46th US President.
"We'll see how she works out. She did very, very poorly in the primaries as you know. She was expected to do well. She ended up at right around two per cent," Trump told reporters at a White House news conference.
Harris opened her vice-presidential acceptance speech on Wednesday night at the virtual Democratic National Convention by remembering her late mother, Shyamala Gopalan Harris, lamenting the fact that she could not be there to see her daughter's achievement.
The publication named the Democratic leaders for its annual prestigious honour, choosing them over other finalists -- Frontline Health Care Workers and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr Anthony Fauci, the Movement for Racial Justice and US President Donald Trump.
'If the Biden-Harris team makes it to the White House, India's headaches will multiply,' observes Aditi Phadnis.
Kavanaugh's nomination plunged into chaos after Christine Blasey Ford on Sunday told 'The Washington Post' that she was subjected to a sexual assault by the Supreme Court nominee in high school in the early 1980s.
Harris remembered her late mother Shyamala Gopalan, a cancer researcher and civil rights activist from India, saying she has always carried that lesson from her mother with her throughout her career from serving as the first woman District Attorney of San Francisco, to the first woman Attorney General of California, and the first woman of colour to represent California in the United States Senate.
'There is room for cautious optimism following the Harris anointment that America will return this year to more normal politics after the aberration of the Trump presidency,' points out Shreekant Sambrani.
'At the heart of the strategic relationship between our countries are economic ties.'
Harris recounted how she and her team got a call that Biden wanted to talk and then got another call where she was told Biden wanted to do a zoom call. She described how she went in "our little makeshift office" and then when the call started Biden immediately asked her to join the ticket. After referring to her mother, Harris also described how husband Doug Emhoff's ear was on the door outside the room listening in on the call. Eventually Jill Biden and Emhoff joined the call with Biden and Harris.
Even as protests in America continue over President Donald Trump's travel ban, thousands gathered across the UK to protest against the same. Here are scenes of the protests that spread from New York to London.
In the aftermath of the worst massacre of Sikhs in the history of the United States, when on August 5, 19 influential US Senators, led by California Democrat Senator Dianne Feinstein, have written to US Attorney General Eric Holder, urging the Justice Department to track hate crimes against Sikhs.
In a blistering attack on Donald Trump, Indian-American California Attorney General Kamala Harris has said the presumptive Republican presidential nominee has an "unstable temperament" and his dangerous policy positions make him "unfit" for holding a public office.
Gopalan Balachandran recalls his eldest sister Dr Sushila Gopalan and her daughter Kamala who is now the US vice-president-elect.
Harris, the daughter of an Indian immigrant from Chennai, scripted history by becoming the first-ever woman Vice President of the United States. She is also the first female, first Black and first South Asian American vice president.
Dalai Lama to be awarded highest US civilian honour.
'Mumbai turned me into a fighter, always hustling to keep up with the world.' 'Now, I hustle for the poor and the ones who don't have a voice because I feel they are poor for no fault of their own.'
Egged on by more than 160 venture capitalists, including several Indian Americans -- the majority of whom are from California's Silicon Valley -- United States Senators John F Kerry, Massachusetts Democrat, and Richard Lugar, Indiana Republican, have introduced legislation to create jobs in America and increasing America's global competitiveness by helping immigrant entrepreneurs obtain US visas.
Even though Hillary won fewer states as compared to Obama, she retains more number of delegates, who would ensure her nomination in the Democratic National Convention. She has 668 candidates as compared to Obama's 653.
'Family is everything to me too. And I cannot wait for America to get to know my husband Doug and our amazing kids, Cole and Ella'
If confirmed by the Senate, Garcetti, 50, would replace Kenneth Juster, who served as India's Ambassador to the US during the Trump administration.
Trump said that Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach was "occupied by a large group of FBI agents".
In addition to declaring a national emergency, US President Trump has approved major disaster declarations for New York, California, Washington, Iowa, Louisiana, North Carolina, Texas and Florida.
Chandigarh-born Sri Srinivasan, Neal Katyal and California Attorney General Kamala Harris are the three Indian-Americans who could be Supreme Court judges.
America has never in its history before had a female President and Vice President so it remains to be seen what formal title -- 'Second Gentleman, Second Husband' -- will be given to the first male spouse of an elected leader.
Obama, the first Black American president, said Harris "is more than prepared for the job," adding that it is, "a good day for our country".
Harris slammed President Donald Trump and pledged to 'rejoin' the Paris agreement on Climate Change and 'strengthen and re-enter' the Iran nuclear deal. "Joe Biden and our administration is gonna have a massive job to repair the damage done by Donald Trump and his administration, and to restore our place in the world," she said.
Nearly 100 Indian-Americans are on the ballot for the midterm elections and have emerged as strong contenders.
On the first night of the Republican National Convention on Monday, senior party leaders during their prime-time address said that the future of America was in danger if the November 3 polls resulted in the defeat of US President Donald Trump.
Republican presidential candidate John Kasich is withdrawing from the race to the White House, a media report said on Wednesday.
Trump alleged on Saturday that the last month's US election was rigged in favour of his Democratic opponent Joe Biden, who is now the President-elect.
From the protests in Belarus, to people in Beirut picking up the pieces after the deadly blast, to the Democratic National Convention held in Delaware in the United States, here are the top images from the week gone by.
Gopalan Balachandran, Harris' maternal uncle, said she will script many firsts if she wins and expressed the hope her top-level position will give Indians in the US "greater access" in interacting with the US administration.
US Senator Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign has taken strong exception to a report that she snubbed the Sikh American community in California by not attending a fund-raising event in Bakersfield, California that coincided with Guru Nanak's birthday celebrations.On November 19, the New York Sun had stated that the Clinton campaign's abrupt cancellation of scheduled appearances due to 'security reasons' had left members of the Sikh community dismayed.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances