Kamala Harris wishes India's Independence Day, talks about 'progress our people have made'

"Happy Indian Independence Day! Reflecting on the past 74 years, it's remarkable how much progress our people have made in the fight for justice. I hope you'll join me today in celebrating and then commit to building an even better future," she wrote in a tweeted.

On Tuesday, Democratic party presidential nominee Joe Biden named California Senator Kamala Harris as his running mate. She also the first person of Indian descent to be nominated for national office in the United States.

Born to Jamaican father and an Indian mother, Harris is a former attorney general of California. Harris’ mother, Shyamala Gopalan, was born in Chennai and moved to the United States to pursue a doctoral degree at University of California Berkeley.

"When my mother Shyamala [Gopalan] stepped off a plane in California as a 19-year-old, she didn't have much in way of belongings but she carried with her lessons from home, including ones she'd learned from her parents," she said.

Kamala Harris has often reflected on her proud Indian heritage. Harris said that her mother would take her and sister Maya to India because she wanted her daughters to understand where she had come from. The 55-year-old Senator recently took a trip down memory lane, recalling her mother's attempts to "instil a love of good idli" in her and sister Maya.

"Growing up, my mother would take my sister Maya and me back to what was then called Madras because she wanted us to understand where she had come from and where we had ancestry. And, of course, she always wanted to instil in us, a love of good Idli," she said.

The California Senator remembered how she and her grandfather would go on long walks in what was then called Madaras where the latter would tell Harris about "heroes" who were involved in the freedom struggle in India. She said that the lessons from her grandfather P V Gopalan are a big reason "why I am where I am today".