We must learn that Kamala Harris may share our culture, not our politics

The diaspora's involvement with Indian domestic politics colours our expectations

Some months ago, when she was still running for the Democratic nomination for president, Kamala Harris shot a video with Mindy Kaling, the American actress who was born Vera Mindy  Chokalingam. Ms Kaling made masala dosas and Ms Harris, whose mother was Tamil, helped her in the kitchen. 

While Ms Harris has publicly identified herself as black (her father is Jamaican) I was intrigued to see how much of her South Indian heritage she retained. She described how masalas were stored in her mother’s kitchen and rushed up to Ms Kaling’s father, when he entered the kitchen, calling him “uncle”,