The kamal of Kamala

This year’s US presidential election saw the rise of Democrats, while the Republicans had to taste defeat. From among the democrats, arose the name of a lady who would go on to become the first Asian-American Vice-President of the United States

 Kamil Harris, the first female Vice President of the USA; Image source: Wikipedia.

Kamala Harris was born to two immigrant parents. Donald Harris, her father, was a Jamaican, and Shyamala Gopalan, her mother, was a cancer researcher and human rights activist from Chennai. She, on the other hand, calls herself an 'American.'

After graduating from Harvard, Kamala received her law degree at the University of California. She became acclaimed as San Francisco's top prosecutor in 2003, the first woman to serve as Attorney General of California in 2010, and the first black person to be elected as the state's top prosecutor.

Harris earned a reputation as one of the Democratic Party's rising stars during her nearly two stints as Attorney General. In 2017, she was elected to the United States Senate as a Junior Senator from California.

She showed political independence by refusing to cave in to pressure from President Barack Obama's administration, to settle a statewide complaint alleging discriminatory treatment of mortgage lenders. She pursued California's case and received a five-fold increase in the decision over the motion filed in 2012. She also declined to defend bills that made it illegal in California to marry people of the same gender.

Following a powerful speech at the 2012 Democratic National Convention, Harris rocketed to national attention. She was urged to run for the US Senate seat held by Barbara Boxer, who was retiring after being viewed as a rising star within the Democratic Party.

Harris announced her campaign in early 2015, asking for immigration and criminal-justice reforms, as well as a higher minimum wage and protection of women's reproductive rights.

She comfortably won the election in 2016. Harris began working on the Select Committee on Intelligence and the Selection Committee on other assignments after entering office in January 2017.

Republican senators have chastised her for her prosecution's approach of interrogating witnesses during hearings, which has resulted in periodic blockades. She drew particular attention to her questions for US Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who appeared before the Intelligence Committee in June 2017 about possible Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election; he had previously called for her resignation.

Harris stated shortly after that will run for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020. She was seen as one of the front-runners from the outset and drew special notice when he had a contentious interaction with fellow candidate Joe Biden during a primary debate.

Despite Harris' initial support, her candidacy was in severe difficulty by September 2019, and she pulled out in December. She kept a high profile, becoming a vocal champion for social justice change, especially following the death of George Floyd, an African-American who was a victim of police brutality.

Some who had criticised her time as attorney general, claiming that she neglected to investigate complaints of police wrongdoing, including alleged shootings, were silenced by her efforts. On the other hand, others believed that their support of reform was a political ploy to capitalise on social reform's rising popularity.

As racial inequality became a vital topic in the United States Presidential elections, many Democrats urged Biden, the party's expected nominee, to appoint an African American woman as his vice president, a demographic viewed as crucial to his electoral chances.

In August 2020, Biden elected Harris, making her the first black woman elected to a major party's national ticket. She was elected Vice President of the United States of America in November 2020.

Kamala Harris made history by becoming the first female, first black and first Asian-American Vice President of the United States of America.